A central challenge in astrophysics today is to understand the complex processes of galaxy formation: the development of galactic structure, the conversion of gas into stars, and the growth of supermassive black holes. The far-infrared / submillimetre waveband is of particular importance for studying these processes because roughly half of the cosmic energy density produced by galaxies arises from optical/UV starlight that has been absorbed by dust and reradiated at these wavelengths. Existing surveys are already presenting a serious challenge for theorists, revealing many more luminous, massive galaxies at high redshifts than are predicted by simple prescriptions within the hierarchical merging paradigm. Submillimetre surveys however have been extremely limited but have already provided tantalizing clues to a strongly evolving population of infrared-luminous galaxies.
We propose HerMES, the Herschel Multi-tiered Extragalactic Survey, to chart the formation and evolution of infrared galaxies throughout cosmic history. HerMES consists of a nested set of fields that will bring unprecedented depth and breadth to the study of infrared galaxies. We will use HerMES to measure the bolometric emission of infrared galaxies, study the evolution of the luminosity function, measure their clustering properties, and probe populations of galaxies below the confusion limit through lensing and statistical techniques. HerMES is closely coordinated with the PACS Evolutionary Probe survey. We will make maximum use of ancillary surveys from radio to X-ray wavelengths to facilitate redshift determination, rapidly identify unusual objects, and understand the relationships between thermal dust emission and other emission mechanisms. HerMES will provide a rich data set legacy for the greater astronomical community to mine for years to come.
Publication
SCUBA-2 Ultra Deep Imaging EAO Survey (STUDIES): Faint-end Counts at 450 μm . Wang Wei-Hao et al. . The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 850, Issue 1, article id. 37, 17 pp. (2017). . 850 . 10.3847\/1538-4357\/aa911b . 2017ApJ...850...37W , XXL-HSC: Link between AGN activity and star formation in the early Universe (z ⩾ 3.5) . Pouliasis E. et al. . Astronomy and Astrophysics . null . null . 2022A&A...667A..56P , Faint Submillimeter Galaxy Counts at 450 μm . Chen Chian-Chou et al. . The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 762, Issue 2, article id. 81, 19 pp. (2013). . 762 . 10.1088\/0004-637X\/762\/2\/81 . 2013ApJ...762...81C , VLA imaging of 12CO J = 1-0 and free-free emission in lensed submillimetre galaxies . Thomson A. P. et al. . Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Volume 425, Issue 3, pp. 2203-2211. . 425 . 10.1111\/j.1365-2966.2012.21584.x . 2012MNRAS.425.2203T , Measurement of CIB power spectra over large sky areas from Planck HFI maps . Mak Daisy Suet Ying et al. . Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Volume 466, Issue 1, p.286-319 . 466 . 10.1093\/mnras\/stw3112 . 2017MNRAS.466..286M , Ultraviolet photo-ionisation in far-infrared selected sources . Curran S. J. et al. . Astronomy and Astrophysics . null . null . 2019A&A...627A..93C , Probing the Star Formation History and Initial Mass Function of the z virgul 2.5 Lensed Galaxy SMM J163554.2+661225 with Herschel . Finkelstein Keely D. et al. . The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 742, Issue 2, article id. 108, 9 pp. (2011). . 742 . 10.1088\/0004-637X\/742\/2\/108 . ...u/abs/2011ApJ...742..108F > 2011ApJ...742..108F , Modeling the evolution of infrared galaxies: a parametric backward evolution model . Béthermin M. et al. . Astronomy & Astrophysics, Volume 529, id.A4, 20 pp. . 529 . 10.1051\/0004-6361\/201015841 . 2011A&A...529A...4B , S2COSMOS: Evolution of gas mass with redshift using dust emission . Millard Jenifer S. et al. . Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society . null . null . 2020MNRAS.494..293M , HerMES: SPIRE galaxy number counts at 250, 350, and 500 μm . Oliver S. J. et al. . Astronomy and Astrophysics, Volume 518, id.L21, 5 pp. . 518 . 10.1051\/0004-6361\/201014697 . 2010A&A...518L..21O , A unified multiwavelength model of galaxy formation . Lacey Cedric G. et al. . Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Volume 462, Issue 4, p.3854-3911 . 462 . 10.1093\/mnras\/stw1888 . 2016MNRAS.462.3854L , HerMES: SPIRE Science Demonstration Phase maps†‡ . Levenson L. et al. . Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Volume 409, Issue 1, pp. 83-91. . 409 . 10.1111\/j.1365-2966.2010.17771.x . 2010MNRAS.409...83L , Extreme submillimetre starburst galaxies . Rowan-Robinson M. et al. . Astronomy & Astrophysics, Volume 619, id.A169, 19 pp. . 619 . 10.1051\/0004-6361\/201832671 . 2018A&A...619A.169R , Herschel Extreme Lensing Line Observations: [CII] Variations in Galaxies at Redshifts z=1-3 . Malhotra Sangeeta et al. . The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 835, Issue 1, article id. 110, 9 pp. (2017). . 835 . 10.3847\/1538-4357\/835\/1\/110 . 2017ApJ...835..110M , Photometric Redshifts of Submillimeter Galaxies . Chakrabarti Sukanya et al. . The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 773, Issue 2, article id. 113, 10 pp. (2013). . 773 . 10.1088\/0004-637X\/773\/2\/113 . 2013ApJ...773..113C , Planck intermediate results. VII. Statistical properties of infrared and radio extragalactic sources from the Planck Early Release Compact Source Catalogue at frequencies between 100 and 857 GHz . Planck Collaboration Ade et al. . Astronomy & Astrophysics, Volume 550, id.A133, 19 pp. . 550 . 10.1051\/0004-6361\/201220053 . 2013A&A...550A.133P , Spectral Energy Distributions in Three Deep-drilling Fields of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time: Source Classification and Galaxy Properties . Zou Fan et al. . The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series . null . null . 2022ApJS..262...15Z , Cosmic happenstance: 24-μm selected, multicomponent Herschel sources are line-of-sight projections . Scudder Jillian M. et al. . Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Volume 480, Issue 3, p.4124-4137 . 480 . 10.1093\/mnras\/sty2009 . 2018MNRAS.480.4124S , Dust temperature and mid-to-total infrared color distributions for star-forming galaxies at 0 < z < 4 . Schreiber C. et al. . Astronomy & Astrophysics, Volume 609, id.A30, 25 pp. . 609 . 10.1051\/0004-6361\/201731506 . 2018A&A...609A..30S , A Unified Empirical Model for Infrared Galaxy Counts Based on the Observed Physical Evolution of Distant Galaxies . Béthermin Matthieu et al. . The Astrophysical Journal Letters, Volume 757, Issue 2, article id. L23, 7 pp. (2012). . 757 . 10.1088\/2041-8205\/757\/2\/L23 . 2012ApJ...757L..23B , HerMES: point source catalogues from deep Herschel-SPIRE observations . Smith A. J. et al. . Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Volume 419, Issue 1, pp. 377-389. . 419 . 10.1111\/j.1365-2966.2011.19709.x . 2012MNRAS.419..377S , Modelling galaxy and AGN evolution in the infrared: black hole accretion versus star formation activity . Gruppioni C. et al. . Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Volume 416, Issue 1, pp. 70-86. . 416 . 10.1111\/j.1365-2966.2011.19006.x . 2011MNRAS.416...70G , Mid-IR cosmological spectrophotometric surveys from space: Measuring AGN and star formation at the cosmic noon with a SPICA-like mission . Spinoglio Luigi et al. . Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia . null . null . 2021PASA...38...21S , The impact of clustering and angular resolution on far-infrared and millimeter continuum observations . Béthermin Matthieu et al. . Astronomy & Astrophysics, Volume 607, id.A89, 22 pp. . 607 . 10.1051\/0004-6361\/201730866 . 2017A&A...607A..89B , The spectral energy distribution of galaxies at z > 2.5: Implications from the Herschel/SPIRE color-color diagram . Yuan Fangting et al. . Astronomy & Astrophysics, Volume 582, id.A90, 16 pp. . 582 . 10.1051\/0004-6361\/201425497 . 2015A&A...582A..90Y , A Herschel view of the far-infrared properties of submillimetre galaxies . Magnelli B. et al. . Astronomy & Astrophysics, Volume 539, id.A155, 35 pp. . 539 . 10.1051\/0004-6361\/201118312 . 2012A&A...539A.155M , HerMES: point source catalogues from Herschel-SPIRE observations II . Wang L. et al. . Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Volume 444, Issue 3, p.2870-2883 . 444 . 10.1093\/mnras\/stu1569 . 2014MNRAS.444.2870W ,
Herschel was launched on 14 May 2009! It is the fourth 'cornerstone' mission in the ESA science programme. With a 3.5 m Cassegrain telescope it is the largest space telescope ever launched. It is performing photometry and spectroscopy in approximately the 55-671 µm range, bridging the gap between earlier infrared space missions and groundbased facilities.
European Space Agency, 2010, The Herschel Multi-Tiered Extragalactic Survey Openparhermesclosepar: Measuring The Infrared Galaxy Formation History Of The Universe, SPG v14.2.0, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-fns2tdb
