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arXiv · 2610.04780

Diffuse Galactic Backgrounds with SPHEREx: A Pilot Study of Background Modeling and Its Impact on Extinction

Wanggi Lim·Jae Hwan Kang·Keunho J. Kim·Young-Jun Kim
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Abstract

We present a spectral analysis of diffuse Galactic background emission using SPHEREx data in a pilot Galactic-plane field, where uncertainty in the estimation of the diffuse infrared background is a major source of systematic uncertainty in extinction studies at near- and mid-infrared wavelengths. We construct channel-resolved background maps across the 0.75--5~$μ$m range using a Large Median Filter approach and then carry the extinction analysis forward only for the cleaner long-wavelength subset at $λ\geq 3~μ$m. In the present field, comparison against an earlier masked-median background model gives a median channel-by-channel background difference of about 6\% and a maximum change of $|Δτ_{\rm norm}|\simeq 7.4$ near 3.205~$μ$m, underscoring the importance of wavelength-dependent background modeling. These results demonstrate that spectral mapping with SPHEREx provides a practical framework for controlling diffuse background systematics and enables improved constraints on dust opacity and extinction in the Galactic plane.

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Wanggi Lim, Jae Hwan Kang, Keunho J. Kim, Young-Jun Kim. 2026-10-03. Diffuse Galactic Backgrounds with SPHEREx: A Pilot Study of Background Modeling and Its Impact on Extinction. https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.04780

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