AKARI Near- to Mid-Infrared Imaging and Spectroscopic Observations of the Small Magellanic Cloud. I. Bright Point Source List

TL;DR

This paper presents AKARI infrared observations of the Small Magellanic Cloud, cataloging approximately 12,000 near-infrared and 1,800 mid-infrared bright point sources with detailed photometric data across multiple wavelengths.

Contribution

It provides the first comprehensive near- to mid-infrared point source catalog for selected regions in the SMC based on AKARI data, including spectroscopic observations.

Findings

Detected ~12,000 near-infrared sources

Identified ~1,800 mid-infrared sources

Provided photometric limits at multiple wavelengths

Abstract

We carried out a near- to mid-infrared imaging and spectroscopic observations of the patchy areas in the Small Magellanic Cloud using the Infrared Camera on board AKARI. Two 100 arcmin2 areas were imaged in 3.2, 4.1, 7, 11, 15, and 24 um and also spectroscopically observed in the wavelength range continuously from 2.5 to 13.4 um. The spectral resolving power (lambda/Delta lambda) is about 20, 50, and 50 at 3.5, 6.6 and 10.6 um, respectively. Other than the two 100 arcmin2 areas, some patchy areas were imaged and/or spectroscopically observed as well. In this paper, we overview the observations and present a list of near- to mid-infrared photometric results, which lists ~ 12,000 near-infrared and ~ 1,800 mid-infrared bright point sources detected in the observed areas. The 10 sigma limits are 16.50, 16.12, 13.28, 11.26, 9.62, and 8.76 in Vega magnitudes at 3.2, 4.1, 7, 11, 15, and 24 um bands, respectively.