Search

Context. The ESA PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations of stars (PLATO) mission will search for terrestrial planets in the habitable zone of solar-type stars. Because of telemetry limitations, PLATO targets need to be pre-selected. Aims. In this paper, we present an all sky catalogue that will be fundamental to selecting the best PLATO fields and the most promising target stars, deriving their basic parameters, analysing the instrumental performances, and then planing and optimising follow-up observations. This catalogue also represents a valuable resource for the general definition of stellar samples optimised for the search of transiting planets. Methods. We used Gaia Data Release 2 (DR2) astrometry and photometry and 3D maps of the local interstellar medium to isolate FGK (V$\leq$13) and M (V$\leq$16) dwarfs and subgiant stars. Results. We present the first public release of the all-sky PLATO Input Catalogue (asPIC1.1) containing a total of 2 675 539 stars including 2 378 177 FGK dwarfs and subgiants and 297 362 M dwarfs. The median distance in our sample is 428 pc for FGK stars and 146 pc for M dwarfs, respectively. We derived the reddening of our targets and developed an algorithm to estimate stellar fundamental parameters (Teff, radius, mass) from astrometric and photometric measurements. Conclusions. We show that the overall (internal+external) uncertainties on the stellar parameter determined in the present study are $\sim$230 K (4%) for the effective temperatures, $\sim$0.1 R$_{\odot}$ (9%) for the stellar radii, and $\sim$0.1 M$_{\odot}$ (11%) for the stellar mass. We release a special target list containing all known planet hosts cross-matched with our catalogue., Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics

The ESA PLATO mission will provide unprecedented data to study the diversity of planets orbiting up to the habitable zone of bright Sun-like stars. PLATO will detect and characterise exoplanets using the transit method combined with ground-based radial velocity measurements, and study the host stars with asteroseismology. PLATO’s core observing sample consists of Sun-like stars of V < 11. For statistical studies, PLATO will also monitor a large sample of Sun-like stars with V < 13 and cool late-type dwarfs with V < 16. To benefit from PLATO’s advanced photometric capabilities, the general community will be invited to submit proposals on complementary science topics in the framework of a guest observer’s programme. The PLATO payload consists of four groups of six cameras each that overlap covering a total field of about 2150 deg2 with four different sensitivities. Two additional cameras will observe the brightest stars (V < 8.5) in two-colours, and will be used as fine guidance sensor. PLATO is the third medium-class mission in ESA’s Cosmic Vision programme, with a planned launch date in 2026. The satellite will operate in an orbit around the second Lagrange point, L2. We will present the status of the mission science definition and performance, and of the satellite and ground-segment developments.

Most future surveys designed to discover transiting exoplanets, including TESS and PLATO, will target bright (V3.0 subgiants. The relatively low amount of contamination (defined as the fraction of false positives, 14 page, 6 figures, 2 tables. Accepted in MNRAS

International audience; PLATO stands for PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations and it is the forthcoming third Medium sized mission of ESA, planned to be launched in 2024. Its optical payload is an ensemble of 34 small telescopes that mimic a single one meter class aperture with a huge Field of View of more than 50 degrees in size. Aiming to find exoplanets around bright nearby stars it is designed to discover a significant number of relatively nearby Earth-like worlds. A description of the optomechanical adopted solution and a speculative scenario to further explore such alien worlds is briefly given. (C) 2015 IAA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

PLATO (PLAnetary Transits and Oscillation of stars) is the ESA Medium size dedicated to exo-planets discovery, adopted in the framework of the Cosmic Vision program. The PLATO launch is planned in 2026 and the mission will last at least 4 years in the Lagrangian point L2. The primary scientific goal of PLATO is to discover and characterize a large amount of exo-planets hosted by bright nearby stars, constraining with unprecedented precision their radii by mean of transits technique and the age of the stars through by asteroseismology. By coupling the radius information with the mass knowledge, provided by a dedicated ground-based spectroscopy radial velocity measurements campaign, it would be possible to determine the planet density. Ultimately, PLATO will deliver the largest samples ever of well characterized exo-planets, discriminating among their ‘zoology’. The large amount of required b right stars can be achieved by a relatively small aperture telescope (about 1 meter class) with a wide Field of View (about 1000 square degrees). The PLATO strategy is to split the collecting area into 24 identical 120 mm aperture diameter fully refractive cameras with partially overlapped Field of View delivering an overall instantaneous sky covered area of about 2232square degrees. The opto-mechanical sub-system of each camera, namely Telescope Optical Unit, is basically composed by a 6 lenses fully refractive optical system, presenting one aspheric surface on the front lens, and by a mechanical structure made in AlBeMet.

We have initiated a dedicated project to follow-up with ground-based photometry the transiting planets discovered by CoRoT in order to refine the orbital elements, constrain their physical parameters, and search for additional bodies in the system. From 2012 September to 2016 December we carried out 16 transit observations of six CoRoT planets (CoRoT-5 b, CoRoT-8 b, CoRoT-12 b, CoRoT-18 b, CoRoT-20 b, and CoRoT-27 b) at three observatories located in Germany and Spain. These observations took place between 5 and 9 yr after the planet's discovery, which has allowed us to place stringent constraints on the planetary ephemeris. In five cases we obtained light curves with a deviation of the mid-transit time of up to ∼115 min from the predictions. We refined the ephemeris in all these cases and reduced the uncertainties of the orbital periods by factors between 1.2 and 33. In most cases our determined physical properties for individual systems are in agreement with values reported in previous studies. In one case, CoRoT-27 b, we could not detect any transit event in the predicted transit window.© 2018 The Author(s) Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society., SR acknowledge support from the People Programme (Marie Curie Actions) of the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under Research Executive Agency (REA) grant agreement no. [609305]. MF acknowledges financial support from grants AYA2014-54348-C3-1-R, AYA2011-30147-C03-01, and AYA2016-79425-C3-3-P of the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competivity (MINECO), co-funded with EU FEDER funds. CM acknowledges support from the German Science Foundation (DFG) through grant SCHR665/7-1. The present study was made possible thanks to observations obtained with CoRoT, a space project operated by the French Space Agency, CNES, with partic-ipation of the Science Program of ESA, ESTEC/RSSD, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Germany, and Spain.

Debris discs are a consequence of the planet formation process and constitute the fingerprints of planetesimal systems. Their solar system's counterparts are the asteroid and Edgeworth-Kuiper belts. The aim of this paper is to provide robust numbers for the incidence of debris discs around FGK stars in the solar neighbourhood. The full sample of 177 FGK stars with d, 31 pages, 15 figures, 10 tables, 2 appendices

The young star β Pictoris is well known for its dusty debris disk produced through collisional grinding of planetesimals, kilometre-sized bodies in orbit around the star. In addition to dust, small amounts of gas are also known to orbit the star; this gas is likely the result of vaporisation of violently colliding dust grains. The disk is seen edge on and from previous absorption spectroscopy we know that the gas is very rich in carbon relative to other elements. The oxygen content has been more difficult to assess, however, with early estimates finding very little oxygen in the gas at a C/O ratio that is 20× higher than the cosmic value. A C/O ratio that high is difficult to explain and would have far-reaching consequences for planet formation. Here we report on observations by the far-infrared space telescope Herschel, using PACS, of emission lines from ionised carbon and neutral oxygen. The detected emission from C+ is consistent withthat previously reported observed by the HIFI instrument on Herschel, while the emission from O is hard to explain without assuming a higher density region in the disk, perhaps in the shape of a clump or a dense torus required to sufficiently excite the O atoms. A possible scenario is that the C/O gas is produced by the same process responsible for the CO clump recently observed by the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array in the disk and that the redistribution of the gas takes longer than previously assumed. A more detailed estimate of the C/O ratio and the mass of O will have to await better constraints on the C/O gas spatial distribution.

PLATO stands for PLAnetary Transits and Oscillation of stars and is a Medium sized mission selected as M3 by the European Space Agency as part of the Cosmic Vision program. The strategy behind is to scrutinize a large fraction of the sky collecting lightcurves of a large number of stars and detecting transits of exo-planets whose apparent orbit allow for the transit to be visible from the Earth. Furthermore, as the transit is basically able to provide the ratio of the size of the transiting planet to the host star, the latter is being characterized by asteroseismology, allowing to provide accurate masses, radii and hence density of a large sample of extra solar bodies. In order to be able to then follow up from the ground via spectroscopy radial velocity measurements these candidates the search must be confined to rather bright stars. To comply with the statistical rate of the occurrence of such transits around these kind of stars one needs a telescope with a moderate aperture of the order of one meter but with a Field of View that is of the order of 50 degrees in diameter. This is achieved by splitting the optical aperture into a few dozens identical telescopes with partially overlapping Field of View to build up a mixed ensemble of differently covered area of the sky to comply with various classes of magnitude stars. The single telescopes are refractive optical systems with an internally located pupil defined by a CaF2 lens, and comprising an aspheric front lens and a strong field flattener optical element close to the detectors mosaic. In order to continuously monitor for a few years with the aim to detect planetary transits similar to an hypothetical twin of the Earth, with the same revolution period, the spacecraft is going to be operated while orbiting around the L2 Lagrangian point of the Earth-Sun system so that the Earth disk is no longer a constraints potentially interfering with such a wide field continuous uninterrupted survey.

We present far-infrared and submillimeter maps from the Herschel Space Observatory and the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope of the debris disk host star AU Microscopii. Disk emission is detected at 70, 160, 250, 350, 450, 500 and 850 micron. The disk is resolved at 70, 160 and 450 micron. In addition to the planetesimal belt, we detect thermal emission from AU Mic's halo for the first time. In contrast to the scattered light images, no asymmetries are evident in the disk. The fractional luminosity of the disk is $3.9 \times 10^{-4}$ and its mm-grain dust mass is 0.01 MEarth (+/- 20%). We create a simple spatial model that reconciles the disk SED as a blackbody of 53 +/- 2 K (a composite of 39 and 50 K components) and the presence of small (non-blackbody) grains which populate the extended halo. The best fit model is consistent with the "birth ring" model explored in earlier works, i.e., an edge-on dust belt extending from 8.8-40 AU, but with an additional halo component with an $r^{-1.5}$ surface density profile extending to the limits of sensitivity (140 AU). We confirm that AU Mic does not exert enough radiation force to blow out grains. For stellar mass loss rates of 10-100x solar, compact (zero porosity) grains can only be removed if they are very small, consistently with previous work, if the porosity is 0.9, then grains approaching 0.1 micron can be removed via corpuscular forces (i.e., the stellar wind)., accepted to the Astrophysical Journal

The dust composition and dynamics of the circumstellar envelopes of oxygen-rich AGB stars with low mass-loss rates (5 × 10 −8 -10 −5 Myr −1 ) have been investigated. We have analyzed the ISO-SWS spectra of twenty-eight oxygen-rich AGB stars with optically thin shells, and modelled the observations with the radiative transfer code DUSTY using the optical constants from laboratory dust analogues. This has allowed us to determine the composition of the dust and the physical conditions at the inner edge of the shell. Moreover, by comparing with CO observations available in the literature, we have determined the gas-to-dust mass ratios and the mass-loss rates of these sources, and analyzed the wind-driving mechanism. The results show that the small amounts of dust present in these envelopes, characterized by visual optical depths in the 0.03-0.6 range, are enough to drive the wind by radiation pressure on the grains. In some sources there are indications of circumstellar dust that does not contribute to the wind-driving, and that may distributed in a disk or clumps. Other sources show signs of variable mass-loss rates. A grain mixture in the shell consisting of aluminium oxide, melilite, olivine, spinel and Mg0.1Fe0.9 Ofi t the observed spectra well. From these species, only melilite is required to have a fractional abundance greater than 25% in all cases. Although spinel reproduces the 13 µm feature, the absence of the 16.8 µm peak in our SWS spectra casts doubts on this identification. The outcome of the modelling reveals that the olivine content in these CSEs increases with pressure and temperature at the inner edge. Moreover, the aluminium oxide percentage in the dust of the envelopes shows a positive correlation with the gas-to-dust mass ratio. These results, together with the derived dust compositions, are consistent with the thermodynamic dust condensation sequence scenario and its freezing-out due to kinetics. However, the temperatures at the inner edge of the shell are substantially lower than those predicted by theory.

We investigate star formation along the Hubble sequence using the ISO Atlas of Spiral Galaxies. Using mid-infrared and far-infrared flux densities normalized by K-band flux densities as indicators of recent star formation, we find several trends. First, star formation activity is stronger in late-type (Sc - Scd) spirals than in early-type (Sa - Sab) spirals. This trend is seen both in nuclear and disk activity. These results confirm several previous optical studies of star formation along the Hubble sequence but conflict with the conclusions of most of the previous studies using IRAS data, and we discuss why this might be so. Second, star formation is significantly more extended in later-type spirals than in early-type spirals. We suggest that these trends in star formation are a result of differences in the gas content and its distribution along the Hubble sequence, and it is these differences that promote star formation in late-type spiral galaxies. We also search for trends in nuclear star formation related to the presence of a bar or nuclear activity. The nuclear star formation activity is not significantly different between barred and unbarred galaxies. We do find that star formation activity appears to be inhibited in LINERs and transition objects compared to HII galaxies. The mean star formation rate in the sample is 1.4 Msun/yr based on global far-infrared fluxes. Combining these data with CO data gives a mean gas consumption time of 6.4 x 10^8 yr, which is ~5 times lower than the values found in other studies. Finally, we find excellent support for the Schmidt Law in the correlation between molecular gas masses and recent star formation in this sample of spiral galaxies.

In this first paper in a series we present an atlas of infrared images and photometry from 1.2 to 180 μm for a sample of bright spiral galaxies. The atlas galaxies are an optically selected, magnitude-limited sample of 77 spiral and S0 galaxies chosen from the Revised Shapley-Ames Catalog (RSA). The sample is a representative sample of spiral galaxies and includes Seyfert galaxies, LINERs, interacting galaxies, and peculiar galaxies. Using the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO), we have obtained 12 μm images and photometry at 60, 100, and 180 μm for the galaxies. In addition to its imaging capabilities, ISO provides substantially better angular resolution than is available in the IRAS survey, and this permits discrimination between infrared activity in the central regions and global infrared emission in the disks of these galaxies. These ISO data have been supplemented with JHK imaging using ground-based telescopes. The atlas includes 2 and 12 μm images. Following an analysis of the properties of the galaxies, we have compared the mid-infrared and far-infrared ISO photometry with IRAS photometry. The systematic differences we find between the IRAS Faint Source Catalog and ISO measurements are directly related to the spatial extent of the ISO fluxes, and we discuss the reliability of IRAS Faint Source Catalog total flux densities and flux ratios for nearby galaxies. In our analysis of the 12 μm morphological features we find that most but not all galaxies have bright nuclear emission. We find 12 μm structures such as rings, spiral arm fragments, knotted spiral arms, and bright sources in the disks that are sometimes brighter than the nuclei at mid-infrared wavelengths. These features, which are presumably associated with extranuclear star formation, are common in the disks of Sb and later galaxies but are relatively unimportant in S0–Sab galaxies.

$\tau$ Ceti is a nearby, mature G-type star very similar to our Sun, with a massive Kuiper Belt analogue (Greaves et al. 2004) and possible multiplanet system (Tuomi et al. 2013) that has been compared to our Solar System. We present Herschel Space Observatory images of the debris disk, finding the disk is resolved at 70 and 160 microns, and marginally resolved at 250 microns. The Herschel images and infrared photometry from the literature are best modelled using a wide dust annulus with an inner edge between 1-10 AU and an outer edge at ~55 AU, inclined from face-on by 35$\pm$10 degrees, and with no significant azimuthal structure. We model the proposed tightly-packed planetary system of five super-Earths and find that the innermost dynamically stable disk orbits are consistent with the inner edge found by the observations. The photometric modelling, however, cannot rule out a disk inner edge as close to the star as 1 AU, though larger distances produce a better fit to the data. Dynamical modelling shows that the 5 planet system is stable with the addition of a Neptune or smaller mass planet on an orbit outside 5 AU, where the Tuomi et al. analysis would not have detected a planet of this mass., Comment: accepted to MNRAS

We report on the detection with the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO), for the first time in the circumstellar medium, of the polyacetylenic chains C4H2 and C6H2 and of benzene (C6H6) in the direction of the proto-planetary nebula CRL 618. Surprisingly, the abundances of di- and triacetylene are only a factor of 2-4 lower than that of C2H2. Benzene is 40 times less abundant than acetylene. We suggest that the chemistry in CRL 618 has been strongly modified by the UV photons coming from the hot central star and by the shocks associated with its high-velocity winds. All the infrared bands arise from a region with kinetic temperatures between 200 and 250 K, probably the photodissociation region associated with the dense torus that surrounds the central star. C4H2 and C6H2 have also been detected in CRL 2688, so it seems that C-rich proto-planetary nebulae are the best organic chemistry factories in space.

We report on the detection with the Infrared Space Observatory of strong infrared absorption from NH3 and C2H4 in CRL 618. The observed NH3 and C2H4 bands arise from a region with kinetic temperatures 200 K, i.e., the dense gas in the photodissociation region associated to the dense torus surrounding the central star, as was the case for the polyynes and cyanopolyynes (see the companion Letter). Several absorption bands, probably arising from small gas-phase hydrocarbons, are observed between 5.5 and 11 μm. Two of these species have been identified with the 30 m IRAM telescope as the methylpolyynes CH3C2H and CH3C4H. However, the absorption around 6.2 μm is particularly broad and could arise from the combination of these small hydrocarbons and from the aromatic C=C stretching of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons of moderate size. These bands and those associated to the polyynes, cyanopolyynes, methylpolyynes, and benzene are not present in the infrared spectrum of the asymptotic giant branch star IRC +10216.

We present a trend analysis of the ISO-SWS detector performance and a study of the space radiation effects on the SWS detectors. In particular, dark currents, dark current noise and detector responses have been checked as a function of time through the mission and as a function of time in arevolution. The results show that these parameters were stable during the mission in all bandsbut for band 3 (Si:As). Dark currents and responses were found to be higherin the first hours following the start of the science window,especially in band 2 (Si:Ga). We have studied the impacts of cosmic rays and radiation belt particles on the SWS detectors, as well as of the only large solar proton event on November 6, 1997,that occurred during the ISO mission (operated during solar minimum).The observed glitch rates in all SWS bands are found to be between 2 and4 times higher than the value predicted by the CREME96 model for the cosmic ray flux in the period considered. The bands that registered the highest glitch rates showed also a correlation with the electron fluxes measured on theGOES 9 spacecraft. From the distribution of glitchheights (voltage jumps in the detector signal), we have derived the deposited energy distributions of the particles hits. Our results lead to the conclusion that secondaryparticles produced in the shield and the detectors contributed at least as much as cosmic rays to the observed glitch rate. The effects on the detectors of the November 6, 1997 event, which caused that all observationsin a revolution were declared failed, are described in detail.

We present the Infrared Space Observatory/Short-Wavelength Spectrometer full grating resolution spectrum of IRC +10216, which is dominated by strong absorption/emission bands of C2H2 and HCN. All C2H2 bands and the strong near-infrared stretching bands of HCN are observed in absorption, whereas the fundamental, hot, and combination bands of HCN involving the ν2 bending mode around 14 μm are observed in emission. Particularly strong is the HCN ν2 = 20 → ν2 = 11 vibrational transition at 14.3 μm. The most plausible mechanism for such emission is the radiative pumping of molecules from the ground to the ν2 = 20 state (7.1 μm) followed by radiative decay: ν2 = 20 → ν2 = 11. We present detailed models for HCN that verify the efficiency of the mentioned effect. The HCN abundance inferred from these models is (1.5-3) × 10-5.

We present low resolution spectrophotometric and imaging ISO observations of a sample of 58 AGN's over the 2.5–11.6 μ range. The data strongly support unification schemes and set new constraints on models of the molecular torus.

We report the spectrum of Orion-BN/KL between 5.3 and 7.2 μm observed with the Short Wavelength Spectrometer (SWS) on board the Infrared Space Observatory. H2O lines of the ν2=1-0 bending mode with λ 6.3 μm (the P-branch) are observed in emission. Radiative transfer models including the (0, 0, 0), (0, 1, 0), and (0, 0, 1) vibrational levels show that this effect is produced in a natural way by H2O absorption of 6 μm continuum photons followed by spontaneous de-excitation to the ground state (resonant scattering). The intensities of the absorption lines can be explained with an H2O column density of a few 1017 cm-2 in gas with a temperature of ~150 K and n(H2)~106 cm-3, although these parameters depend on the assumed location of the absorbing shell. Since the observed intensity of the H2O emission lines are larger than those seen in absorption, we suggest that rovibrational excitation of H2O by collisions in denser and hotter gas, such as found in shocks, also contribute to the P-branch emission of the 6 μm H2O band.

We report accurate new wavelengths for 29 mid-infrared ionic fine-structure lines, based on observations with the Short Wavelength Spectrometer (SWS) on board the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO). Our results originate from observations of NGC 7027, NGC 6543, NGC 6302, the Circinus galaxy, Sgr A West, and W51 IRS 2. The obtained accuracies (λ/Δλ) range from 3 × 104 to 1 × 105, depending on instrumental mode and uncertainty in radial velocities.

Context. Circumstellar discs are ubiquitous around young stars, but rapidly dissipate their gas and dust on timescales of a few Myr. The Herschel Space Observatory allows for the study of the warm disc atmosphere, using far-infrared spectroscopy to measure gas content and excitation conditions, and far-IR photometry to constrain the dust distribution.Aims. We aim to detect and characterize the gas content of circumstellar discs in four targets as part of the Herschel science demonstration phase.Methods. We carried out sensitive medium resolution spectroscopy and high sensitivity photometry at gimel similar to 60-190 mu m using the Photodetector Array Camera and Spectrometer instrument on the Herschel Space Observatory.Results. We detect [OI] 63 mu m emission from the young stars HD 169142, TW Hydrae, and RECX 15, but not HD 181327. No other lines, including [CII] 158 and [OI] 145, are significantly detected. All four stars are detected in photometry at 70 and 160 mu m. Extensive models are presented in associated papers.

Planets are formed in disks around young stars. With an age of ~10 Myr, TW Hya is one of the nearest T Tauri stars that is still surrounded by a relatively massive disk. In addition a large number of molecules has been found in the TW Hya disk, making TW Hya the perfect test case in a large survey of disks with Herschel-PACS to directly study their gaseous component. We aim to constrain the gas and dust mass of the circumstellar disk around TW Hya. We observed the fine-structure lines of [OI] and [CII] as part of the Open-time large program GASPS. We complement this with continuum data and ground-based 12CO 3-2 and 13CO 3-2 observations. We simultaneously model the continuum and the line fluxes with the 3D Monte-Carlo code MCFOST and the thermo-chemical code ProDiMo to derive the gas and dust masses. We detect the [OI] line at 63 micron. The other lines that were observed, [OI] at 145 micron and [CII] at 157 micron, are not detected. No extended emission has been found. Preliminary modeling of the photometric and line data assuming [12CO]/[13CO]=69 suggests a dust mass for grains with radius < 1 mm of ~1.9 times 10^-4 Msun (total solid mass of 3 times 10^-3 Msun) and a gas mass of (0.5--5) times 10^-3 Msun. The gas-to-dust mass may be lower than the standard interstellar value of 100., 6 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in the A&A Herschel special issue

Herschel was launched on 14 May 2009, and is now an operational ESA space observatory offering unprecedented observational capabilities in the far-infrared and submillimetre spectral range 55-671 {\mu}m. Herschel carries a 3.5 metre diameter passively cooled Cassegrain telescope, which is the largest of its kind and utilises a novel silicon carbide technology. The science payload comprises three instruments: two direct detection cameras/medium resolution spectrometers, PACS and SPIRE, and a very high-resolution heterodyne spectrometer, HIFI, whose focal plane units are housed inside a superfluid helium cryostat. Herschel is an observatory facility operated in partnership among ESA, the instrument consortia, and NASA. The mission lifetime is determined by the cryostat hold time. Nominally approximately 20,000 hours will be available for astronomy, 32% is guaranteed time and the remainder is open to the worldwide general astronomical community through a standard competitive proposal procedure., Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, 3 tables, accepted for the A&A Herschel Special Issue

The Herschel GASPS Key Program is a survey of the gas phase of protoplanetary discs, targeting 240 objects which cover a large range of ages, spectral types, and disc properties. To interpret this large quantity of data and initiate self-consistent analyses of the gas and dust properties of protoplanetary discs, we have combined the capabilities of the radiative transfer code MCFOST with the gas thermal balance and chemistry code ProDiMo to compute a grid of 300 000 disc models (DENT). We present a comparison of the first Herschel/GASPS line and continuum data with the predictions from the DENT grid of models. Our objective is to test some of the main trends already identified in the DENT grid, as well as to define better empirical diagnostics to estimate the total gas mass of protoplanetary discs. Photospheric UV radiation appears to be the dominant gas-heating mechanism for Herbig stars, whereas UV excess and/or X-rays emission dominates for T Tauri stars. The DENT grid reveals the complexity in the analysis of far-IR lines and the difficulty to invert these observations into physical quantities. The combination of Herschel line observations with continuum data and/or with rotational lines in the (sub-)millimetre regime, in particular CO lines, is required for a detailed characterisation of the physical and chemical properties of circumstellar discs., Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in the A&A Herschel special issue

The paper provides a summary of the results of the assessment study conducted on the SPICA Telescope Assembly (STA). SPICA (SPace Infrared telescope for Cosmology and Astrophysics) was selected for study as a mission of opportunity within the science programme Cosmic Vision 2015-2025 of the European Space Agency, with a planned launch in 2017. Observing in the 5 - 210 micron waveband, one of its major goals is the discovery of the origins of planets and galaxies. ESA's main contribution is the provision of the SPICA Telescope Assembly (STA) featuring a 3.5 m primary mirror cooled to < 6K. A nationally funded European FIR instrument (SAFARI) would also be part of SPICA's payload. Following an internal ESA study carried out in Q1 and Q2 2008, a parallel competitive industrial study (phase A level) has been performed. The main results achieved during this study are summarised.

Aims: We investigate the composition of the solid-state materials in the winds around S-type AGB stars. The S stars produce dust in their wind that bears a resemblance to the dust produced in some O-rich AGB stars. However, the reported resemblance is mostly based on IRAS/LRS spectra with limited spectral resolution, sensitivity, and wavelength coverage. Methods: We investigate the dust composition around S stars using ISO/SWS data that surpass the previous studies in terms of spectral resolution and wavelength coverage. We selected the dust producing S stars in the ISO/SWS archive with enough signal to perform a detailed dust analysis, and then compare the dust spectra from the 9 sources with the O-rich AGB spectra and a subset of M super-giants. We constructed average dust emission spectra of the different categories. Results: We report the discovery of several previously unreported dust emission features in the S star spectra. The long wavelength spectra of W Aql and π1 Gru exhibit the “30” μm feature attributed to MgS. Two sources exhibit a series of emission bands between 20 and 40 μm that we tentatively ascribe to Diopside. We show that the 10-20 μm spectra of the S stars are significantly different from the O-rich AGB stars. The O-rich stars exhibit a structured emission feature that is believed to arise from amorphous silicate and aluminium-oxide. The S stars lack the substructure found in the O-rich stars. Instead they show a smooth peak with a varying peak-position from source to source. We suggest that this feature is caused by a family of related materials, whose exact composition determines the peak position. The observed trend mimics the laboratory trend of non-stoichiometric silicates. In this scenario the degree of non-stoichiometry is related to the Mg to SiO4 ratio, in other words, to the amount of free O available during the dust grain growth. based on observations obtained with ISO, an ESA project with instruments funded by ESA Member states (especially the PI countries: France, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom) and with the participation of ISAS and NASA. ispartof: Astronomy & Astrophysics vol:501 issue:2 pages:609-617 status: published

SPICA (SPace Infrared telescope for Cosmology and Astrophysics) was selected for study as a mission of opportunity within the science programme Cosmic Vision 2015-2025 of the European Space Agency, with a planned launch in 2017. Observing in the 5 - 210 micron waveband, one of its major goals is the discovery of the origins of planets and galaxies. ESA's contribution is the provision of the SPICA Telescope Assembly (STA) featuring a 3.5 m primary mirror cooled to < 5K, and instrument engineering and management of a nationally funded European FIR instrument (SAFARI) as part of SPICA's payload. SAFARI is an imaging spectrometer operating at 30 - 210 micron, baselined as a Mach-Zehnder (MZ) Fourier Transform Spectrometer (FTS). An internal ESA study has been carried out to address the specific challenges associated in particular with STA and SAFARI, taking into account resource margins and interface specifications driven by the overall spacecraft design. This paper provides a summary of the preliminary results achieved during this study.

The Japanese led Space Infrared telescope for Cosmology and Astrophysics (SPICA) will observe the universe over the 5 to 210 micron band with unprecedented sensitivity owing to its cold (~5 K) 3.5m telescope. The scientific case for a European involvement in the SPICA mission has been accepted by the ESA advisory structure and a European contribution to SPICA is undergoing an assessment study as a Mission of Opportunity within the ESA Cosmic Vision 1015-2015 science mission programme. In this paper we describe the elements that are being studied for provision by Europe for the SPICA mission. These entail ESA directly providing the cryogenic telescope and ground segment support and a consortium of European insitutes providing a Far Infrared focal plane instrument. In this paper we describe the status of the ESA study and the design status of the FIR focal plane instrument.

We examine far-infrared and submillimeter spectral energy distributions for galaxies in the Infrared Space Observatory Atlas of Bright Spiral Galaxies. For the 71 galaxies where we had complete 60-180 micron data, we fit blackbodies with lambda^-1 emissivities and average temperatures of 31 K or lambda^-2 emissivities and average temperatures of 22 K. Except for high temperatures determined in some early-type galaxies, the temperatures show no dependence on any galaxy characteristic. For the 60-850 micron range in eight galaxies, we fit blackbodies with lambda^-1, lambda-2, and lambda^-beta (with beta variable) emissivities to the data. The best results were with the lambda^-beta emissivities, where the temperatures were ~30 K and the emissivity coefficient beta ranged from 0.9 to 1.9. These results produced gas to dust ratios that ranged from 150 to 580, which were consistent with the ratio for the Milky Way and which exhibited relatively little dispersion compared to fits with fixed emissivities., AJ, 2003, in press

The analysis of timing variations of transiting exoplanets allows one to discover additional planets in the system. Such bodies can be very low in mass and radius, so that they remain undetected by transit or radial velocity methods. The CoRoT satellite looks back on six years of high precision photometry of a very high number of stars. Thousands of transiting events are detected from which 27 were confirmed to be transiting planets so far. In my research I search and analyze TTVs in the CoRoT sample and combine the unprecedented precision of the light curves with ground-based follow-up photometry. Because CoRoT can observe transiting planets only for a maximum duration of 150 days the ground-based follow-up can help to refine the ephemeris. Here we present first examples.

We have carried out a comprehensive multiwavelength study of Bright-Rimmed Globule TC2 in the Trifid Nebula using the IRAM~30m telescope, the VLA centimeter array and the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO). TC2 is one of the very few globules to exhibit signs of active ongoing star formation while being photoevaporated. The study of the kinematics shows that TC2 is currently undergoing an implosion driven by the ionization field. The physical structure of the molecular core, the Photon-Dominated Region and the ionization front are characterized. The properties of the PDR are in good agreement with some recent PDR models. The molecular emission suggests that the star formation process was probably initiated a few 0.1 Myr ago, in the large burst which led to the formation of the nebula. The impact of photoionization on the star formation process appears limited., 45 pages, 5 tables, 16 figures

We present an atlas of near-infrared spectra (2.36m-4.1m) of300 stars at moderate resolution (/ 1500- 2000). The spectra were recorded using the Short-Wavelength Spectrometer aboard the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO-SWS). The bulk of the observations were performed during a dedicated observation campaign after the liquid helium depletion of the ISO satellite, the so-called post-helium programme. This programme was aimed at extending the MK-classification to the near- infrared. Therefore the programme covers a large range of spectral types and luminosity classes. The 2.36m-4.05 mr egion is a valuable spectral probe for both hot and cool stars. H I lines (Bracket, Pfund and Humphreys series), He I and He II lines, atomic lines and molecular lines (CO, H2O, NH, OH, SiO, HCN, C2H2, ...) are sensitive to temperature, gravity and/or the nature of the outer layers of the stellar atmosphere (outflows, hot circumstellar discs, etc.). Another objective of the programme was to construct a homogeneous dataset of near-infrared stellar spectra that can be used for population synthesis studies of galaxies. At near-infrared wavelengths these objects emit the integrated light of all stars in the system. In this paper we present the dataset of post-helium spectra completed with observations obtained during the nominal operations of the ISO-SWS. We discuss the calibration of the SWS data obtained after the liquid helium boil-o and the data reduction. We also give a first qualitative overview of how the spectral features in this wavelength range change with spectral type. The dataset is scrutinised in two papers on the quantitative classification of near-infrared spectra of early-type stars (Lenorzer et al. 2002) and late-type stars (Vandenbussche et al., in prep).

The Short-Wavelength Spectrometer (SWS) is one of the four focal plane instruments of ESA's Infrared Space Observatory (ISO). The satellite was launched on November 15, 1995 with a super fluid Helium content of about 2300 liters to keep the telescope, the scientific payload and the optical baffles at operating temperatures between 2 and 8 K. On April 8, 1998 the liquid Helium depleted and the instruments were switched-off when the focal plane reached a temperature of 4.2 K. A satellite engineering test program was conducted between April 20 and May 10. Timeslots before and during the test program were used to operate the InSb detectors of the SWS instrument while the temperature of the focal plane slowly increased up to 40 K. The instrument was used to record spectra of 260 stars between 2.36 and 4.05 microns at a resolution of 2000 and with high S/N. Goal of the program was to observe a set of stars covering the entire MK spectral classification scheme to extend this classification scheme to the infrared. We discuss changes in the instrument relevant for operating and calibrating the instrument at temperatures above 4K: changes in the InSb detector behavior (dark levels, noise, response, ...), behavior of the JFETs and geometry changes in the grating scanner mechanism. We also show that the calibration of the data obtained after Helium loss is accurate, resulting in a data set of great scientific value.

Spectral classification in the infrared is necessary to complete the spectral classification in the visual and to understand the physics and evolution of stars. A major contribution was made by the IRAS Low Resolution Spectrometer, which allowed a characterization of the sources according to both spectral features and general shape of the energy distribution in the 8–22 µ,m (IRAS Science Working group, 1986). However, spectra obtained with the ISO Short Wavelength Spectrometer (SWS) (de Graauw et al. 1996, Kessler et al. 1996) provide the basis for a more complete data-base. Compared with LRS, SWS spectra cover a wider flux range and a wider spectral range 2.4–44.5 µm at a significantly higher spectral resolution. This work is part of an extensive ISO dedicated time program STARTYP1/2, which aims to provide a comprehensive spectral classification scheme of over 700 of the brightest representative infrared sources.

We present five band imaging of the Vega debris disc obtained using the Herschel Space Observatory. These data span a wavelength range of 70-500 um with full-width half-maximum angular resolutions of 5.6-36.9". The disc is well resolved in all bands, with the ring structure visible at 70 and 160 um. Radial profiles of the disc surface brightness are produced, and a disc radius of 11" (~ 85 AU) is determined. The disc is seen to have a smooth structure thoughout the entire wavelength range, suggesting that the disc is in a steady state, rather than being an ephemeral structure caused by the recent collision of two large planetesimals., Comment: A&A in press - Herschel Special Edition