中川 貴雄

SPICA (Space Infrared Telescope for Cosmology and Astrophysics) is a Japan-led infrared astronomical satellite project with a 3.2-m lightweight cryogenic telescope. The SPICA telescope has stringent requirements such as that for the imaging performance to be diffraction-limited at the shortest core wavelength of 5 microns at the operating temperature of 6 K. The design of the telescope system has been studied by the Europe-Japan telescope working group led by ESA with the European industries, the results of which will be presented in other papers. We here present our recent optical testing activities in Japan for the SPICA telescope, focusing on the experimental and numerical studies of stitching interferometry. The full pupil of the SPICA telescope will be covered by a sub-pupil array consisting of small autocollimating flat mirrors (ACFs), which are rotated with respect to the optical axis of the telescope. For preliminary stitching experiments, we have fabricated an 800-mm lightweight telescope all made of the C/SiC called HBCesic, which is a candidate mirror material for the SPICA telescope, and started optical testing with 900-mm and 300-mm ACFs at an ambient temperature. ACFs can suffer significant surface deformation in testing a telescope at cryogenic temperatures, which is difficult to be measured directly. We therefore investigate the effects of the surface figure errors of the ACFs on stitching results by numerical simulation. © 2012 SPIE.

We have been developing an immersion grating for high-resolution spectroscopy in the mid-infrared (MIR) wavelength region. A MIR (12-18 mu m) high-resolution (R = 20,000-30,000) spectrograph with the immersion grating is proposed for SPICA, Japanese next-generation space telescope. The instrument will be the world's first high-resolution spectrograph in space, and it would make great impacts on infrared astronomy. To realize a high-efficiency immersion grating, optical properties and machinability of bulk materials are the critical issues. There are three candidate materials with good MIR transmittance; CdTe (n = 2.65), CdZnTe (n = 2.65), and KRS5 (n = 2.30). From measurements of transmittance with FTIR and of homogeneity with phase-shifting interferometry at 1.55 mu m, we confirmed that CdZnTe is the best material that satisfies all the optical requirements. As for machinability, by appling Canon's diamond cutting (planing) technique, fine grooves that meet our requirement were successfully cut on flats for all the materials. We also managed to fabricate a small CdZnTe immersion grating, which shows a high grating efficiency from the air. For the reflective metal coating, we tried Au (with thin underlying layer of Cr) and Al on CdZnTe flats both by sputter deposition and vapor deposition. All samples are found to be robust under 77 K and some of them achieve required reflectivity. Despite several remaining technical issues, the fabrication of CdZnTe immersion grating appears to be sound.

This paper proposes a method to support Personal Software Process (PSP) in a development organization by classify the operations on a computer into a purpose of the user. PSP requires the developers to record and analyze their activity during the development process. There are several methods and systems to support the PSP, they records the operations automatically and also records a purpose of the operations (task) which records manually by the developer. Such manual recording by the developers is a barrier to introduction of the PSP system, and the cause of inaccurate record histories. Our proposal method classifies the operations into the task automatically with the chronological operation history. The method hypothesize that the each task consists of successive operation. The method classify the each operation into the task with a machine learning algorithm, Random Forests. An Experiment result shows the proposal method with chronological operation history classify the operation into the tasks more accurately than the method without the chronological operation history. © 2012 IEEE.

To prevent errors during operate a system and improve the work efficiency, usability evaluation and improvement of user interface (UI) for software system have been studied. In this paper, we evaluate how a position of software keyboard which displayed in the touchscreen affects the usability of the keyboard. In current devices, software keyboard is displayed on bottom of the display. The position of software keyboard may affects usability because of relation between position of key and holding/operating hand. In an experiment, three positions on the touchscreen were tested; bottom of the display, under the input window, and top of the display. As a result, keyboards placed on the top of the display or under the input window had taken lower error rate and higher subjective evaluation than bottom of the display, the de facto standard position. © 2012 IEEE.

We conducted a number of multi-color/broadband coronagraph experiments using a vacuum chamber and a binary-shaped pupil mask, which in principle should work at all wavelengths, in the context of the research and development of a stellar coronagraph to observe extra-solar planets (exoplanets) directly. The aim of this work is to demonstrate that subtraction of the Point Spread Function (PSF) and multi-color/broadband experiments using a binary-shaped pupil mask coronagraph would help to improve the contrast in observations of exoplanets. A checkerboard mask, a kind of binary-shaped pupil mask, was used. We improved the temperature stability by installing the coronagraph optics in a vacuum chamber, while controlling the temperature of the optical bench, and covering the vacuum chamber with thermal insulation layers. Active wavefront control was not applied in this work. We evaluated how much the PSF subtraction contributed to the high-contrast observation by subtracting images obtained through the coronagraph. We also carried out multi-color/broadband experiments in order to demonstrate a more realistic observation using Super luminescent Light Emitting Diodes (SLEDs) with center wavelengths of 650 nm, 750 nm, 800 nm, and 850 nm. A contrast of 2.3 × 10 was obtained for the raw coronagraphic image and a contrast of 1.3 × 10 was achieved after PSF subtraction with a He-Ne laser at 632.8 nm wavelength. Thus, the contrast was improved by around two orders of magnitude from the raw contrast by subtracting the PSF. We achieved contrasts of 3.1 × 10 , 1.1 × 10 , 1.6 × 10 , and 2.5 × 10 at the bands of 650 nm, 750 nm, 800 nm, and 850 nm, respectively, in multi-color/broadband experiments. The results show that the contrast within each of the wavelength bands was significantly improved compared with the non-coronagraphic optics. We demonstrated that PSF subtraction is potentially beneficial for improving the contrast of a binary-shaped pupil mask coronagraph; this coronagraph produces a significant improvement in contrast with multi-color/broadband light sources. © 2011. Astronomical Society of Japan. -7 -9 -7 -6 -6 -6

We report new limits on the absolute brightness and spatial fluctuations of the cosmic infrared background (CIB) via the AKARI satellite. We carried out observations at 65, 90, 140, and 160 μm as a cosmological survey in AKARI Deep Field South, which is one of the lowest cirrus regions with a contiguous area of the sky. After removing bright galaxies and subtracting zodiacal and Galactic foregrounds from the measured sky brightness, we successfully measured the CIB brightness and its fluctuations across a wide range of angular scales, from arcminutes to degrees. The measured CIB brightness is consistent with previous results reported from COBE data, but significantly higher than the lower limits at 70 and 160 μm obtained via Spitzer from the stacking analysis of selected 24 μm sources. The discrepancy with the Spitzer result is possibly due to a new galaxy population at high redshift obscured by hot dust or unknown diffuse emission. From a power spectrum analysis at 90 μm, two components were identified: the CIB fluctuations with shot noise due to individual galaxies in a small angular scale from the beam size up to 10 arcminutes, and Galactic cirrus emission dominating at the largest angular scales of a few degrees. The overall shape of the power spectrum at 90 μm is very similar to that at longer wavelengths, as observed by Spitzer and the Balloon-borne Large-Aperture Submillimeter Telescope (BLAST). Our power spectrum, with an intermediate angular scale of 10-30 arcminutes, gives a firm upper limit for galaxy clustering, which was found by Spitzer and BLAST. Moreover, the color of the CIB fluctuations, which is obtained by combining our data with the previous results, is as red as ultra-luminous infrared galaxies at high redshift. These galaxies are not likely to provide the majority of the CIB emission at 90 μm, but are responsible for the fluctuations. Our results provide new constraints on the evolution and clustering properties of distant infrared galaxies and any diffuse emission from the early universe. © 2011. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.

We present the SPICA Coronagraphic Instrument (SCI), which has been designed for a concentrated study of extra-solar planets (exoplanets). SPICA mission provides us with a unique opportunity to make high contrast observations because of its large telescope aperture, the simple pupil shape, and the capability for making infrared observations from space. The primary objectives for the SCI are the direct coronagraphic detection and spectroscopy of Jovian exoplanets in infrared, while the monitoring of transiting planets is another important target. The specification and an overview of the design of the instrument are shown. In the SCI, coronagraphic and non-coronagraphic modes are aplicable for both an imaging and a spectroscopy. The core wavelength range and the goal contrast of the coronagraphic mode are 3.5-27 μm, and 10 , respectively. Two complemental designs of binary shaped pupil mask coronagraph are presented. The SCI has capability of simultaneous observations of one target using two channels, a short channel with an InSb detector and a long wavelength channel with a Si:As detector. We also give a report on the current progress in the development of key technologies for the SCI. © 2011 COSPAR. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 31. -6

By cross-correlating the AKARI all-sky survey in six infrared (IR) bands (9, 18, 65, 90, 140 and 160 μm) with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) galaxies, we identified 2357 IR galaxies with a spectroscopic redshift. This is not just one of the largest samples of local IR galaxies, but AKARI provides crucial far-IR (FIR) bands for accurately measuring the galaxy spectral energy distribution (SED) across the peak of the dust emission at > 100μ m. By fitting modern IR SED models to the AKARI photometry, we measured the total infrared luminosity (L ) of individual galaxies. Using this L , we constructed the luminosity functions (LF) of IR galaxies at a median redshift of z= 0.031. The LF agrees well with that at z= 0.0082 (the Revised Bright Galaxy Sample), showing smooth and continuous evolution towards higher redshift LFs measured in the AKARI North Ecliptic Pole (NEP) deep field. By integrating the IR LF weighted by L , we measured the local cosmic IR luminosity density of Ω = (3.8 ) × 10 L Mpc . We separate galaxies into active galactic nuclei (AGN), star-forming galaxies (SFG) and composite by using the [Nii]/Hα versus [Oiii]/Hβ line ratios. The fraction of AGN shows a continuous increase with increasing L from 25 to 90 per cent at 9 < logL < 12.5. The SFR and show good correlations with L for SFG and AGN, respectively. The self-absorption-corrected Hα/Hβ ratio shows a weak increase with L with a substantial scatter. When we separate IR LFs into contributions from AGN and SFG, the AGN contribution becomes dominant at L > 10 L , coinciding with the break of both the SFG and AGN IR LFs. At L ≤ 10 L , SFG dominates IR LFs. Only 1.1 ± 0.1 per cent of Ω is produced by luminous infrared galaxies (L > 10 L ), and only 0.03 ± 0.01 per cent by ultraluminous infrared galaxies (L > 10 L ) in the local Universe. Compared with high-redshift results from the AKARI NEP deep survey, we observed a strong evolution of Ω ∝ (1 +z) and Ω ∝ (1 +z) . Our results show that all of our measured quantities (IR LFs, L*, Ω , Ω ) show smooth and steady increase from lower redshift (the Revised Bright Galaxy Sample) to higher redshift (the AKARI NEP deep survey). © 2011 The Authors Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society © 2011 RAS. IR IR IR IR -1.2 ⊙ IR IR Hα IR IR IR ⊙ IR ⊙ IR IR ⊙ IR ⊙ IR IR IR IR +5.8 8 -3 11 11 11 12 SFG 4.1±0.4 AGN 4.1±0.5 AGN SFG

Aims. We present a new sample of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) identified using the catalog of the AKARI Mid-infrared (MIR) All-Sky Survey. Our MIR search has the advantage of detecting AGNs that are obscured at optical wavelengths by extinction. Methods. We first selected AKARI 9 μm excess sources with F(9 μm)/F(K ) > 2 where K magnitudes were taken from the Two Micron All Sky Survey. We then obtained follow-up near-infrared spectroscopy with the AKARI/IRC to confirm that the excess is caused by hot dust. We also obtained optical spectroscopy with the Kast Double Spectrograph on the Shane 3-m telescope at Lick Observatory. Results. On the basis of these observations, we detected hot dust with a characteristic temperature of ≳ 500 K in two luminous infrared galaxies. The hot dust is suspected to be associated with AGNs that exhibit their nonstellar activity not in the optical, but in the near- and mid-infrared bands, i.e., they harbor buried AGNs. The host galaxy stellar masses of ∼4-6 × 10 M are small compared with the hosts in optically-selected AGN populations. These objects were missed by previous surveys, demonstrating the power of the AKARI MIR All-Sky Survey to widen AGN searches to include more heavily obscured objects. The existence of multiple dusty star clusters with massive stars cannot be completely ruled out with our current data. © 2011 ESO. S S · 9

We present an overview of new technologies required for future infrared astronomy missions with special emphasis on requirements for far-infrared astronomy. Observations in the far-infrared wavelength are now one of essential tools for astronomy. Since the far-infrared wavelength corresponds to the peak of the spectral energy distribution of various galaxies, the far-infrared observations are important especially to trace the total energy of various type of sources. Future far-infrared missions would require new technologies, such as sensitive detectors for superior sensitivity and large mirrors (or interferometers) for higher resolutions. Cooling technology is also important to reduce the background radiation from telescopes and also to reduce dark current noise of sensitive detectors. We discuss these technical issues, taking the SPICA (Space Infrared Telescope for Cosmology and Astrophysics) mission, which is a JAXA-ESA mission with a 3.2m, cryogenically cooled telescope with the target launch year around 2020, as one of the examples of future missions. Copyright ©2010 by the International Astronautical Federation. All rights reserved.

Infrared (IR) luminosity is fundamental to understanding the cosmic star formation history and active galactic nuclei (AGN) evolution, since their most intense stages are often obscured by dust. However, local IR luminosity function estimates today are still based on the IRAS survey in the 1980s, with wavelength coverage only up to 100 μm. The AKARI IR space telescope performed an all-sky survey in six IR bands (9, 18, 65, 90, 140 and 160 μm) with 3-10 times better sensitivity, covering the crucial far-IR wavelengths across the peak of the dust emission. Combined with a better spatial resolution, AKARI can much more precisely measure the total infrared luminosity (L ) of individual galaxies, and thus, the total infrared luminosity density in the local Universe.By fitting modern IR spectral energy distribution (SED) models, we have remeasured L of the IRAS Revised Bright Galaxy Sample, which is a complete sample of local galaxies with S > 5.24 Jy.We present mid-IR monochromatic luminosity (νL ) to L correlations for Spitzer8 μm, AKARI9 μm, IRAS12 μm, WISE12 μm, ISO15 μm, AKARI18 μm, WISE22 μm and Spitzer24 μm filters. These measures of L are well correlated with L , with scatter in the range 13-44 per cent. The best-fitting L -to-L conversions provide us with estimates of L using only a single MIR band, in which several deep all-sky surveys are becoming available such as AKARI MIR and WISE.Although we have found some overestimates of L by IRAS due to contaminating cirrus/sources, the resulting AKARI IR luminosity function (LF) agrees well with that from IRAS. We integrate the LF weighted by L to obtain a cosmic IR luminosity density of ω = (8.5 ) × 10 L Mpc , of which 7 ± 1 per cent is produced by luminous infrared galaxies (LIRGs) (L > 10 L ), and only 0.4 ± 0.1 per cent is from ultraluminous infrared galaxies (ULIRGs) (L > 10 L ) in the local Universe, in stark contrast to high-redshift results.We separate the contributions from AGN and star-forming galaxies (SFGs). The SFG IR LF shows a steep decline at the bright end. Combined with high-redshift results from the AKARI NEP deep survey, these data show a strong evolution of ω (1 +z) and ω (1 +z) . For ω , the ULIRG contribution exceeds that from LIRGs already by z~ 1. A rapid evolution in both ω and ω suggests the correlation between star formation and black hole accretion rate continues up to higher redshifts. We compare the evolution of ω to that of X-ray luminosity density. The ω /ω ratio shows a possible increase at z > 1, suggesting an increase of obscured AGN at z > 1. © 2010 The Authors Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society © 2010 RAS. TIR TIR 60 μm ν TIR MIR TIR MIR TIR TIR TIR TIR TIR -2.3 ȯ TIR ȯ TIR ȯ TIR TIR TIR TIR TIR TIR TIR X-ray +1.5 7 -3 11 12 SF 4.0±0.5 AGN 4.4±0.4 AGN AGN SFG AGN AGN AGN

Most of high-performance mobile devices called smartphone or slate computer which recently emerged uses general-purpose mobile operating system (Mobile OS) such as Android, iOS, Symbian OS, etc. These devices have two characteristics compared with previous mobile devices: 1) many of the devices have touchscreen as main user interface, hence users operate graphical user interfaces (GUIs) displayed on the screen directly by fingers or a pen and 2) different devices made by different companies have similar GUIs because the devices use the same mobile OS. Furthermore, usability evaluation and improvement for one of the mobile OS affects many devices which use same mobile OS, hence importance of the usability evaluation for mobile OS is more valuable than for previous mobile devices. In this paper, we evaluate how position of software keyboard on touchscreen affects usability of a mobile OS, Android. Software tool to record user operation history on software keyboard was developed for evaluation experience. In an experiment, three positions of software keyboard were tested. As a result, keyboard placed on top or middle of the display takes better error rate and subjective evaluation than the previous position, bottom of the display. © 2011 Springer-Verlag.

The infrared astronomical satellite AKARI performed an all sky survey at six infrared bands. We report here on the calibration of the all-sky image data, observed in the four long wavelength bands with the FIS instrument (AKARI Far-infrared All Sky Survey : AFASS). The preliminary image attains a calibration uncertainty and sensitivity of better than ∼ 30% and ∼ 10 MJy str , respectively, for all four bands. The point spread function (PSF) is obtained via a stacking technique. The data are shown to be useful for exploring the internal structure and dust spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of nearby galaxies. © Copyright International Astronomical Union 2011. -1

Aims. We assess the relationships between the surface densities of the gas and star formation rate (SFR) within spiral arms of the nearby late-type spiral galaxies M 81 and M 101. By analyzing these relationships locally, we empirically derive a kiloparsec scale Kennicutt-Schmidt Law (Σ \propto Σ ). Methods. Both M 81 and M 101 were observed with the Far-Infrared Surveyor (FIS) aboard AKARI in four far-infrared bands at 65, 90, 140, and 160 μm. Results. The spectral energy distributions of the whole galaxies show the presence of the cold dust component (T ∼ 20 K) in addition to the warm dust component (T ∼ 60 K). We deconvolved the cold and warm dust emission components spatially by making the best use of the multi-band photometric capability of the FIS. The cold and warm dust components show power-law correlations in various regions, which can be converted into the gas mass and the SFR, respectively. We find a power-law correlation between the gas and SFR surface densities with significant differences in the power-law index N between giant H ii regions (N = 1.0 ± 0.5) and spiral arms (N = 2.2 ± 0.2) in M 101. The power-law index for spiral arms in M 81 is similar (N = 1.9 ± 0.4) to that of spiral arms in M 101. Conclusions. The power-law index is not always constant within a galaxy. The difference can be attributed to the difference in the star formation processes on a kiloparsec scale. N ≈2 seen in the spiral arms in M 81 and M 101 supports the scenario of star formation triggered by cloud-cloud collisions enhanced by a spiral density wave, while N ≈ 1 derived in giant H ii regions in M 101 suggests the star formation induced by the Parker instability triggered by high-velocity H i gas infall. The present method can be applied to a large galaxy sample for which the AKARI All Sky Survey provides the same 4 far-infrared band data. © 2010 ESO. SFR gas C W N

The Soft X-ray Spectrometer (SXS) is a high-resolution spectrometer with an X-ray micro-calorimeter array onboard the Japanese X-ray astronomy satellite Astro-H, planned for launch in 2013. The micro-calorimeter is operated at cryogenic temperature of 50 mK provided by the Adiabatic Demagnetization Refrigerator (ADR) with a heat sink of 1.3 K liquid helium stored in the SXS Dewar. To extend the liquid helium lifetime to over 3 years in orbit, two types of mechanical cryocoolers are installed: 20 K-class double-staged Stirling (2ST) coolers and a 1 K-class Joule-Thomson (JT) cooler. Improvement of mechanical cryocoolers has been investigated and verified for higher reliability and cooling performance. The engineering model (EM) of upgraded mechanical cryocoolers was fabricated for a long lifetime test. The required cooling power of 200 mW at 20 K for the 2ST cooler and 10 mW at 1.7 K for the JT cooler are achieved by EM test. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Japanese infrared space telescope SPICA mission, following the successful Akari mission, has been studied at the concept design phase in international collaboration with ESA under the framework of the ESA Cosmic Vision 2015-2025. The SPICA spacecraft is to be launched in 2018 and transferred into a halo orbit around the Sun-Earth L2 to obtain a stable thermal environment where the IR space telescope's large mirror of 3 m-class in diameter can be cooled to <5.5 K with mechanical coolers and effective radiative cooling with no use of stored cryogen. The SPICA's large and cold telescope is expected to provide unprecedented scientific observation optimized for mid-IR and far-IR astronomy with ultra-high sensitivity and excellent spatial resolution during a nominal mission life of 3 years (goal 5 years). Thermal and structural analyses show that the obtained design of the SPICA cryogenic system satisfies the mission requirement. Mechanical coolers for the 4.5 K stage and the 1.7 K stage, which have been continuously developed, have a sufficient cooling capacity with low power consumption to lift the heat loads from instruments and parasitic heat loads. As a result, it is concluded that the concept design of the SPICA cryogenic system is confirmed for the initial cooling mode after launch and the nominal operation mode. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

We present the results of near-infrared (NIR) multi-epoch observations of the optical transient in the nearby galaxy NGC 300 (NGC 300-OT) at 398 and 582 days after the discovery with the Infrared Camera (IRC) on board AKARI. NIR spectra (2-5μm) of NGC 300-OT were obtained for the first time. They show no prominent emission nor absorption features, but are dominated by continuum thermal emission from the dust around NGC 300-OT. NIR images were taken in the 2.4, 3.2, and 4.1μm bands. The spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of NGC 300-OT indicate the dust temperature of 810 ±14K at 398 days and 670 ±12K at 582 days. We attribute the observed NIR emission to the thermal emission from dust grains formed in the ejecta of NGC 300-OT. The multi-epoch observations enable us to estimate the dust optical depth as ≳12 at 398 days and ≳6 at 582 days at 2.4μm by assuming an isothermal dust cloud. The observed NIR emission must be optically thick, unless the amount of dust grains increases with time. Little extinction at visible wavelengths reported in earlier observations suggests that the dust cloud around NGC 300-OT should be distributed inhomogeneously so as to not screen the radiation from the ejecta gas and the central star. The present results suggest the dust grains are not formed in a spherically symmetric geometry, but rather in a torus, a bipolar outflow, or clumpy cloudlets. © 2010. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.

We tested the optical performance at cryogenic temperatures of an 800 mm diameter lightweight mirror, consisting of carbon-fiber reinforced silicon carbide and with a mass of 11:2 kg. The ceramic composite of the mirror was HB-Cesic, developed by ECM, Germany, and Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Japan. The test was carried out while the mirror was mounted, via Invar stress relief supports, on a lightweight optical bench also made of HB-Cesic. During the test, both the mirror and the optical bench were cooled to 18 K in a liquid-helium chamber. The test consisted of measuring the mirror's change of surface figure with an interferometer installed outside the cryo-chamber. The cryogenic deformation of the mirror was 110 nm RMS with no significant residual deformation after cooling, which is very promising for the applicability of the HB-Cesic composite to large lightweight cryogenic space optics. © 2010 Optical Society of America.

In this paper we summarize some of the results of the Herschel Open Time Key Programme DUNES (DUst around NEarby Stars). This project aims at detecting and studying cold dust discs, i.e. Edgeworth-Kuiper-belt analogues, around FGK stars of the solar neighbourhood, in a volume-limited sample. The sensitivity and wavelengths of the two instruments used, namely PACS (70, 100 and 160 µm) and SPIRE (250, 350 and 500 µm) are the appropriate ones for these tasks. Despite of the fact that, at the time of writing these proceedings, only about half of the sample has been observed, new results and increased statistics with respect to previous surveys and observations have emerged. Some new, unexpected results, in the form of very cold discs, pose some challenges to the current modelling paradigms. Note that at the time this paper is published, the results given and some of the conclusions will be obviously out of date.

Aims. We aim to reveal environmental dependence of infrared luminosity functions (IR LFs) of galaxies at z ∼ 0.8 using the AKARI satellite. AKARI's wide field of view and unique mid-IR filters help us to construct restframe 8 μm LFs directly without relying on SED models. Methods. We construct restframe 8 μm IR LFs in the cluster region RXJ1716.4+6708 at z = 0.81, and compare them with a blank field using the AKARI north ecliptic pole deep field data at the same redshift. AKARI's wide field of view (10' × 10') is suitable to investigate wide range of galaxy environments. AKARI's 15 μm filter is advantageous here since it directly probes restframe 8 μm at z ∼ 0.8, without relying on a large extrapolation based on a SED fit, which was the largest uncertainty in previous work. Results. We have found that cluster IR LFs at restframe 8 μm have a factor of 2.4 smaller L* and a steeper faint-end slope than that of the field. Confirming this trend, we also found that faint-end slopes of the cluster LFs becomes flatter and flatter with decreasing local galaxy density. These changes in LFs cannot be explained by a simple infall of field galaxy population into a cluster. Physics that can preferentially suppress IR luminous galaxies in high density regions is required to explain the observed results. © ESO, 2010.

Aims. Dust-obscured star-formation increases with increasing intensity and increasing redshift. We aim to reveal the cosmic star-formation history obscured by dust using deep infrared observation with AKARI. Methods. We constructed restframe 8 μm, 12 μm, and total infrared (TIR) luminosity functions (LFs) at 0.15 < z < 2.2 using 4128 infrared sources in the AKARI NEP-deep field. A continuous filter coverage in the mid-IR wavelength (2.4, 3.2, 4.1, 7, 9, 11, 15, 18, and 24 μm) by the AKARI satellite allowed us to estimate restframe 8 μm and 12 μm luminosities without using a large extrapolation based on an SED fit, which was the largest uncertainty in previous work. Results. We find that all 8 μm (0.38 < z < 2.2), 12 μm (0.15 < z < 1.16), and TIR LFs (0.2 < z <1.6) show continuous and strong evolution toward higher redshift. Our direct estimate of 8 μm LFs is useful since previous work often had to use a large extrapolation from the Spitzer 24 μm to 8 μm, where SED modeling is more difficult because of the PAH emissions. In terms of cosmic infrared luminosity density (Ω ) , which was obtained by integrating analytic fits to the LFs, we find good agreement with previous work at z<1.2. We find the Ω evolves as ∞(1 + z) . When we separate contributions to Ω by LIRGs and ULIRGs, we found more IR luminous sources are increasingly more important at higher redshift. We find that the ULIRG (LIRG) contribution increases by a factor of 10 (1.8) from z = 0.35 to z = 1.4. © ESO, 2010. IR IR IR 4.4±m 1.0

Context. AKARI is the first Japanese astronomical satellite dedicated to infrared astronomy. One of the main purposes of AKARI is the all-sky survey performed with six infrared bands between 9 μm and 200 μm during the period from 2006 May 6 to 2007 August 28. In this paper, we present the mid-infrared part (9 μm and 18 μm bands) of the survey carried out with one of the on-board instruments, the infrared camera (IRC). Aims. We present unprecedented observational results of the 9 μm and 18 μm AKARI all-sky survey and detail the operation and data processing leading to the point source detection and measurements. Methods. The raw data are processed to produce small images for every scan, and the point sources candidates are derived above the 5σ noise level per single scan. The celestial coordinates and fluxes of the events are determined statistically and the reliability of their detections is secured through multiple detections of the same source within milli-seconds, hours, and months from each other. Results. The sky coverage is more than 90% for both bands. A total of 877 091 sources (851 189 for 9 μm, 195 893 for 18 μm) are confirmed and included in the current release of the point source catalog. The detection limit for point sources is 50 mJy and 90 mJy for the 9 μm and 18 μm bands, respectively. The position accuracy is estimated to be better than 2". Uncertainties in the in-flight absolute flux calibration are estimated to be 3% for the 9 μm band and 4% for the 18 μm band. The coordinates and fluxes of detected sources in this survey are also compared with those of the IRAS survey and are found to be statistically consistent. © ESO, 2010.

Aims. We investigate the structure of the interstellar medium (ISM) and identify the location of possible embedded excitation sources from far-infrared (FIR) line and mid-infrared continuum emission maps. Methods. We carried out imaging spectroscopic observations of four giant Galactic star-forming regions with the Fourier transform spectrometer (FTS) onboard AKARI. We obtained [O  III] 88 μm  and [C  II] 158 μm  line intensity maps of all the regions: G3.270-0.101, G333.6-0.2, NGC 3603, and M 17. Results. For G3.270-0.101, we obtained high-spatial-resolution [O  III] 88 μm  line-emission maps and a FIR continuum map for the first time, which imply that [O  III] 88 μm  emission identifies the excitation sources more clearly than the radio continuum emission. In G333.6-0.2, we found a local [O  III] 88 μm  emission peak, which is indicative of an excitation source. This is supported by the 18 μm  continuum emission, which is considered to trace the hot dust distribution. For all regions, the [C  II] 158 μm  emission is distributed widely as suggested by previous observations of star-forming regions. Conclusions. We conclude that [O  III]  88 μm  emission traces the excitation sources more accurately than the radio continuum emission, especially where there is a high density and/or column density gradient. The FIR spectroscopy provides a promising means of understanding the nature of star-forming regions. © ESO, 2010.

The SPace Infrared telescope for Cosmology and Astrophysics (SPICA) is a proposed mid-to-far infrared (4 s(-) 200 μ m) astronomy mission, scheduled for launch in 2017. A single, 3.5 m aperture telescope would provide superior image quality at 5 s(-) 200 μ m, and its very cold (∼ 5 K) instrumentation would provide superior sensitivity in the 25-200μ m wavelength regimes. This would provide a breakthrough opportunity for studies of exoplanets, protoplanetary and debris disk, and small solar system bodies. This paper summarizes the potential scientific impacts for the proposed instrumentation. © 2009 COSPAR.

We present our results from a laboratory experiment on a binary-shaped pupil mask coronagraph in the context of instrumentation R&D for the direct observation of exo-planets. The aim of this work is testing an axiom of the coronagraph using the method employing the PSF (point spread function) subtraction in thermally-stable condition. Both the raw coronagraphic contrast and the contrast after the PSF subtraction are evaluated. A contrast of 2.6 x 10(-7) was achieved for the raw coronagraphic images by analyzing the areal mean of the observed dark regions. A contrast of 1.8 x 10(-9) was achieved for the PSF subtraction by the areal variance (1 sigma) of the observed dark regions. Application of the PSF subtraction to the coronagraph can ease the requirements for the raw contrast.

We present the SPICA Coronagraph Instrument for the direct imaging and spectroscopy of exoplanets. The SPICA mission gives us a unique opportunity for high-contrast observations because of the large telescope aperture, the simple pupil shape, and the capability for infrared observations from space. The primary goal of this coronagraph is the direct detection and spectroscopy of Jovian exoplanets. The specifications, performance, and the design of the instrument are shown. The main wavelengths and the contrast required for the observations are 3.5 - 27 mu m, and 10(-6), respectively. We also show the progress of the development of key technology to realize this instrument. The non-coronagraphic mode of this instrument is potentially useful for characterization of inner planets via observation of planetary transit and Color Differential Astrometry(CDA). We expect the SPICA coronagraph will provide drastic progress for understanding various planetary systems by it's unique capability, mid will be a fruitful precursor for a future mission targeting terrestrial planets.

We present extragalactic number counts and a lower limit estimate for the cosmic infrared background (CIRB) at 15 μm from AKARI ultra deep mapping of the gravitational lensing cluster Abell 2218. These data are the deepest taken by any facility at this wavelength and uniquely sample the normal galaxy population. We have de-blended our sources, to resolve photometric confusion, and de-lensed our photometry to probe beyond AKARI's blank-field sensitivity. We estimate a de-blended 5σ sensitivity of 28.7 μJy. The resulting 15 μm galaxy number counts are a factor of 3 fainter than previous results, extending to a depth of ∼ 0.01 mJy and providing a stronger lower limit constraint on the CIRB at 15 μm of 1.9 ± 0.5 nW m sr . © 2010. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved. -2 -1

We present the first far-IR observations of the solar-type stars δ Pav, HR 8501, 51 Peg and ζ Ret, taken within the context of the DUNES Herschel open time key programme (OTKP). This project uses the PACS and SPIRE instruments with the objective of studying infrared excesses due to exo-Kuiper belts around nearby solar-type stars. The observed 100 μm fluxes from δ Pav, HR 8501, and 51 Peg agree with the predicted photospheric fluxes, excluding debris disks brighter than L L ∼ 5 × 10 (1σ level) around those stars. A flattened, disk-like structure with a semi-major axis of ∼100 AU in size is detected around ζ Ret. The resolved structure suggests the presence of an eccentric dust ring, which we interpret as an exo-Kuiper belt with L L ≈ 10 . © ESO 2010. 2 -7 2 -5 dust * dust *

Bright source catalogues based on the new mid- and far-infrared all-sky survey by the infrared astronomical satellite AKARI were released into the public domain in March 2010. The mid-infrared catalogue contains more than 870 thousand sources observed at 9 and 18 μm, and the far-infrared catalogue provides information of about 427 thousand sources at 65, 90, 140, and 160 μm. The AKARI catalogues will take over the IRAS catalogues and will become one of the most important catalogues in astronomy. We present the characteristics of the AKARI infrared source catalogues as well as current activity for the future versions. © 2010 SPIE.

The conceptual design of the Space Infrared Telescope for Cosmology and Astrophysics (SPICA) has been studied as a pre-project of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) in collaboration with ESA to be launched in 2018. The SPICA is transferred into a halo orbit around the second Lagrangian point in the Sun-Earth system, where radiant cooling is available effectively. The SPICA has a large IR telescope 3 m in diameter, which is cooled without cryogen to below 6 K by the radiant and mechanical cooling system. Therefore, the SPICA mission will cover mid- and far-IR astronomy with high sensitivity and spatial resolution during a long period of over 5 years for goal. Most heat radiation from the sun and spacecraft is blocked by the Sun Shield and thermal radiation shields covered with Multi-Layer Insulator (MLI) to limit heat radiation to the Scientific Instrument Assembly (SIA). The SIA, which is composed of the primary mirrors and optical benches equipped with Focal Plane Instruments (FPIs), is refrigerated to below 6 K by two sets of 4K-class Joule-Thomson (JT) cooler with a cooling power of 40 mW at 4.5 K. The Far-IR detector is refrigerated to 1.7 K by two sets of 1K-class JT coolers with a cooling power of 10 mW at 1.7 K. Improvements for the higher reliability and sufficient cooling performance are required in the development of SPICA mechanical cryocoolers. Thermal analysis indicates that the SPICA cryogenic system works effectively to limit the total heat load on the SIA to 41.2 mW. This paper describes the conceptual design of the SPICA cryogenic system, which was established with thermal feasibility for nominal operation mode. © 2010 SPIE.

We are developing a far-infrared Ge:Ga monolithic array detector for the future space telescope SPICA. We demonstrate the performance of our detector by showing the test results of 5×5 pixel prototype detectors. These detectors worked properly and they showed the expected performance.

We present results from observations of three type 2 quasar candidates with Suzaku and XMM-Newton. These are type 2 ULIRGs with quasar classification selected from the IRAS 1 Jy sample. We analyze their X-ray spectra to investigate the AGN power in these ULIRGs. The X-ray spectra are explained by a combination of unabsorbed and absorbed power-law components with Γ=1.48-2.40. The best-fit N for the absorbed component is in the range of (9.1-76)×10 cm . The absorption-corrected L of AGNs are in the range for Seyferts ((4.3-24)×10 ergs ). © 2010 American Institute of Physics. H 2-10keV 22 -2 42 -1

SPICA (Space Infrared Telescope for Cosmology and Astrophysics) is a Japan-led infrared astronomical satellite project with a 3-m-class telescope in collaboration with Europe. The telescope is cooled down to temperature below 6 K in space by a combination of mechanical coolers with radiative cooling in space. The telescope has requirements for its total weight to be lighter than 700 kg and for the imaging performance to be diffraction-limited at 5 μm at 6 K. The mirrors will be made of silicon carbide (SiC) or its related material, which has large heritages of the AKARI and Herschel telescopes. The design of the telescope system has been studied by the Europe-Japan telescope working group led by ESA with European industries to meet the requirements. As for optical testing, responsibilities will be split between Europe and Japan so that final optical verification at temperatures below 10 K will be executed in Japan. We present our recent optical testing activities in Japan for the SPICA telescope, which include the numerical and experimental studies of stitching interferometry as well as modifications of the 6-m-diameter radiometer space chamber facility at Tsukuba Space Center in JAXA. We also show results of cryogenic optical testing of the 160-mm and 800-mm lightweight mirrors made of a C/SiC material called HBCesic, which is a candidate mirror material for the SPICA telescope. © 2010 SPIE.

We present the laboratory demonstration of a wavefront correction system for the SPICA project. We have been developing SPICA Coronagraph Instrument (SCI) for exoplanet detection and characterization. SCI employs a wavefront correction system with a 1024-element deformable mirror. The laboratory experiments demonstrated that 10 dynamic ranges at 3.5 λ/D can be achieved after speckle nulling by using a DM at the He-Ne laser wavelength. We also started a wide-band wavefront correction experiment in the visible wavelengths. The combination of wide-band speckle nulling algorithm and a binary pupil mask will lead to a very wide-band, high contrast imaging system. © 2010 SPIE. 6

The SPICA mission aims to achieve high spatial resolution and unprecedented sensitivity in the mid to far-infrared wavelength astronomy. We derived a set of pointing requirements from SPICA's mission requirements. Disturbance management over the SPICA system and an implementation of isolators are necessary, because cryogenic coolers' disturbances could generate vibration. Alignment and random pointing errors for focal-plane instruments are reduced with a focal-plane guidance camera. Furthermore, an additional focal-plane camera and a tip-tilt mirror actuator are installed for coronagraph mode. This paper presents an overview of the SPICA pointing requirements and a feasibility study to achieve the requirements. © 2010 SPIE.

SPICA (Space Infrared Telescope for Cosmology and Astrophysics) is an astronomical mission optimized for mid- and far-infrared astronomy with a cryogenically cooled 3-m class (3.2 m in the current design) telescope. Its high spatial resolution and unprecedented sensitivity in the mid- and far-infrared will enable us to address a number of key problems in present-day astronomy, ranging from the star-formation history of the universe to the formation of planets. To reduce the mass of the whole mission, SPICA will be launched at ambient temperature and cooled down on orbit by mechanical coolers on board with an efficient radiative cooling system, a combination of which allows us to have a 3-m class cooled (6 K) telescope in space with moderate total weight (3.7t). SPICA is proposed as a Japanese-led mission together with extensive international collaboration. The most important international partner is ESA. The assessment study on the European contribution to the SPICA project has started under the framework of the ESA Cosmic Vision 2015-2025. US and Korean participations are also being discussed extensively. The target launch year of SPICA is FY2018. © 2010 SPIE.

We present the current status of the development of a far-infrared monolithic Ge:Ga photoconductor array proposed for the SAFARI instrument onboard SPICA, which is a future infrared space mission. SPICA has a large (3-m class) cooled (<6 K) telescope, which enables us to make astronomical observations with high spatial resolution and unprecedented sensitivity in the mid- and far-infrared wavelength. As a candidate detector to cover the 45-110 μ m band of a far-infrared focal plane instrument of SAFARI, we are developing a large format monolithic Ge:Ga array. The monolithic Ge:Ga array is directly connected to cryogenic readout electronics (CRE) using the Au bumping technology. Our goal is to develop a 64×64 pixel Ge:Ga array, on the basis of existing technologies and experience in making the 3×20 pixel Ge:Ga monolithic arrays for the AKARI satellite. In order to realize a larger format array with better sensitivity than that of the AKARI array, we have been making some technical improvements; (1) development of the Au bumping technology to realize the large format array, (2) optimization of the structure of the transparent electrode to achieve the better sensitivity, (3) development of an anti-reflection coating to reduce interference fringe between the Ge substrate, and (4) Use of the low-noise cryogenic readout electronics with low power consumption. We fabricated the prototype 5×5 Ge:Ga arrays to demonstrate and evaluate the properties of monolithic array. Initial testing of the prototype 5×5 Ge:Ga arrays has shown that it works properly and sensitive enough for astronomical applications; the detector responsivity is ∼10 A/W and the pixel-to-pixel variation is 10% r.m.s.. We demonstrate experimentally the feasibility of these elemental technologies, and also show the results of performance measurements for the prototype Ge:Ga arrays. © 2010 SPIE.

We present a test of optical metrology for 800-mm spaceborne optics in the 6-m radiometer thermal vacuum chamber at JAXA's Tsukuba Space Center of JAXA. Under the framework of the JAXA's large-optics study program for astronomy and Earth observations, we developed a test bench for interferometric metrology of large optics with an auto-collimation method in the chamber. The optical system was aligned in a horizontal light-axis configuration within the facility limit to handle a 3.5-m aperture telescope like SPICA. A high-speed interferometer was contained in an aluminum and titanmade pressure vessel, which was mounted on the five-axis stage. We tested the 800-mm lightweight C/SiC optics using a 900-mm diameter flat mirror. Alignment changes in tilts of about ten arcseconds were observed as pressure went down from 1 atm to vacuum. After we re-aligned the interferometer and flat mirror, the wavefronts through the optics under vacuum were observed to increase in astigmatism aberration by 0.07λRMS at λ=633nm from under atmosphere, which might be caused by a deformation in the test optics or flat mirror. © 2010 SPIE.

SPICA is a next generation infrared astronomy mission to reveal the origin of planets and galaxies. The mission is led by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) in collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA) and international consortiums in Japan, Europe, USA, and the Republic of Korea. SPICA is an "observatory" based on the heritage of AKARI's "all sky survey". ESA provides a 3-m class telescope using technology heritage of Herschel. The SPICA will achieve superior sensitivity in the mid- to far- infrared astronomy to be launched into space. SPICA has a completely new cooling system, which utilizes efficient mechanical coolers. This system enables a large, cryogenically cooled telescope in space. SPICA system concept and requirements are clear, but it is not easy to design. SPICA spacecraft consists of the Payload Module (PLM) and the Bus Module (BM). The PLM includes mechanical coolers and passive thermal shields, which enable to cool down the telescope and scientific instruments below 6K. The PLM is connected to the BM with low thermal conductivity truss structure to keep the PLM cool and the BM warm. This paper describes how to meet the system requirements to establish the feasible design of SPICA spacecraft. © 2010 SPIE.

The joint JAXA/NASA ASTRO-H mission is the sixth in a series of highly successful X-ray missions initiated by the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS). ASTRO-H will investigate the physics of the high-energy universe by performing high-resolution, high-throughput spectroscopy with moderate angular resolution. ASTRO-H covers very wide energy range from 0.3 keV to 600 keV. ASTRO-H allows a combination of wide band X-ray spectroscopy (5-80 keV) provided by multilayer coating, focusing hard X-ray mirrors and hard X-ray imaging detectors, and high energy-resolution soft X-ray spectroscopy (0.3-12 keV) provided by thin-foil X-ray optics and a micro-calorimeter array. The mission will also carry an X-ray CCD camera as a focal plane detector for a soft X-ray telescope (0.4-12 keV) and a non-focusing soft gamma-ray detector (40-600 keV). The micro-calorimeter system is developed by an international collaboration led by ISAS/JAXA and NASA. The simultaneous broad bandpass, coupled with high spectral resolution of ΔE ~7 eV provided by the micro-calorimeter will enable a wide variety of important science themes to be pursued.

We present the survey strategy and the data characteristics of the North Ecliptic Pole (NEP) Wide Survey of AKARI. The survey was carried out for about one year starting from 2006 May with 9 passbands from 2.5 to 24/im and the areal coverage of about 5.8 degree centered on NEP. The survey depth reaches to 21.8 AB magnitude near infrared (N1R) bands, and ̃ 18.6 AB magnitude at the mid infrared (MIR) bands such as 15 and 18/im. The total number of sources detected in this survey is about 104000, with more sources in NIR than in the MIR. We have cross matched infrared sources with optically identified sources in CFHT imaging survey which covered about 2 degree within NEP-Wide survey region in order to characterize the nature of infrared sources. The majority of the MIR sources at 15 and 18/im bands are found to be star forming disk galaxies, with smaller fraction of early type galaxies and AGNs. We found that a large fraction (60%-80%) of bright sources in 9 and 11 m is stars while stellar fraction decreases toward fainter sources. We present the histograms of the sources at MIR bands at 9, 11, 15, and 18jtun. The number of sources per magnitude thus varies as m for longer wavelength sources while shorter wavelength sources show steeper variation with m, where m is the AB magnitude. © 2009 Astronomical Society of Japan. 2 2 06

The Space Infrared telescope for Cosmology and Astrophysics (SPICA) is planned to be the next space astronomy mission observing in the infrared. The mission is planned to be launched in 2017 and will feature a 3.5 m telescope cooled to <5 K through the use of mechanical coolers. These coolers will also cool the focal plane instruments thus avoiding the use of consumables and giving the mission a long lifetime. SPICA's large, cold aperture will provide a two order of magnitude sensitivity advantage over current far infrared facilities (>30 microns wavelength). We describe the scientific advances that will be made possible by this large increase in sensitivity and give details of the mission, spacecraft and focal plane conceptual design. © 2008 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

We present our latest results on near- to mid-infrared (MIR) observation of supernova (SN) 2006jc at 200 days after the discovery using the Infrared Camera (IRC) on board AKARI. The near-infrared (2-5 μm) spectrum of SN 2006jc is obtained for the first time and is found to be well interpreted in terms of the thermal emission from amorphous carbon of 800 ± 10 K with the mass of 6.9 ± 0.5 × 10 M that was formed in the SN ejecta. This dust mass newly formed in the ejecta of SN 2006jc is in a range similar to those obtained for other several dust-forming core-collapse supernovae based on recent observations (i.e., 10 -10 M ). MIR photometric data with AKARI/IRC MIR-S/S7, S9W, and S11 bands have shown excess emission over the thermal emission by hot amorphous carbon of 800 K. This MIR excess emission is likely to be accounted for by the emission from warm amorphous carbon dust of 320 ± 10 K with the mass of 2.7 -0.5 × 10 M rather than by the band emission of astronomical silicate and/or silica grains. This warm amorphous carbon dust is expected to have been formed in the mass-loss wind associated with the Wolf-Rayet stellar activity before the SN explosion. Our result suggests that a significant amount of dust is condensed in the mass-loss wind prior to the SN explosion. © 2009. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved. -5 -3 -5 +0.7 -3 ⊙ ⊙ ⊙ ⊙

We report the results from our analysis of Suzaku X-ray Imaging Spectrometer (XIS) (0.5-10 keV) and Hard X-ray Detector (HXD)/PIN (15-40 keV) observations of five well-known local ultraluminous infrared galaxies: IRAS F05189-2524, IRAS F08572 + 3915, Mrk 273, PKS 1345 + 12, and Arp 220. The XIS observations of F05189-2524 and Mrk 273 reveal strong iron lines consistent with Fe Kα and changes in spectral shapes with respect to previous Chandra and XMM-Newton observations. Mrk 273 is also detected by the HXD/PIN at ∼ 1.8σ. For F05189-2524, modeling of the data from the different epochs suggests that the change in spectral shape is likely due to the central source switching off, leaving behind a residual reflection spectrum, or an increase in the absorbing column. An increase in the covering fraction of the absorber can describe the spectral variations seen in Mrk 273, although a reduction in the intrinsic active galactic nucleus (AGN) luminosity cannot be formally ruled out. The Suzaku spectra of Mrk 273 are well fitted by a ∼ 94% covering fraction model with a column density of ∼ 10 cm . The absorption-corrected log[L /L ] ratio is consistent with those found in PG Quasars. The 0.5-10 keV spectrum of PKS 1345 + 12 and Arp 220 seem unchanged from previous observations and their hard X-ray emission is not convincingly detected by the HXD/PIN. The large column density derived from CO observations and the large equivalent width of an ionized Fe line in Arp 220 can be reconciled by an ionized reflection model. F08572 + 3915 is undetected in both the XIS and HXD/PIN, but the analysis of unpublished Chandra data provides a new measurement at low energies. © 2009. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved. 24 -2 2-10keV IR

We present our first results from laboratory experiments on a binary-shaped checkerboard mask coronagraph that was fitted inside a vacuum chamber for the development of skills to the direct observation of extra-solar planets. The aim of this work was to utilize a vacuum chamber for our coronagraph experiments in order to achieve an environment with higher thermal stability and which is free from air turbulence. We also aimed to evaluate and improve the performance of such a system consisting of a vacuum chamber with a coronagraph set inside the chamber. Both the raw contrast and the contrast after point spread function (PSF) subtraction are evaluated. We sited the vacuum chamber in a clean room, and we installed an optical fiber coupled to a visible He-Ne laser, appropriate coronagraph optics, a temperature sensor and heaters in the chamber. This provided a vacuum environment and a temperature-controlled environment with a visible light source, and was shown to improve the stability of the coronagraph. A contrast of 1.7 × 10 was achieved for the raw coronagraphic images by analyzing the areal mean of all of the observed dark regions. A contrast of 7.3 × 10 was achieved for the PSF subtraction by areal variance (1σ) of all of the observed dark regions. Speckles were a major limiting factor throughout the dark regions of both the raw images and the PSF subtracted images. The application of PSF subtraction for the Space Infrared telescope for Cosmology and Astrophysics (SPICA) and for other platforms is discussed. © 2008 COSPAR. - 7 - 9

We descibe the calibration of maps of diffuse Galactic Plane emission, and present detailed observations of several complexes. We put especial atention on Cygnus X region showing its temperature and density maps.

We discuss the capability of AKARI in recovering diffuse far-infrared emission, and examine the achieved reliability. Critical issues in making images of diffuse emission are the transient response and long-term stability of the far-infrared detectors. Quantitative evaluation of these characteristics are the key to achieving sensitivity comparable to or better than that for point sources (&lt; 20-95 MJy sr(-1)). We describe current activity and progress toward the production of high quality images of the diffuse far-infrared emission using the AKARI all-sky survey data.

We present the early results of mid-infrared (MIR) pointed observations of nearby main-sequence stars with AKARI Out of 117 AFGKM stars, 7 AF-type stars show the large (&gt;7% of the photospheric level) infrared excesses at 24 mu m, in which three sources are newly identified with AKARI.

We present the SPICA Coronagraph Instrument (SCI) for the direct imaging and spectroscopy of exo-planets. The SPICA mission gives us a unique opportunity for high-contrast observations because of the large telescope aperture, the simple pupil shape, and the capability for infrared observations from space. The primary target of SCI is Jovian exo-planets. Using the spectroscopy mode of SCI, we will try the detection and the characterization of mid-infrared line features of the atmosphere of exo-planets. The specifications, performance and the design of the instrument are shown. The main wavelengths and the contrast required for the observations are 3.5-27 mu m, and 10(-6), respectively. We also show the progress of the development of key technology to realize SCI. Laboratory demonstration of the principle of coronagraph, realistic design and fabrication of masks, and the development of cryogenic active optics have been carried out, or are successfully ongoing. We are preparing a cryogenic chamber for the tests of the whole infrared coronagraph. A potentially important by-product of the instrument, transit monitoring for characterization of exo-planets, is also described. We expect that SCI will provide drastic progress in the understanding of various planetary systems and will be a unique capability in the SPICA era.

AKARI All-sky Survey observations were carried out in the mid- to far-infrared spectral region with six photometric bands during the cryogenic mission phase of AKARI from May 8, 2006 to August 26, 2007. This paper reports the mid-infrared part of the AKARI all-sky survey. It was carried out with two mid-infrared broad bands centered at 9 and 18 gm. More than 90 percent of entire sky was observed by both bands during this period. The 5 sigma sensitivities for point sources are about 50 and 120 mJy, respectively. The spatial resolution is better than 10 '' at both bands. The AKARI mid-infrared survey achieved a deeper sensitivity and a finer spatial resolution than the previous IRAS survey. the AKARI mid-infrared survey has the sensitivity to detect a debris disk of beta Pic at a distance of 100 pc and several new debris disk candidates have already been discovered at 18 mu m in a preliminary study, separately discussed by Fujiwara et al. (in this volume). More debris disk candidates are expected to be found in further investigations, which will make a significant impact on the statistical study of debris disks.