The COBE Diffuse Infrared Background Experiment search for thecosmic infrared background. I. Limits and detections

Journal Article · Tue Jan 06 00:00:00 EST 1998 · The Astrophysical Journal

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1086/306379· OSTI ID:893632

Hauser, M G; Arendt, R G; Kelsall, T; Dwek, E; Odegard, N; Weiland, J L; Freudenreich, H T; Reach, W T; Silverberg, R F; Moseley, S H; Pei, Y C; Lubin, P; Mather, J C; Shafer, R A; Smoot, G F; Weiss, R; Wilkinson, D T; Wright, E L

The Diffuse Infrared Background Experiment (DIRBE) on the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) spacecraft was designed primarily to conduct a systematic search for an isotropic cosmic infrared background (CIB) in 10 photometric bands from 1.25 to 240 mu m. The results of that search are presented here. Conservative limits on the CIB are obtained from the minimum observed brightness in all-sky maps at each wavelength, with the faintest limits in the DIRBE spectral range being at 3.5 mu m(nu l nu<64 nW m-2 sr-1, 95 percent confidence level) and at 240 mu m (nu l nu < 28 nW m-1 sr-1, 95 percent confidence level). The bright foregrounds from interplanetary dust scattering and emission, stars, and interstellar dust emission are the principal impediments to the DIRBE measurements of the CIB. These foregrounds have been modeled and removed from the sky maps. Assessment of the random and systematic uncertainties in the residuals and tests for isotropy show that only the 140 and 240 mum data provide candidate detections of the CIB. The residuals and their uncertainties provide CIB upper limits more restrictive than the dark sky limits at wavelengths from 1.25 to 100 mu m. No plausible solar system or Galactic source of the observed 140 and 240 mu m residuals can be identified, leading to the conclusion that the CIB has been detected at levels of nu l nu = 25 +- 7 and 14 +- 3 nW m-2 sr-1 at 140 and 240 mu m, respectively. The integrated energy from 140 to 240 mu m, 10.3 nW m-2sr-1, is about twice the integrated optical light from the galaxies in the Hubble Deep Field, suggesting that star formation might have been heavily enshrouded by dust at high redshift. The detections and upper limits reported here provide new constraints on models of the history of energy-releasing processes and dust production since the decoupling of the cosmic microwave background from matter.

• Research Organization: COLLABORATION - Space Telescope ScienceInst./MD
• DOE Contract Number: AC02-05CH11231
• OSTI ID: 893632
• Report Number(s): LBNL--61818
• Journal Information: The Astrophysical Journal, Journal Name: The Astrophysical Journal Vol. 508
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
BRIGHTNESS
DECOUPLING
DUSTS
GALAXIES
ISOTROPY
PRODUCTION
RELICT RADIATION
SCATTERING
SKY
SOLAR SYSTEM
STARS
WAVELENGTHS