Authors

M. Meixner, Space Telescope Science Institute
P. Panuzzo, Astrophysique, Instrumentation et Modélisation de Paris-Saclay
J. Roman-Duval, Space Telescope Science Institute
C. Engelbracht, The University of Arizona
B. Babler, University of Wisconsin-Madison
J. Seale, Space Telescope Science Institute
S. Hony, Astrophysique, Instrumentation et Modélisation de Paris-Saclay
E. Montiel, The University of Arizona
M. Sauvage, Astrophysique, Instrumentation et Modélisation de Paris-Saclay
K. Gordon, Space Telescope Science Institute
K. Misselt, The University of Arizona
K. Okumura, Astrophysique, Instrumentation et Modélisation de Paris-Saclay
P. Chanial, Astrophysique, Instrumentation et Modélisation de Paris-Saclay
T. Beck, Space Telescope Science Institute
J. P. Bernard, Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie (IRAP)
A. Bolatto, University of Maryland, College Park
C. Bot, Université de Strasbourg
M. L. Boyer, Space Telescope Science Institute
L. R. Carlson, Leiden Observatory Research Institute
G. C. Clayton, Louisiana State University
C. H.R. Chen, Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy
D. Cormier, Astrophysique, Instrumentation et Modélisation de Paris-Saclay
Y. Fukui, Nagoya University
M. Galametz, Institute of Astronomy
F. Galliano, Astrophysique, Instrumentation et Modélisation de Paris-Saclay
J. L. Hora, Harvard University
A. Hughes, Max Planck Institute for Astronomy
R. Indebetouw, University of Virginia
F. P. Israel, Leiden Observatory Research Institute
A. Kawamura, National Institutes of Natural Sciences - National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
F. Kemper, Academia Sinica, Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics
S. Kim, Sejong University
E. Kwon, Sejong University

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

9-1-2013

Abstract

We present an overview of the HERschel Inventory of The Agents of Galaxy Evolution (HERITAGE) in the Magellanic Clouds project, which is a Herschel Space Observatory open time key program. We mapped the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) and Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) at 100, 160, 250, 350, and 500 μm with the Spectral and Photometric Imaging Receiver (SPIRE) and Photodetector Array Camera and Spectrometer (PACS) instruments on board Herschel using the SPIRE/PACS parallel mode. The overriding science goal of HERITAGE is to study the life cycle of matter as traced by dust in the LMC and SMC. The far-infrared and submillimeter emission is an effective tracer of the interstellar medium (ISM) dust, the most deeply embedded young stellar objects (YSOs), and the dust ejected by the most massive stars. We describe in detail the data processing, particularly for the PACS data, which required some custom steps because of the large angular extent of a single observational unit and overall the large amount of data to be processed as an ensemble. We report total global fluxes for the LMC and SMC and demonstrate their agreement with measurements by prior missions. The HERITAGE maps of the LMC and SMC are dominated by the ISM dust emission and bear most resemblance to the tracers of ISM gas rather than the stellar content of the galaxies. We describe the point source extraction processing and the criteria used to establish a catalog for each waveband for the HERITAGE program. The 250 μm band is the most sensitive and the source catalogs for this band have ∼25,000 objects for the LMC and ∼5500 objects for the SMC. These data enable studies of ISM dust properties, submillimeter excess dust emission, dust-to-gas ratio, Class 0 YSO candidates, dusty massive evolved stars, supernova remnants (including SN1987A), H II regions, and dust evolution in the LMC and SMC. All images and catalogs are delivered to the Herschel Science Center as part of the community support aspects of the project. These HERITAGE images and catalogs provide an excellent basis for future research and follow up with other facilities. © 2013. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.

Publication Source (Journal or Book title)

Astronomical Journal

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