arXiv subjects

O. Boulade

Publications and source records attributed to O. Boulade.

14 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

COLIBRI (SVOM/FM-GFT): Instrumentation and Performances on the SVOM Alerts

COLIBRI, the French Mexican Ground Followup Telescope (FM GFT) for SVOM, is a 1.3 meter rapid response optical facility specifically developed for prompt, multiband observations of GRB afterglows and for delivering subarcsecond localisations of optical counterparts for detailed followup studies. The telescope operates through a fully automated system that manages the entire workflow, from alert reception to counterpart identification. Commissioning results confirm that the telescope meets design specifications, and this paper presents a comprehensive performance assessment of the capabilities.

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arXiv2019

PILOT balloon-borne experiment in-flight performance

The Polarized Instrument for Long-wavelength Observation of the Tenuous interstellar medium (PILOT) is a balloon-borne experiment aiming at measuring the polarized emission of thermal dust at a wavelength of 240 mm (1.2 THz). A first PILOT flight (flight#1) of the experiment took place from Timmins, Ontario, Canada, in September 2015 and a second flight (flight#2) took place from Alice Springs, Australia in april 2017. In this paper, we present the inflight performance of the instrument during these two flights. We concentrate on performances during flight#2, but allude to flight#1 performances if significantly different. We first present a short description of the instrument and the flights. We determine the time constants of our detectors combining inflight information from the signal decay following high energy particle impacts (glitches) and of our internal calibration source. We use these time constants to deconvolve the data timelines and analyse the optical quality of the instrument as measured on planets. We then analyse the structure and polarization of the instrumental background. We measure the detector response flat field and its time variations using the signal from the residual atmosphere and of our internal calibration source. Finally, we analyze the detector noise spectral and temporal properties. The in-flight performances are found to be satisfactory and globally in line with expectations from ground calibrations. We conclude by assessing the expected in-flight sensitivity of the instrument in light of the above in-flight performances.

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arXiv2018

The Infra-Red Telescope on board the THESEUS mission

The Infra-Red Telescope (IRT) on board the Transient High Energy Sky and Early Universe Surveyor (THESEUS) ESA M5 candidate mission will play a key role in identifying and characterizing moderate to high redshift Gamma-Ray Bursts afterglows. The IRT is the enabling instrument on board THESEUS for measuring autonomously the redshift of the several hundreds of GRBs detected per year by the Soft X-ray Imager (SXI) and the X- and Gamma-Ray Imaging Spectrometer (XGIS), and thus allowing the big ground based telescopes to be triggered on a redshift pre-selected sample, and finally fulfilling the cosmological goals of the mission. The IRT will be composed by a primary mirror of 0.7 m of diameter coupled to a single camera in a Cassegrain design. It will work in the 0.7-1.8 μm wavelength range, and will provide a 10x10 arc min imaging field of view with sub-arc second localization capabilities, and, at the same time, a 5x5 arc min field of view with moderate (R up to ~500) spectroscopic capabilities. Its sensitivity, mainly limited by the satellite jitter, is adapted to detect all the GRBs, localized by the SXI/XGIS, and to acquire spectra for the majority of them.

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arXiv2012

Resolving the Vela C ridge with P-ArTeMiS and Herschel

We present APEX/P-ArTéMiS 450μm continuum observations of RCW 36 and the adjacent ridge, a high-mass high-column density filamentary structure at the centre of the Vela C molecular cloud. These observations, at higher resolution than Herschel's SPIRE camera, reveal clear fragmentation of the central star-forming ridge. Combined with PACS far-infrared and SPIRE sub-millimetre observations from the Herschel HOBYS project we build a high resolution column density map of the region mapped with P-ArTéMiS. We extract the radial density profile of the Vela C ridge which with a ~ 0.1pc central width is consistent with that measured for low-mass star-forming filaments in the Herschel Gould Belt survey. Direct comparison with Serpens South, of the Gould Belt Aquila complex, reveals many similarities between the two regions. Despite likely different formation mechanisms and histories, the Vela C ridge and Serpens South filament share common characteristics, including their filament central widths.

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arXiv2011

Euclid Definition Study Report

Euclid is a space-based survey mission from the European Space Agency designed to understand the origin of the Universe's accelerating expansion. It will use cosmological probes to investigate the nature of dark energy, dark matter and gravity by tracking their observational signatures on the geometry of the universe and on the cosmic history of structure formation. The mission is optimised for two independent primary cosmological probes: Weak gravitational Lensing (WL) and Baryonic Acoustic Oscillations (BAO). The Euclid payload consists of a 1.2 m Korsch telescope designed to provide a large field of view. It carries two instruments with a common field-of-view of ~0.54 deg2: the visual imager (VIS) and the near infrared instrument (NISP) which contains a slitless spectrometer and a three bands photometer. The Euclid wide survey will cover 15,000 deg2 of the extragalactic sky and is complemented by two 20 deg2 deep fields. For WL, Euclid measures the shapes of 30-40 resolved galaxies per arcmin2 in one broad visible R+I+Z band (550-920 nm). The photometric redshifts for these galaxies reach a precision of dz/(1+z) < 0.05. They are derived from three additional Euclid NIR bands (Y, J, H in the range 0.92-2.0 micron), complemented by ground based photometry in visible bands derived from public data or through engaged collaborations. The BAO are determined from a spectroscopic survey with a redshift accuracy dz/(1+z) =0.001. The slitless spectrometer, with spectral resolution ~250, predominantly detects Ha emission line galaxies. Euclid is a Medium Class mission of the ESA Cosmic Vision 2015-2025 programme, with a foreseen launch date in 2019. This report (also known as the Euclid Red Book) describes the outcome of the Phase A study.

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arXiv2010

CEA Bolometer Arrays: the First Year in Space

The CEA/LETI and CEA/SAp started the development of far-infrared filled bolometer arrays for space applications over a decade ago. The unique design of these detectors makes possible the assembling of large focal planes comprising thousands of bolometers running at 300 mK with very low power dissipation. Ten arrays of 16x16 pixels were thoroughly tested on the ground, and integrated in the Herschel/PACS instrument before launch in May 2009. These detectors have been successfully commissioned and are now operating in their nominal environment at the second Lagrangian point of the Earth-Sun system. In this paper we briefly explain the functioning of CEA bolometer arrays, and we present the properties of the detectors focusing on their noise characteristics, the effect of cosmic rays on the signal, the repeatability of the measurements, and the stability of the system.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2010

Irradiation tests performed on the Herschel/Pacs bolometer arrays

A new concept of bolometer arrays is used for the imager of PACS, one of the three instruments aboard the future Herschel space observatory. Within the framework of PACS photometer characterization, irradiation tests were performed on a dedicated bolometer array in order to study long-term and short-term radiation effects. The main objective was to study particles impacts on the detectors applicable to future observations in orbit and possible hard and/or soft curing to restore its performances. Cobalt-60 gamma ray irradiations did not show significant degradation, so we mainly focused on single events effects (SEE). Protons and alphas irradiations were then performed at the Van de Graaf tandem accelerator at the Institut de Physique Nucleaire (IPN, Orsay, France), respectively at 20MeV and 30MeV. Observation showed that the shape of signal perturbations clearly depends on the location of the impacts either on the detector itself or the read-out circuit. Software curing has then to be anticipated in order to deglitch the signal. This test gives also a unique opportunity to measure some parameters of the detector: electrical crosstalk and thermo- electrical time constant. However a detailed bolometer model is necessary to understand the contribution of the thermal response in relation with the electrical response. It will be the second step of our study. Finally the complete radiation evaluation proved that this detector can be used in spatial experiments.

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arXiv2010

The Photodetector Array Camera and Spectrometer (PACS) on the Herschel Space Observatory

The Photodetector Array Camera and Spectrometer (PACS) is one of the three science instruments on ESA's far infrared and submillimetre observatory. It employs two Ge:Ga photoconductor arrays (stressed and unstressed) with 16x25 pixels, each, and two filled silicon bolometer arrays with 16x32 and 32x64 pixels, respectively, to perform integral-field spectroscopy and imaging photometry in the 60-210μ m wavelength regime. In photometry mode, it simultaneously images two bands, 60-85μ m or 85-125μ\m and 125-210μ m, over a field of view of ~1.75'x3.5', with close to Nyquist beam sampling in each band. In spectroscopy mode, it images a field of 47"x47", resolved into 5x5 pixels, with an instantaneous spectral coverage of ~1500km/s and a spectral resolution of ~175km/s. We summarise the design of the instrument, describe observing modes, calibration, and data analysis methods, and present our current assessment of the in-orbit performance of the instrument based on the Performance Verification tests. PACS is fully operational, and the achieved performance is close to or better than the pre-launch predictions.

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arXiv2009

Evidence of triggered star formation in G327.3-0.6. Dust-continuum mapping of an infrared dark cloud with P-ArTéMiS

Aims. Expanding HII regions and propagating shocks are common in the environment of young high-mass star-forming complexes. They can compress a pre-existing molecular cloud and trigger the formation of dense cores. We investigate whether these phenomena can explain the formation of high-mass protostars within an infrared dark cloud located at the position of G327.3-0.6 in the Galactic plane, in between two large infrared bubbles and two HII regions. Methods: The region of G327.3-0.6 was imaged at 450 ? m with the CEA P-ArTéMiS bolometer array on the Atacama Pathfinder EXperiment telescope in Chile. APEX/LABOCA and APEX-2A, and Spitzer/IRAC and MIPS archives data were used in this study. Results: Ten massive cores were detected in the P-ArTéMiS image, embedded within the infrared dark cloud seen in absorption at both 8 and 24 ?m. Their luminosities and masses indicate that they form high-mass stars. The kinematical study of the region suggests that the infrared bubbles expand toward the infrared dark cloud. Conclusions: Under the influence of expanding bubbles, star formation occurs in the infrared dark areas at the border of HII regions and infrared bubbles.

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arXiv2008

First 450-micron dust continuum mapping of the massive star-forming region NGC 3576 with the P-ArTeMiS bolometer camera

Context: The earliest phases of massive star formation are currently much debated. Aims. In an effort to make progress, we took a census of Class0-like protostellar dense cores in the NGC 3576 region, one of the nearest and most luminous embedded sites of high-mass star formation in the Galaxy. Methods: We used the P-ArTeMiS bolometer camera on the APEX telescope to produce the first 450-micron dust continuum map of the filamentary dense clump associated with NGC 3576. Results: Combining our 450-micron observations with existing data at other wavelengths, we have identified seven massive protostellar sources along the NGC 3576 filament and placed them in the M_env - L_bol evolutionary diagram for protostars. Conclusions: Comparison with theoretical evolutionary tracks suggests that these seven protostellar sources will evolve into massive stars with masses M* ~ 15-50 Msun. Four sources are classified as candidate high-mass Class 0 objects, two sources as massive Class I objects, and one source appears to be at an intermediate stage.

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arXiv2006

DUNE: The Dark Universe Explorer

Understanding the nature of Dark Matter and Dark Energy is one of the most pressing issues in cosmology and fundamental physics. The purpose of the DUNE (Dark UNiverse Explorer) mission is to study these two cosmological components with high precision, using a space-based weak lensing survey as its primary science driver. Weak lensing provides a measure of the distribution of dark matter in the universe and of the impact of dark energy on the growth of structures. DUNE will also include a complementary supernovae survey to measure the expansion history of the universe, thus giving independent additional constraints on dark energy. The baseline concept consists of a 1.2m telescope with a 0.5 square degree optical CCD camera. It is designed to be fast with reduced risks and costs, and to take advantage of the synergy between ground-based and space observations. Stringent requirements for weak lensing systematics were shown to be achievable with the baseline concept. This will allow DUNE to place strong constraints on cosmological parameters, including the equation of state parameter of the dark energy and its evolution from redshift 0 to 1. DUNE is the subject of an ongoing study led by the French Space Agency (CNES), and is being proposed for ESA's Cosmic Vision programme.

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arXiv2006

Recent Achievements on the development of the Herschel/PACS Bolometer arrays

A new type of bolometer arrays sensitive in the Far Infrared and Submillimeter range has been developped and manufactured by CEA/LETI/SLIR and will be integrated in the PACS instrument onboard the Herschel Space Observatory (launch date 2008). The main innovations are their collective manufacturing technique (production of 3-side buttable 16x16 arrays) and their high mapping efficiency (large format detector and instantaneous Nyquist sampling). Their measured NEP is 2x10^-16 W/Hz^-0.5 and their thermometric passband about 4-5 Hz. In this paper we describe CEA bolometers and present the results obtained during the last test campaign.

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arXiv1999

The ISOCAM/LW Detector Dark Current Behaviour

We describe the calibration, measurements and data reduction, of the dark current of the ISOCAM/LW detector. We point-out the existence of two significant drifts of the LW dark-current, one throughout the ISO mission, on a timescale of days, another within each single revolution, on a timescale of hours. We also show the existence of a dependence of the dark current on the temperature of the ISOCAM detector. By characterizing all these effects through polynomial fittings, we build a model for the LW calibration dark, that depends on the epoch of observation (parametrized with the revolution number and the time elapsed in that given revolution since the activation) and on the temperature of the ISOCAM detector. The model parameters are tuned for each of ISOCAM/LW pixel. We show that the modelling is very effective in taking into account the dark-current variations and allows a much cleaner dark subtraction than using a brute average of several calibration dark images. The residuals of the LW model-dark subtraction are, on average, similar to the pre-launch expectation.

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arXiv1998

Mid--IR emission of galaxies in the Virgo cluster: II. Integrated properties

We analyse the integrated properties of the Mid-IR emission of a complete, optically selected sample of galaxies in the Virgo cluster observed with the ISOCAM instrument on board the ISO satellite. The analysis shows that the Mid-IR emission up to 15 mic of optically-selected, normal early-type galaxies (E, S0 and S0a) is dominated by the Rayleigh-Jeans tail of the cold stellar component. The Mid-IR emission of late-type galaxies is instead dominated by the thermal emission from dust. The small dust grains emitting in the Mid-IR have an excess of emission if compared to big grains emitting in the Far-IR. While the Far-IR emission increases with the intensity of the interstellar radiation field, their Mid-IR emission is non--linearly related to the UV radiation field. The spectral energy distributions of the target galaxies indicate that there is a linear relationship between the UV radiation field and the Mid-IR emission of galaxies for low or intermediate activities of star formation, while the emission from the hot dust seems to drop for strong UV fields. The Mid-IR colour of late-type galaxies is not related to their activity of star formation. The properties of the dust emission in the Mid-IR seem more related to the mass than to the morphological type of the target galaxy. Since the activity of star formation is anticorrelated to the mass of galaxies, this reflects a relationship between the emission of dust in the Mid-IR and the UV radiation field: galaxies with the lowest Mid-IR emission for a given UV field are low mass, dwarf galaxies. These observational evidences are easily explained if the carriers of the Unidentified Infrared Bands that dominate the 6.75 mic emission are destroyed by the intense UV radiation field of dwarf galaxies, although abundance effects can also play a role.

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