NIKA2 Homepage

NIKA2, the second generation New-IRAM-KID-Array, is a dual band camera operating simultaneously at 150 and 260 GHz. The instrument is based on large arrays of superconducting Kinetic Inductance Detectors (KID) operated at temperatures of 100mK. NIKA2 is built by an international consortium, led by the Institute Neel (Grenoble France). Successful installation took place in early October 2015. NIKA2 is designed as a facility instrument which will remain at its present position for at least a decade. The instrument will allow to also measure linear polarizations at 1.15 mm.

Contents

  1. NIKA2 Homepage
    1. Overview
    2. Call for proposals and time estimator
    3. Open Time Programs
    4. Guaranteed Time Programs
      1. Abstracts
      2. Source list
    5. Publications
    6. Technical Documentation
    7. Technical runs to commission NIKA2
    8. Support teams

NIKA2 in the web:

Overview

Some prelimiary characteristics of NIKA-2:

Band

Number of KIDs

Wavelength

Bandwidth

NEFD

HPBW

FoV

NIKA2 2 mm/150 GHz

616

2.00 mm

125-170 GHz

15 mJy*s1/2

18"

6.5'

NIKA2 1 mm/260 GHz

2x1140

1.15 mm

240-280 GHz

30 mJy*s1/2

12"

6.5'

Comments: A new 2mm array with 616 pixels was installed mid September 2016. The previously installed array had 1020 pixels. Further changes in September 2016 were a new dichroic frequency splitter, new lenses and a new cryostat window. In addition, several of the 20 readout electronics boards have been replaced with the last version. NIKA2 now has a homogeneous set of boards, plus several spare boards. Commissioning will start on October, 4th and will continue until the 28th February 2016, into the winter semester. The time when NIKA2 shall be opened to the community will be decided after commissioning results.

Call for proposals and time estimator

In the upcoming summer semester running from 1 June to 30 November 2017, a limited amount of time will be available for NIKA2 science projects. See the call for proposals. On the following page, we give information on how to estimate total observing times:

Open Time Programs

List of open time projects accepted to be observed with NIKA2 at the 30m telescope.

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Guaranteed Time Programs

Four Large Programs for NIKA2 in guaranteed time were submitted to the Program Committee for the deadline in September 2016. All four have been rated high by the PC and will be observed. Here, we provide the proposal abstracts together with the list of sources and map sizes. These shall be "fenced" against new continuum 2mm/1mm mapping projects at the 30m or NOEMA. <18-January 2017>

Abstracts

Galactic Star Formation with NIKA2 - GASTON (122-16)

Abstract: The IMF is a fundamental global output of the star formation process, and the question of its origin and universality has been a long-standing open issue. While the base of the IMF (0.1 to 1 Msun) may result from Jeans-like fragmentation of interstellar filaments, the problem of how the most extreme stellar objects (brown dwarfs, intermediate- and high-mass stars) build up their masses remains unsettled. The high-sensitivity and fast mapping capability of the NIKA2 camera offer the unique opportunity to detect large populations of low-brightness sources, and probe star-forming regions as never before. We propose to use this new instrument to: i. perform a complete survey of pre-brown-dwarf cores in two nearby star-forming regions, ii. map the intertwined populations of interstellar filaments and intermediate to high-mass cores within rich galactic plane star-forming regions; iii. use the dual band capability of NIKA2 at 1.2mm and 2mm to constrain the dust properties in a broad range of environments and reduce mass uncertainties by a factor of 3. Altogether, these observations will provide new insight on the earliest stages of star formation across both ends of the stellar IMF.

PI is Nicolas Peretto.

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Interpreting the Millimetre Emission of Galaxies with IRAM and NIKA (IMEGIN) (160-16)

Abstract: The mm part of the spectrum is one of the least explored parts of a galaxy’s spectral energy distribution (SED), yet it contains emission from three fundamentally important physical processes. These processes are thermal emission from dust, free-free emission from ionized gas and synchrotron emission from charged particles moving in the galactic magnetic field. We are proposing to use the NIKA2 camera to observe a sample of 22 nearby galaxies that also have considerable ancillary data across the SED from the radio to the ultra-violet. We will investigate the dust emissivity, the relationship between the three physical processes and their relation to star formation and the gas-to-dust ratio. As the sample galaxies are of large angular size we will be able to carry out this project in a spatially resolved way and hence investigate the different environments found within galaxies.

PI is Jonathan Davies

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The NIKA2 Cosmological Legacy Survey (N2CLS) (192-16)

Abstract: Using 300h of the NIKA2 Guaranteed Time, we will map the star formation at high redshift in two of the most popular fields. N2CLS will reach for the first time the confusion noise at the 30m, in 160 square arcminutes in GOODS-N. In COSMOS, N2CLS sensitivity will at least match or outperform the sensitivity of the S2CLS survey at 850 microns on 0.5 square degree. N2CLS will detect hundreds of dust-obscured optically-faint galaxies during their major episodes of formation in the early universe. It will fully open a new window on the faint and high-redshift dusty Universe and answer the outstanding issue of whether dusty star-formation contributes to early galaxy evolution. It will uniquely probe the transition at z~3-4 of the cosmic star-formation history between the predominantly unobscured growth in the early Universe and the obscured star formation, driven by the build-up of the most massive galaxies during the peak of cosmic assembly. The availability of this uniquely large sample of mm-selected galaxies with superb supporting multi-wavelength data will provide the opportunity to address the history of star formation, dust production and the growth of large-scale structures.

PIs: Guilaine Lagache, Alexandre Beelen, Nicolas Ponthieu

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High-resolution tSZ observations of a large sample of clusters of galaxies (NIKA2SZ) (199-16)

Abstract: The development of precision cosmology with clusters of galaxies requires high angular resolution observations to extend the understanding of galaxy clusters towards high redshift. The NIKA2 camera at the IRAM 30 m telescope is the only instrument currently in operation that is suited for this kind of observations, given its resolution, sensitivity and dual-band observation capability. We intend to observe a large sample of clusters of galaxies at high redshift (0.5 < z < 0.9), selected from the Planck and ACT catalogs. We have formed a representative cluster sample for redshift evolution and cosmological studies, with a homogeneous coverage in cluster mass as reconstructed from the integrated Compton parameter. We will use the SZ-dedicated pipeline that we have developed for the SZ observation with the NIKA camera. Our primary objective is to produce unprecedented high-quality deliverables (tSZ maps and pressure profiles) for all clusters of the sample. NIKA2 data will be complemented with ancillary data including X-ray, optical and radio observations. The full dataset will lead to significant improvements on the use of clusters of galaxies to draw cosmological constraints.

PIs: Frédéric Mayet, Barbara Comis

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Source list

Publications

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Technical Documentation

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Technical runs to commission NIKA2

Support teams

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Created : 2015.AUG.05, by Isreal Hermelo

Last update : 2017.FEB.06, by Pablo García (PG)

This page is maintained by PG, CK, SL and the NIKA team.