We have conducted a survey of a sample of infrared-dark clouds (IRDCs) with the Spitzer Space Telescope in order to explore their mass distribution. We present a method for tracing mass using dust absorption against the bright Galactic background at 8 microns. The IRDCs in this sample are comprised of tens of clumps, ranging in sizes from 0.02 to 0.3 pc in diameter and masses from 0.5 to a few 10 Msun, the broadest dynamic range in any clump mass spectrum study to date. Structure with this range in scales confirms that IRDCs are the the precursors to stellar clusters in an early phase of fragmentation. Young stars are distributed in the vicinity of the IRDCs, but the clumps are typically not associated with stars and appear pre-stellar in nature. We find an IRDC clump mass spectrum with a slope of 1.76 +/- 0.05 for masses from 30 to 3000 Msun. This slope is consistent with numerous studies, culled from a variety of observational techniques, of massive star formation regions and is close to the mass function of Galactic stellar clusters and star clusters in other galaxies. We assert that the shape of the mass function is an intrinsic and universal feature of massive star formation regions, that are the birth sites of stellar clusters. As these clouds evolve and their constituent clumps fragment, the mass spectrum will steepen and eventually assume the form of the core mass function that is observed locally.
Searches for compact mid-IR nebulae with the Spitzer Space Telescope and the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), accompanied by spectroscopic observations of central stars of these nebulae led to the discovery of many dozens of massive stars at different evolutionary stages, of which the most numerous are candidate luminous blue variables (LBVs). In this paper, we give a census of candidate and confirmed Galactic LBVs revealed with Spitzer and WISE, and present some new results of spectroscopic observations of central stars of mid-IR nebulae.
We present Spitzer Space Telescope archival mid-infrared (mid-IR) spectroscopy of a sample of eleven planetary nebulae (PNe). The observations, acquired with the Spitzer Infrared Spectrograph (IRS), cover the spectral range 5.2-14.5 μm that includes the H2 0-0 S(2) to S(7) rotational emission lines. This wavelength coverage has allowed us to derive the Boltzmann distribution and calculate the H2 rotational excitation temperature (Tex). The derived excitation temperatures have consistent values ~900+/-70 K for different sources despite their different structural components. We also report the d…
Star-forming regions are often associated with nebulosity. In this study, we investigated infrared diffuse emission in Spitzer IRAC images. The infrared nebula L1527 traces outflows emanating from a low-mass protostar. The nebular color is consistent with the color of a stellar photosphere with large extinction. Nebulae around the HII region W5-East are bright in the infrared. These colors are consistent with the model color of dust containing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH). The strength of ultraviolet irradiation of the nebulae and the small dust fraction were deduced from the infrared…
We present $Spitzer$ IRAC mid-infrared point source catalogs for mosaics covering the fields of the nearby ($\lesssim$4 Mpc) galaxies NGC 55, NGC 253, NGC 2366, NGC 4214, and NGC 5253. We detect a total of 20159 sources in these five fields. Point spread function photometry was performed on sources detected in both $Spitzer$ IRAC 3.6 $μ$m and 4.5 $μ$m bands at greater than 3$σ$ above background. These data were then supplemented by aperture photometry in the IRAC 5.8 $μ$m and 8.0 $μ$m bands conducted at the positions of the shorter wavelength sources. For sources with no detected object in the…
K-band spectra are presented for a sample of 39 Spitzer IRS SAGE-Spec sources in the Large Magellanic Cloud. The spectra exhibit characteristics in very good agreement with their positions in the near infrared - Spitzer color-magnitude diagrams and their properties as deduced from the Spitzer IRS spectra. Specifically, the near infrared spectra show strong atomic and molecular features representative of oxygen-rich and carbon-rich asymptotic giant branch stars, respectively. A small subset of stars were chosen from the luminous and red extreme "tip" of the color magnitude diagram. These object…
The survey for DUST In Nearby Galaxies with Spitzer (DUSTiNGS) has identified hundreds of candidate dust-producing Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) stars in several nearby metal-poor galaxies. We have obtained multi-epoch follow-up observations for these candidates with the Spitzer Space Telescope and measured their infrared (IR) lightcurves. This has allowed us to confirm their AGB nature and investigate pulsation behavior at very low metallicity. We have obtained high-confidence pulsation periods for 88 sources in seven galaxies. We have confirmed DUSTiNGS variable star candidates with a 20% su…
We present 3.6 and 4.5 um photometry for a set of 61 standard stars observed by Spitzer's Infrared Spectrograph (IRS). The photometry was obtained with the Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) on Spitzer in order to help tie the calibration of IRAC and the IRS, which had been anchored to the calibration of the Multiband Infrared Photometer for Spitzer (MIPS). The wavelength range of the IRS data only slightly overlaps with the IRAC 4.5 um band and not at all with the 3.6 um band. Therefore, we generated synthetic spectra from spectral templates of stars with the same spectral types and luminosity clas…
The Magellanic clouds are uniquely placed to study the stellar contribution to dust emission. Individual stars can be resolved in these systems even in the mid-infrared, and they are close enough to allow detection of infrared excess caused by dust.We have searched the Spitzer Space Telescope data archive for all Infrared Spectrograph (IRS) staring-mode observations of the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) and found that 209 Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) point sources within the footprint of the Surveying the Agents of Galaxy Evolution in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SAGE-SMC) Spitzer Legacy programm…
IC 2118，也被称为女巫头星云，是一个大约5度长的反射星云，被认为是一个触发恒星形成的地点。为了寻找新的年轻天体，我们用斯皮策太空望远镜在7个中远红外波段和4个光学波段对该区域进行了观测。S.海军天文台40英寸望远镜。在我们的综合红外地图中，我们发现了6颗先前已知的金牛座T星中的4颗的红外线过量，并且我们发现了6个全新的候选YSO，其中一个可能是边缘盘。在红外线中看到的大多数YSO都是II类天体，它们都在星云的“头部”，在该地区最大的分子云中。
We present follow-up $Spitzer$ observations at 3.6$μ$m (ch1) and 4.5$μ$m (ch2) of CWISEP J144606.62$-$231717.8, one of the coldest known brown dwarfs in the solar neighborhood. This object was found by mining the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer ($WISE$) and $NEOWISE$ data via the CatWISE Preliminary Catalog by Meisner et al. (2019b), where an initial $Spitzer$ color of ch1$-$ch2 = 3.71$\pm$0.44 mag was reported, implying it could be one of the reddest, and hence coldest, known brown dwarfs. Additional $Spitzer$ data presented here allows us to revise its color to ch1$-$ch2 = 2.986$\pm$0.04…
We present results from a spectroscopic Spitzer and Herschel mid-to-far-infrared study of the circumbinary disk orbiting the evolved (age ~12-23 Myr) close binary T Tauri system V4046 Sgr. Spitzer IRS spectra show emission lines of [Ne II], H_2 S(1), CO_2 and HCN, while Herschel PACS and SPIRE spectra reveal emission from [O I], OH, and tentative detections of H_2O and high-J transitions of CO. We measure [Ne III]/[Ne II] < 0.13, which is comparable to other X-ray/EUV luminous T Tauri stars that lack jets. We use the H_2 S(1) line luminosity to estimate the gas mass in the relatively warm surf…
We present $Spitzer$ IRS 5--14 $μ$m spectra and 16 $μ$m and 22 $μ$m photometry of the T2.5 companion to the $\sim$300 Myr-old G0V star HN Peg. We incorporate previous 0.8--5 $μ$m observations to obtain the most comprehensive spectral energy distribution of an intermediate-gravity L/T-transition dwarf which, together with an accurate Gaia EDR3 parallax of the primary, enable us to derive precise fundamental parameters. We find that young ($\approx$0.1--0.3 Gyr) early-T dwarfs on average have $\approx$140 K lower effective temperatures, $\approx$20% larger radii, and similar bolometric luminosit…
Infrared variability is common among young stellar objects, with surveys finding daily to weekly fluctuations of a few tenths of a magnitude. Space-based observations can produce highly sampled infrared light curves, but are often limited to total baselines of about a month due to the orientation of the spacecraft. Here we present observations of the Chameleon I cluster whose low declination makes it observable by the Spitzer space telescope over a 200 day period. We observe 30 young stellar objects with a daily cadence to better sample variability on timescales of months. We find such variabi…
We present an ongoing, systematic search for extragalactic infrared transients, dubbed SPIRITS --- SPitzer InfraRed Intensive Transients Survey. In the first year, using Spitzer/IRAC, we searched 190 nearby galaxies with cadence baselines of one month and six months. We discovered over 1958 variables and 43 transients. Here, we describe the survey design and highlight 14 unusual infrared transients with no optical counterparts to deep limits, which we refer to as SPRITEs (eSPecially Red Intermediate Luminosity Transient Events). SPRITEs are in the infrared luminosity gap between novae and supe…
We report our Spitzer Space Telescope observations and detections of the binary neutron star merger GW170817. At 4.5um, GW170817 is detected at 21.9 mag AB at +43 days and 23.9 mag AB at +74 days after merger. At 3.6um, GW170817 is not detected to a limit of 23.2 mag AB at +43 days and 23.1 mag AB at +74 days. Our detections constitute the latest and reddest constraints on the kilonova/macronova emission and composition of heavy elements. The 4.5um luminosity at this late phase cannot be explained by elements exclusively from the first abundance peak of the r-process. Moreover, the steep decli…
The atmospheres and accretion disks of planetary-mass and substellar companions provide an unprecedented look into planet and moon formation processes, most notably the frequency and lifetime of circumplanetary disks. In our ongoing effort to leverage the extraordinary sensitivity of the Spitzer/Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) at 3.6, 4.5, 5.8, and 8.0 $μ$m to study wide planetary-mass and substellar companions near the diffraction limit, we present point-spread function (PSF) fitting photometry of archival Spitzer/IRAC images for nine stars (G0 to M4+M7) in nearby star-forming regions or stellar…
