ISOGAL: A deep survey of the obscured inner Milky Way with ISO at 7 mu m and 15 mu m and with DENIS in the near-infrared
Omont, A; Gilmore, G. F; Alard, C; Aracil, B; August, T; Baliyan, K; Beaulieu, S; Begon, S; Bertou, X; Blommaert, J. A. D. L; Borsenberger, J; Burgdorf, M; Caillaud, B; Cesarsky, C; Chitre, A; Copet, E; de Batz, B; Egan, M. P; Egret, D; Epchtein, N; Felli, M; Fouque, P; Ganesh, S; Genzel, R; Glass, I. S; Gredel, R; Groenewegen, M. A. T; Guglielmo, F; Habing, H. J; Hennebelle, P; Jiang, B; Joshi, U. C; Kimeswenger, S; Messineo, M; Miville-Deschenes, M. A; Moneti, A; Morris, M; Ojha, D. K; Ortiz, R; Ott, S; Parthasarathy, M; Perault, M; Price, S. D; Robin, A. C; Schultheis, M; Schuller, F; Simon, G; Soive, A; Testi, L; Teyssier, D; Tiphene, D; Unavane, M; van Loon, J. T; Wyse, R
Date:
2003-06
Abstract:
The ISOGAL project is an infrared survey of specific regions sampling the Galactic Plane selected to provide information on Galactic structure, stellar populations, stellar mass-loss and the recent star formation history of the inner disk and Bulge of the Galaxy. ISOGAL combines 7 and 15 μm ISOCAM observations -- with a resolution of 6 arcsec at worst -- with DENIS IJKs data to determine the nature of the sources and the interstellar extinction. We have observed about 16 square degrees with a sensitivity approaching 10-20 mJy, detecting ˜105 sources, mostly AGB stars, red giants and young stars. The main features of the ISOGAL survey and the observations are summarized in this paper, together with a brief discussion of data processing and quality. The primary ISOGAL products are described briefly (a full desciption is given in Schuller et al. 2003): viz. the images and the ISOGAL-DENIS five-wavelength point source catalogue. The main scientific results already derived or in progress are summarized. These include astrometrically calibrated 7 and 15 μm images, determining structures of resolved sources; identification and properties of interstellar dark clouds; quantification of the infrared extinction law and source dereddening; analysis of red giant and (especially) AGB stellar populations in the central Bulge, determining luminosity, presence of circumstellar dust and mass-loss rate, and source classification, supplemented in some cases by ISO/CVF spectroscopy; detection of young stellar objects of diverse types, especially in the inner Bulge with information about the present and recent star formation rate; identification of foreground sources with mid-IR excess. These results are the subject of about 25 refereed papers published or in preparation.
Show full item record