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Session 91 - COBE and the Search for the Cosmic Infrared Background.
Oral session, Friday, January 09
The Diffuse Infrared Background Experiment (DIRBE) on the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) spacecraft was designed to conduct a systematic search for an isotropic cosmic infrared background (CIB) in ten photometric bands from 1.25 to 240 \mum. Conservative limits on the CIB are given by the minimum observed sky brightness at each wavelength, with the faintest limits in the DIRBE spectral range being in the zodiacal-light minimum near 3.5 \mum (\nu I_\nu^dark= 60\pm 2 nW m^-2 sr^-1) and at 240 \mum (\nu I_\nu^dark=22\pm 3 nW m^-2 sr^-1). The bright foreground emissions from interplanetary dust, Galactic stars, and interstellar dust have been modeled and removed. The random and systematic uncertainties in the residuals have been carefully assessed, and the residuals have been tested for isotropy. Conclusions regarding limits upon and possible detections of the CIB will be presented.
Program listing for Friday