Flux calibration of broad-band far-infrared and submillimetre photometric instruments: theory and application to Herschel-SPIRE

Griffin, Matthew J. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0033-177X, North, Christopher E., Schulz, B., Amaral-Rogers, Alex, Bendo, G., Bock, J., Conversi, L., Conley, A., Dowell, C. D., Ferlet, M., Glenn, J., Lim, T., Pearson, C., Pohlen, M., Sibthorpe, B., Spencer, L., Swinyard, B. and Valtchanov, I. 2013. Flux calibration of broad-band far-infrared and submillimetre photometric instruments: theory and application to Herschel-SPIRE. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 434 (2) , pp. 992-1004. 10.1093/mnras/stt999

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Abstract

Photometric instruments operating at far-infrared to millimetre wavelengths often have broad spectral passbands (λ/Δλ ∼ 3 or less), especially those operating in space. A broad passband can result in significant variation of the beam profile and aperture efficiency across the passband, effects which thus far have not generally been taken into account in the flux calibration of such instruments. With absolute calibration uncertainties associated with the brightness of primary calibration standards now in the region of 5 per cent or less, variation of the beam properties across the passband can be a significant contributor to the overall calibration accuracy for extended emission. We present a calibration framework which takes such variations into account for both antenna-coupled and absorber-coupled focal plane architectures. The scheme covers point source and extended source cases, and also the intermediate case of a semi-extended source profile. We apply the new method to the Spectral and Photometric Imaging Receiver (SPIRE) photometer on board the Herschel Space Observatory.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Physics and Astronomy
Subjects:	Q Science > QC Physics
Additional Information:	PDF uploaded in accordance with publisher policy at http://www.sherpa.ac.uk/romeo/issn/0035-8711/ [accessed 15/03/2016]
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
ISSN:	0035-8711
Funders:	UKSA, STFC
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	30 March 2016
Last Modified:	13 Sep 2023 16:11
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/58679

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