7 October 2010

Speaker: Asantha Cooray (UC Irvine)

Title:The dusty Universe unveiled by Herschel-SPIRE

Abstract:This talk will summarize some of the first science results from HerMES and H-ATLAS extragalactic surveys at 250, 350 and 500 microns with the SPIRE instrument on the Herschel Space Observatory. HerMES is the multi-tiered SPIRE instrument GTO survey covering about 70 square degrees on a variety of extragalactic fields with existing ancillary data. H-ATLAS is currently the largest open-time program in Herschel with 600 hours of observations to map 550 square degrees. I will discuss a newly discovered population of lensed sub-mm galaxies, the halo properties of bright and faint sub-mm galaxies as revealed by clustering and fluctuation studies, evolution of dust and molecular properties, the role of sub-mm sources in galaxy formation and evolution models, sub-mm source follow-up effort, and the future of sub-mm astronomy. I will also summarize the scientific goals of the Herschel-SPIRE Legacy Survey, a program proposed to ESA to cover 4000 sq. degrees with SPIRE in a fast-scan mode with the ultimate goal of recovering a catalog of 2.5 to 3 million bright sub-mm sources for future studies with ALMA, CCAT, and SPICA.

Video of the Presentation (Talks can be viewed with RealPlayer. Free download is available from www.real.com )