On the extraction of extended structure from Herschel-SPIRE scanning observations in the presence of 1/f noise

Abstract

We present results from a study of the impact of uncorrelated 1/f noise on the extraction of spatial structure, on a range of scales, from sky mapping observations made using the Herschel-SPIRE (the spectral and photometric imaging receiver) photometer in the scan-map mode. These studies were carried out using a detailed instrument simulator, and the output reduced using the map-making algorithm to be implemented in the SPIRE data pipeline. The influence of source size scale, telescope-scanning rate and 1/f noise knee frequency is investigated, and operational bounds to the expected losses are presented, using the case of zero 1/f (white) noise as a benchmark. Both cross-linked and non-cross-linked observing options are studied. The results presented here represent the best current estimate of the sensitivity of the SPIRE photometer to emission on arbitrary scales. The data presented are general and scalable to any SPIRE observation made using the scanning mode. © 2008 The Authors.