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High-resolution mapping of the hot gas in galaxy clusters is a key tool for cluster-based cosmological analyses. Taking advantage of the NIKA2 millimeter camera operated at the IRAM 30-m telescope, the NIKA2 SZ Large Program seeks to get a high-resolution follow-up of 38 galaxy clusters covering a wide mass range at intermediate to high redshift. The measured SZ fluxes will be essential to calibrate the SZ scaling relation and the galaxy clusters mean pressure profile, needed for the cosmological exploitation of SZ surveys. We present in this study a method to infer a mean pressure profile from cluster observations. We have designed a pipeline encompassing the map-making and the thermodynamical properties estimates from maps. We then combine all the individual fits, propagating the uncertainties on integrated quantities, such as R500 or P500, and the intrinsic scatter coming from the deviation to the standard self-similar model. We validate the proposed method on realistic LPSZ-like cluster simulations.

The Q&U Bolometric Interferometer for Cosmology (QL’BIC) is the first bolometric interferometer designed to measure the primordial B-mode polarization of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB). Bolometric interferometry is a novel technique that combines the sensitivity of bolometric detectors with the control of systematic effects that is typical of interferometry, both key features in the quest for the faint signal of the primordial B-modes. A unique feature is the so-called “spectral imaging”, i.e., the ability to recover the sky signal in several sub-bands within the physical band during data analysis. This feature provides an in-band spectral resolution of ∆v/v ~ 0.04 that is unattainable by a traditional imager. This is a key tool for controlling the Galactic foregrounds contamination. In this paper, we describe the principles of bolometric interferometry, the current status of the QU BIC experiment and future prospects.

We present a morphological analysis of a set of spiral galaxies from the NIKA2 Guaranteed Time Large Program, IMEGIN. We have fitted a single Sérsic model on a set of broadband images, from ultra-violet (UV) to millimeter (mm) wavelengths, using the modelling code Statmorph. With the recently acquired NIKA2 1.15- and 2-mm observations, it is possible to extend such a morphological analysis to the mm regime and investigate the two-dimensional (2D) distribution (exponential, Gaussian) of the very cold dust (

Dusty starless cores play an important role in regulating the initial phases of the formation of stars and planets. In their interiors, dust grains coagulate and ice mantles form, thereby changing the millimeter emissivities and hence the ability to cool. We mapped four regions with more than a dozen cores in the nearby Galactic filaments of Taurus and Perseus using the NIKA2 camera at the IRAM 30-meter telescope. Combining the 1mm to 2mm flux ratio maps with dust temperature maps from Herschel allowed to create maps of the dust emissivity index β1,2 at resolutions of 2430 and 5600 a.u. in Taurus and Perseus, respectively. Here, we study the variation with total column densities and environment. β1,2 values at the core centers (Av =12 – 19 mag) vary significantly between ~ 1.1 and 2.3. Several cores show a strong rise of β1,2 from the outskirts at ~ 4 mag to the peaks of optical extinctions, consistent with the predictions of grain models and the gradual build-up of ice mantles on coagulated grains in the dense interiors of starless cores.

This study presents the first millimeter continuum mapping observations of two nearby galaxies, the starburst spiral galaxy NGC2146 and the dwarf galaxy NGC2976, at 1.15 mm and 2 mm using the NIKA2 camera on the IRAM 30m telescope, as part of the Guaranteed Time Large Project IMEGIN. These observations provide robust resolved information about the physical properties of dust in nearby galaxies by constraining their FIR-radio SED in the millimeter domain. After subtracting the contribution from the CO line emission, the SEDs are modeled spatially using a Bayesian approach. Maps of dust mass surface density, temperature, emissivity index, and thermal radio component of the galaxies are presented, allowing for a study of the relations between the dust properties and star formation activity (using observations at 24μm as a tracer). We report that dust temperature is correlated with star formation rate in both galaxies. The effect of star formation activity on dust temperature is stronger in NGC2976, an indication of the thinner interstellar medium of dwarf galaxies. Moreover, an anti-correlation trend is reported between the dust emissivity index and temperature in both galaxies.

Three galaxy clusters selected from the XXL X-ray survey at high redshift and low mass (z ~ 1 and M500 ~ 1 – 2 × 1014 M⊙) were observed with NIKA2 to image their Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect (SZ) signal. They all present an SZ morphology, together with the comparison with X-ray and optical data, that indicates dynamical activity related to merging events. Despite their disturbed intracluster medium, their high redshifts, and their low masses, the three clusters follow remarkably well the pressure profile and the SZ flux-mass relation expected from standard evolution. This suggests that the physics that drives cluster formation is already in place at z ~ 1 down to M500 ~ 1014 M⊙.

In the framework of the IMEGIN Large Program, we used the NIKA2 camera on the IRAM 30-m telescope to observe the edge-on galaxy NGC 891 at 1.15 mm and 2 mm and at a FWHM of 11.1” and 17.6”, respectively. Multiwavelength data enriched with the new NIKA2 observations fitted by the HerBIE SED code (coupled with the THEMIS dust model) were used to constrain the physical properties of the ISM. Emission originating from the diffuse dust disk is detected at all wavelengths from mid-IR to mm. while mid-lR observations reveal warm dust emission from compact H II regions. Indications of mm excess emission have also been found in the outer parts of the galactic disk. Furthermore, our SED fitting analysis constrained the mass fraction of the small (< 15 Å) dust grains. We found that small grains constitute 9.5% of the total dust mass in the galactic plane, but this fraction increases up to ~ 20% at large distances (|z| > 3 kpc) from the galactic plane.

The Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) radiation offers a unique window into the early Universe, facilitating precise examinations of fundamental cosmological theories. However, the quest for detecting B-modes in the CMB, predicted by theoretical models of inflation, faces substantial challenges in terms of calibration and foreground modeling. The COSMOCal (COsmic Survey of Millimeter wavelengths Objects for CMB experiments Calibration) project aims at enhancing the accuracy of the absolute calibration of the polarization angle ψ of current and future CMB experiments. The concept includes the build of a very well known artificial source emitting in the frequency range [20-350] GHz that would act as an absolute calibrator for several polarization facilities on Earth. A feasibility study to place the artificial source in geostationary orbit, in the far field for all the telescopes on Earth, is ongoing. In the meanwhile ongoing hardware work is dedicated to build a prototype to test the technology, the precision and the stability of the polarization recovering in the 1 mm band (220-300 GHz). High-resolution experiments as the NIKA2 camera at the IRAM 30m telescope will be deployed for such use. Once carefully calibrated (Δψ < 0.1◦) it will be used to observe astrophysical sources such as the Crab nebula, which is the best candidate in the sky for the absolute calibration of CMB experiments.

We present the first preliminary results of the project ICED, focusing on the face-on galaxy NGC4254. We use the millimetre maps observed with NIKA2 at lRAM-30m. as part of the IMEGIN Guaranteed Time Large Program. and of a wide collection of ancillary data (multi-wavelength photometry and gas phase spectral lines) that are publicly available. We derive the global and local properties of interstellar dust grains through infrared-to-radio spectral energy distribution fitting, using the hierarchical Bayesian code HerBIE. which includes the grain properties of the state-of-the-art dust model. THEMIS. Our method allows us to get the following dust parameters: dust mass, average interstellar radiation field, and fraction of small grains. Also, it is effective in retrieving the intrinsic correlations between dust parameters and interstellar medium properties. We find an evident anti-correlation between the interstellar radiation field and the fraction of small grains in the centre of NGC4254. meaning that, at strong radiation field intensities, very small amorphous carbon grains are efficiently destroyed by the ultra-violet photons coming from newly formed stars, through photo-desorption and sublimation. We observe a flattening of the anti-correlation at larger radial distances, which may be driven by the steep metallicity gradient measured in NGC4254.

To understand the evolution of dust properties in molecular clouds in the course of the star formation process, we constrain the changes in the dust emissivity index from star-forming filaments to prestellar and protostellar cores to T Tauri stars. Using the NIKA2 continuum camera on the IRAM 30 m telescope. we observed the Taurus B211/B2I3 filament at 1.2 mm and 2 mm with unprecedented sensitivity and used the resulting maps to derive the dust emissivity index β. Our sample of 105 objects detected in the β map of the B211/B213 filament indicates that, overal. β decreases from filament and prestellar cores (β ~ 2 ± 0.5) to protostellar cores (β ~ 1.2 ± 0.2) to T-Tauri protoplanetary disk (β < I). The averaged dust emissivity index β across the B211/B2I3 filament exhibits a flat (β ~ 2 ± 0.3) profile. This may imply that dust grain sizes are rather homogeneous in the filament, start to grow significantly in size only after the onset of the gravitational contraction/collapse of prestellar cores to protostars, reaching big sizes in T Tauri protoplanetary disks. This evolution from the parent filament to T-Tauri disks happens on a timescale of about 1-2 Myr.

The NIKA2 camera operating at the IRAM 30-m telescope excels in high-angular resolution mapping of the thermal Sunyaev-Zel’dovich effect towards galaxy clusters at intermediate and high-redshift. As part of the NIKA2 guaranteed-time, the SZ Large Program (LPSZ) aims at tSZ-mapping a representative sample of SZ-selected galaxy clusters in the catalogues of the Planck satellite and of the Atacama Cosmology Telescope, and also observed in X-ray with XMM-Newton or Chandra. Having completed observations in January 2023, we present tSZ maps of 38 clusters spanning the targeted mass (3 < M500/1014M⊙ < 10) and redshift (0.5 < z < 0.9) range. The first in-depth studies of individual clusters highlight the potential of combining tSZ and X-ray observations at similar angular resolution for precised mass measurements under the hydrostatic assumption MHSE. These were milestones for the development of a standard data analysis pipeline to go from NIKA2 raw data to the thermodynamic properties of galaxy clusters for the upcoming LPSZ data release. Final products will include measurements of the mean pressure profile of unprecedented quality and MHSE-observable scaling relation using a distinctive SZ-selected sample, which will be key for ultimately improving the accuracy of cluster-based cosmology.

In cluster cosmology, cluster masses are the main parameter of interest. They are needed to constrain cosmological parameters through the cluster number count. As the mass is not an observable, a scaling relation is needed to link cluster masses to the integrated Compton parameters Y, i.e. the Sunyaev-Zeldovich observable (SZ). Planck cosmological results obtained with cluster number counts are based on a scaling relation measured with clusters at low redshift (z

PSZ2 G091.83+26.11 is a massive galaxy cluster with M500 = 7:43 × 1014M⊙ at z = 0:822. This object exhibits a complex morphology with a clear bimodality observed in X-rays. However, it was detected and analysed in the Planck sample as a single, spherical cluster following a universal profile [1]. This model can lead to miscalculations of thermodynamical quantities, like the pressure profile. As future multiwavelength cluster experiments will detect more and more objects at higher redshifts (where we expect the fraction of merging objects to be higher), it is crucial to quantify this systematic effect. In this work, we use high-resolution observations of PSZ2 G091.83+26.11 by the NIKA2 camera to integrate the morphological characteristics of the cluster in our modelling. This is achieved by fitting a two-halo model to the SZ image and then by reconstruction of the resulting projected pressure profile. We then compare these results with the spherical assumption.

High-mass stars (m* ≳ 8 M⊙) play a crucial role in the evolution of galaxies, and so it is imperative that we understand how they are formed. We have used the New IRAM KIDs Array 2 (NIKA2) camera on the Institut de Radio Astronomie Millimétrique (IRAM) 30-m telescope to conduct high-sensitivity continuum mapping of ~ 2 deg2 of the Galactic plane (GP) as part of the Galactic Star Formation with NIKA2 (GASTON) large program. We have identified a total of 1467 clumps within our deep 1.15 mm continuum maps and, by using overlapping continuum, molecular line, and maser parallax data, we have determined their distances and physical properties. By placing them upon an approximate evolutionary sequence based upon 8 μm Spitzer imaging, we find evidence that the most massive dense clumps accrete material from their surrounding environment during their early evolution, before dispersing as star formation advances, supporting clump-fed models of high-mass star formation.

We present preliminary results from an on-going program that aims at mapping the intracluster medium (ICM) temperature of high redshift galaxy clusters from the MaDCoWS sample using a joint analysis of shallow X-ray data obtained by Chandra and high angular resolution Sunyaev-Zel’dovich (SZ) observations realized with the NIKA2 and MUSTANG-2 cameras. We also present preliminary results from an on-going Open Time program within the NIKA2 collaboration that aims at mapping the ICM temperature of a galaxy cluster at z = 0.45 from the resolved detection of the relativistic corrections to the SZ spectrum. These studies demonstrate how high angular resolution SZ observations will play a major role in the coming decade to push the investigation of ICM dynamics and non-gravitational processes to high redshift before the next generation X-ray observatories come into play.

The NIKA2 Guaranteed-Time SZ Large Program (LPSZ) is dedicated to the high-angular resolution SZ mapping of a representative sample of 45 SZ-selected galaxy clusters drawn from the catalogues of the Planck satellite, or of the Atacama Cosmology Telescope. The LPSZ sample spans a mass range from 3 to 11 × 1014M⊙ and a redshift range from 0:5 to 0:9, extending to higher redshift and lower mass the previous samples dedicated to the cluster mass calibration and universal properties estimation. The main goals of the LPSZ are the measurement of the average radial profile of the ICM pressure up to R500 by combining NIKA2 with Planck or ACT data, and the estimation of the scaling law between the SZ observable and the mass using NIKA2, XMM-Newton and Planck/ACT data. Furthermore, combining LPSZ data with existing or forthcoming public data in lensing, optical/NIR or radio domains, we will build a consistent picture of the cluster physics and further gain knowledge on the mass estimate as a function of the cluster morphology and dynamical state. We give an overview of the LPSZ, present recent results and discuss the future implication for cosmology with galaxy clusters.

New observations of the edge-on galaxy NGC 891, at 1.15 and 2mm obtained with the IRAM 30-m telescope and the NIKA2 camera, within the framework of the IMEGIN (Interpreting the Millimetre Emission of Galaxies with IRAM and NIKA2) Large Program, are presented in this work. By using multiwavelength maps (from the mid-IR to the cm wavelengths) we perform SED fitting in order to extract the physical properties of the galaxy on both global and local (~kpc) scales. For the interpretation of the observations we make use of a state-of-the-art SED fitting code, HerBIE (HiERarchical Bayesian Inference for dust Emission). The observations indicate a galaxy morphology, at mm wavelengths, similar to that of the cold dust emission traced by submm observations and to that of the molecular gas. The contribution of the radio emission at the NIKA2 bands is very small (negligible at 1.15 mm and ~ 10% at 2 mm) while it dominates the total energy budget at longer wavelengths (beyond 5 mm). On local scales, the distribution of the free-free emission resembles that of the dust thermal emission while the distribution of the synchrotron emission shows a deficiency along the major axis of the disc of the galaxy.

CONCERTO (CarbON CII line in post-rEionisation and ReionisaTiOn) is a large field-of-view (FoV) spectro-imager that has been installed on the Cassegrain Cabin of Atacama Pathfinder EXperiment (APEX) telescope in April 2021. CONCERTO hosts 2 focal planes and a total number of 4000 Kinetic Inductance Detectors (KID), with an instantaneous FoV of 18.6 arcminutes in the range of 130-310 GHz. The spectral resolution can be easily tuned down to 1 GHz depending on the scientific target. The scientific program of CONCERTO has many objectives, with two main programs focused on mapping the fluctuations of the [CII] line intensity in the reionisation and postreionisation epoch (4.5

Interstellar dust plays an important role in the formation of molecular gas and the heating and cooling of the interstellar medium. The spatial distribution of the mm-wavelength dust emission from galaxies is largely unexplored. The NIKA2 Guaranteed Time Project IMEGIN (Interpreting the Millimeter Emission of Galaxies with IRAM and NIKA2) has recently mapped the mm emission in the grand design spiral galaxy NGC6946. By subtracting the contributions from the free-free, synchrotron, and CO line emission, we map the distribution of the pure dust emission at 1:15mm and 2mm. Separating the arm/interarm regions, we find a dominant 2mm emission from interarms indicating the significant role of the general interstellar radiation field in heating the cold dust. Finally, we present maps of the dust mass, temperature, and emissivity index using the Bayesian MCMC modeling of the spectral energy distribution in NGC6946.

The quest for primordial gravitational waves enclosed in the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) polarization B-modes signal motivates the development of a new generation of high sensitive experiments (e.g. CMBS4, LiteBIRD), thus allowing to probe the inflationary epoch in the early Universe. However, this will be only possible by ensuring a high control of the instrumental systematic effects and an accurate absolute calibration of the polarization angle. The Crab nebula is known to be a polarization calibrator on the sky for CMB experiments. Already used for the Planck satellite it exhibits a high polarized signal at microwave wavelengths. In this work we present Crab polarization observations obtained, in the 260 GHz frequency band, with the NIKA2 instrument. Furthermore, we discuss the accuracy needed on such a measurement to improve the constraints on the absolute angle calibration for CMB experiments.

Starting from the clusters included in the NIKA sample and in the NIKA2 Sunyaev-Zel’dovich Large Program (LPSZ) we have selected a sample of six common objects with the Cluster Lensing And Supernova survey with Hubble (CLASH) lensing data. For the LPSZ clusters we have at our disposal both high-angular resolution observations of the thermal SZ with NIKA and NIKA2 and X-ray observations with XMM-Newton from which hydrostatic mass estimates can be derived. In addition, the CLASH dataset includes lensing convergence maps that can be converted into lensing estimates of the total mass of the cluster. One-dimensional mass profiles are used to derive integrated mass estimates accounting for systematic effects (data processing, modeling, etc.). Two-dimensional analysis of the maps can reveal substructures in the cluster and, therefore, inform us about the dynamical state of each system. Moreover, we are able to study the hydrostatic mass to lensing mass bias, across different morphology and a range of redshift clusters to give more insight on the hydrostatic mass bias. The analysis presented in this proceeding follows the study discussed in [20].

As the possible progenitors of passive galaxies at z=2-3, dusty starforming galaxies (DSFGs) at z>4 provide a unique perspective to study the formation, assembly, and early quenching of massive galaxies in the early Universe. The extreme obscuration in optical-IR makes (sub)mm spectral scans the most universal and unbiased way to confirm/exclude the high-z nature of candidate dusty star-forming galaxies. We present here the status of the NIKA2 Cosmological Legacy Survey (N2CLS), which is the deepest wide-area singledish survey in the millimeter searching for high-z DSFGs. We also introduce a joint-analysis method to effciently search for the spectroscopic redshift of high-z DSFGs with noisy spectra and photometric data and present its success in identifying the redshift of DSFGs found in NIKA2 science verification data.

Dust polarization observations are a powerful, practical tool to probe the geometry (and to some extent, the strength) of magnetic fields in starforming regions. In particular, Planck polarization data have revealed the importance of magnetic fields on large scales in molecular clouds. However, due to insufficient resolution, Planck observations are unable to constrain the B-field geometry on prestellar and protostellar scales. The high angular resolution of 11.7 arcsec provided by NIKA2-Pol 1.15 mm polarimetric imaging, corresponding to 0.02 pc at the distance of the Orion molecular cloud (OMC), makes it possible to advance our understanding of the B-field morphology in star-forming filaments and dense cores (IRAM 30m large program B-FUN). The commissioning of the NIKA2-Pol instrument has led to several challenging issues, in particular, the instrumental polarization or intensity-to-polarization “leakage” effect. In the present paper, we illustrate how this effect can be corrected for, leading to reliable exploitable data in a structured, extended source such as OMC-1. We present a statistical comparison between NIKA2-Pol and SCUBA2-Pol2 results in the OMC-1 region. We also present tentative evidence of local pinching of the B-field lines near Orion-KL, in the form of a new small-scale hourglass pattern, in addition to the larger-scale hourglass already seen by other instruments such as Pol2.

We describe the preliminary on-sky results of the KIDs Interferometer Spectrum Survey (KISS), a spectral imager with a 1 deg field of view (FoV). The instrument operates in the range 120–180 GHz from the 2.25m Q-U-I JOint TEnerife telescope in Teide Observatory (Tenerife, Canary Islands), at 2 395m altitude above sea level. Spectra at low resolution, up to 1.45 GHz, are obtained using a fast (3.72 Hz mechanical frequency) Fourier transform spectrometer, coupled to a continuous dilution cryostat with a stabilized temperature of 170mK that hosts two 316-pixel arrays of lumped-element kinetic inductance detectors. KISS generates more than 3 000 spectra per second during observations and represents a pathfinder to demonstrate the potential for spectral mapping with large FoV.We give an overall description of the spectral mapping paradigm and we present recent results from observations, in this paper.

We present a multi-probe analysis of the well-known galaxy cluster CL J1226.9+3332 as a proof of concept for multi-wavelength studies within the framework of the NIKA2 Sunyaev-Zel’dovich Large Program (LPSZ). CL J1226.9+3332 is a massive and high redshift (z = 0.888) cluster that has already been observed at several wavelengths. A joint analysis of the thermal SZ (tSZ) effect at millimeter wavelength with the NIKA2 camera and in X-ray with the XMM-Newton satellite permits the reconstruction of the cluster’s thermodynamical properties and mass assuming hydrostatic equilibrium. We test the robustness of our mass estimates against different definitions of the data analysis transfer function. Using convergence maps reconstructed from the data of the CLASH program we obtain estimates of the lensing mass, which we compare to the estimated hydrostatic mass. This allows us to measure the hydrostatic-to-lensing mass bias and the associated systematic effects related to the NIKA2 measurement. We obtain M500HSE = (7:65 ± 1:03) × 1014M⊙ and M500lens = (7:35 ± 0:65) × 1014M⊙, which implies a HSE-to-lensing bias consistent with 0 within 20%.

Using the NIKA2 dual band millimeter camera installed on the IRAM30m telescope, we have mapped a relatively large field (~ 70 arcmin2) in the direction of the star GJ526 to investigate the nature of the sources found with the MAMBO camera at 1.2 mm ten years earlier. We have found that they must be dust-obscured galaxies (SMGs) in the background beyond the star. The new NIKA2 map at 1.15 mm reveals additional sources and, in fact, an overdensity of SMGs predominantly distributed along a filament-like structure in projection on the sky across the whole observed field. We speculate this might be a cosmic filament at high redshift as revealed in cosmological hydrodynamical simulations. Measurement of spectroscopic redshifts of the SMGs in the candidate filament is required now for a definitive confirmation of the nature of the structure.

In the past decade filaments have been recognised as a major structural element of the interstellar medium, the densest of these filaments hosting the formation of most stars. In some star-forming molecular clouds converging networks of filaments, also known as hub filament systems, can be found. These hubs are believed to be preferentially associated to massive star formation. As of today, there are no metrics that allow the systematic quantification of a filament network convergence. Here, we used the IRAM 30m NIKA2 observations of the Galactic plane from the GASTON large programme to systematically identify filaments and produce a filament convergence parameter map. We use such a map to show that: i. hub filaments represent a small fraction of the global filament population; ii. hubs host, in proportion, more massive and more luminous compact sources that non-hubs; iii. hub-hosting clumps are more evolved that non-hubs; iv. no discontinuities are observed in the properties of compact sources as a function of convergence parameter. We propose that the rapid global collapse of clumps is responsible for (re)organising filament networks into hubs and, in parallel, enhancing the mass growth of compact sources.

We present here the polarization system of the NIKA camera and give a summary of the main results obtained and performed studies on Orion and the Crab nebula. The polarization system was equipped with a room temperature continuously rotating multi-mesh half wave plate and a grid polarizer facing the NIKA cryostat window. NIKA even though less sensitive than NIKA2 had polarization capability in both 1 and 2 millimiter bands. NIKA polarization observations demonstrated the ability of such a technology in detecting the polarization of different targets, compact and extended sources like the Crab nebula and Orion Molecular Cloud region OMC-1. These measurements together with the developed techniques to deal with systematics, opened the way to the current observations of NIKA2 in polarization that will provide important advances in the studies of galactic and extra-galactic emission and magnetic fields.

The main limiting factor of cosmological analyses based on thermal Sunyaev-Zel’dovich (SZ) cluster statistics comes from the bias and systematic uncertainties that affect the estimates of the mass of galaxy clusters. High-angular resolution SZ observations at high redshift are needed to study a potential redshift or morphology dependence of both the mean pressure profile and of the mass-observable scaling relation used in SZ cosmological analyses. The NIKA2 camera is a new generation continuum instrument installed at the IRAM 30-m telescope. With a large field of view, a high angular resolution and a high-sensitivity, the NIKA2 camera has unique SZ mapping capabilities. In this paper, we present the NIKA2 SZ large program, aiming at observing a large sample of clusters at redshifts between 0.5 and 0.9, and the characterization of the first cluster oberved with NIKA2.

The NIKA2 polarization channel at 260 GHz (1.15 mm) has been proposed primarily to observe galactic star-forming regions and probe the critical scales between 0.01-0.05 pc at which magnetic field lines may channel the matter of interstellar filaments into growing dense cores. The NIKA2 polarime-ter consists of a room temperature continuously rotating multi-mesh HWP and a cold polarizer that separates the two orthogonal polarizations onto two 260 GHz KIDs arrays. We describe in this paper the preliminary results obtained during the most recent commissioning campaign performed in December 2018. We concentrate here on the analysis of the extended sources, while the observation of compact sources is presented in a companion paper [12]. We present preliminary NIKA2 polarization maps of the Crab nebula. We find that the integrated polarization intensity flux measured by NIKA2 is consistent with expectations. In terms of polarization angle, we are still limited by systematic uncertainties that will be further investigated in the forthcoming commissioning campaigns.

Clarifying the role of magnetic fields in the star formation process is crucial. Observations have already shown that magnetic fields play an important role in the early stages of star formation. The high spatial resolution (∼0.01 to 0.05 pc) provided by NIKA2-Pol 1.2 mm imaging polarimetry of nearby clouds will help us clarify the geometry of the B-field within dense cores and molecular filaments as part of the IRAM 30m large program B-FUN. There are numerous challenging issues in the validation of NIKA2-Pol such as the calibration of instrumental polarization. The commissioning phase of NIKA2-Pol is underway and is helping us characterize the intensity-to-polarization “leakage” pattern of the instrument. We present a preliminary analysis of the leakage pattern and its dependence with elevation. We also present the current leakage correction made possible by the NIKA2 pipeline in polarization mode based on the NIKA2-Pol commissioning data taken in December 2018. Based on reduced Stokes I, Q, U data we find that the leakage pattern of NIKA2-Pol depends on elevation and is sensitive to the focus of the telescope.

Understanding where and when the mass of stars is determined is one of the fundamental, mostly unsolved, questions in astronomy. Here, we present the first results of GASTON, the Galactic Star Formation with NIKA2 large programme on the IRAM 30m telescope, that aims to identify new populations of low-brightness sources to tackle the question of stellar mass determination across all masses. In this paper, we focus on the high-mass star formation part of the project, for which we map a ~ 2 deg2 region of the Galactic plane around l = 24° in both 1.2 mm and 2.0 mm continuum. Half-way through the project, we reach a sensitivity of 3.7 mJy/beam at 1.2mm. Even though larger than our target sensitivity of 2 mJy, the current sensitivity already allows the identification of a new population of cold, compact sources that remained undetected in any (sub-)mm Galactic plane survey so far. In fact, about 25% of the ~ 1600 compact sources identified in the 1.2mm GASTON image are new detections. We present a preliminary analysis of the physical properties of the GASTON sources as a function of their evolutionary stage, arguing for a potential evolution of the mass distribution of these sources with time.

High-resolution mapping of the hot gas in galaxy clusters is a key tool for cluster-based cosmological analyses. Taking advantage of the NIKA2 millimeter camera operated at the IRAM 30-m telescope, the NIKA2 SZ Large Program seeks to get a high-resolution follow-up of 45 galaxy clusters covering a wide mass range at high redshift in order to re-calibrate some of the tools needed for the cosmological exploitation of SZ surveys. We present the second cluster analysis of this program, targeting one of the faintest sources of the sample in order to tackle the difficulties in data reduction for such faint, low-SNR clusters. In this study, the main challenge is the precise estimation of the contamination by sub-millimetric point sources, which greatly affects the tSZ map of the cluster. We account for this contamination by performing a joint fit of the SZ signal and of the flux density of the compact sources. A prior knowledge of these fluxes is given by the adjustment of the SED of each source using data from both NIKA2 and the Herschel satellite. The first results are very promising and demonstrate the possibility to estimate thermodynamic properties with NIKA2, even in a compact cluster heavily contaminated by point sources.

Clusters of galaxies, the largest bound objects in the Universe, constitute a cosmological probe of choice, which is sensitive to both dark matter and dark energy. Within this framework, the Sunyaev-Zel’dovich (SZ) effect has opened a new window for the detection of clusters of galaxies and for the characterization of their physical properties such as mass, pressure and temperature. NIKA, a KID-based dual band camera installed at the IRAM 30-m telescope, was particularly well adapted in terms of frequency, angular resolution, field-of-view and sensitivity, for the mapping of the thermal and kinetic SZ effect in high-redshift clusters. In this paper, we present the NIKA cluster sample and a review of the main results obtained via the measurement of the SZ effect on those clusters: reconstruction of the cluster radial pressure profile, mass, temperature and velocity.

The new NIKA2 camera at the IRAM 30m radiotelescope was used to observe three known debris disks in order to constrain the SED of their dust emission in the millimeter wavelength domain. We have found that the spectral index between the two NIKA2 bands (1mm and 2mm) is consistent with the Rayleigh-Jeans regime (λ-2), unlike the steeper spectra (λ-3) measured in the submillimeter-wavelength domain for two of the three disks - around the stars Vega and HD107146. We provide a succesful proof of concept to model this spectral inversion in using two populations of dust grains, those smaller and those larger than a grain radius a0 of 0.5mm. This is obtained in breaking the slope of the size distribution and the functional form of the absorption coefficient of the standard model. The third disk - around the star HR8799 - does not exhibit this spectral inversion but is also the youngest.

We present the results of the analysis of the very massive cluster MOO J1142+1527 at a redshift z = 1.2 based on high angular resolution NIKA2 Sunyaev-Zel’dovich (SZ) and Chandra X-ray data. This multi-wavelength analysis enables us to estimate the shape of the temperature profile with unprecedented precision at this redshift and to obtain a map of the gas entropy distribution averaged along the line of sight. The comparison between the cluster morphological properties observed in the NIKA2 and Chandra maps together with the analysis of the entropy map allows us to conclude that MOOJ1142+1527 is an on-going merger hosting a cool-core at the position of the X-ray peak. This work demonstrates how the addition of spatially-resolved SZ observations to low signal-to-noise X-ray data can bring valuable insights on the intracluster medium thermodynamic properties at z > 1.

Clusters of galaxies are used to map the large-scale structures in the universe and as probe of universe evolution. They can be observed through the Sunyaev-Zel’dovich (SZ) effect. In this respect the spectro-imaging at low resolution frequency is an important tool, today, for the study of cluster of galaxies. We have developed KISS (KIDs Interferometer Spectrum Survey), a spectrometric imager dedicated to the secondary anisotropies of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB). The multi-frequency approach permits to improve the component separation with respect to predecessor experiments. In this paper, firstly, we provide a description of the scientific context and the state of the art of SZ observations. Secondly, we describe the KISS instrument. Finally, we show preliminary results of the ongoing commissioning campaign.

The steps taken to tailor to NIKA2 observations the Scanamorphos algorithm (initially developed to subtract low-frequency noise from Herschel on-the-fly observations) are described, focussing on the consequences of the different instrument architecture and observation strategy. The method, making the most extensive use of the redundancy built in the multi-scan coverage with large arrays of a given region of the sky, is applicable to extended sources, while the pipeline is so far optimized for compact sources. An example of application is given. A related tool to build consistent broadband SEDs from 60 microns to 2 mm, combining Herschel and NIKA2 data, has also been developed. Its main task is to process the data least affected by low-frequency noise and coverage limitations (i.e. the Herschel data) through the same transfer function as the NIKA2 data, simulating the same scan geometry and applying the same noise and atmospheric signal as extracted from the 1mm and 2mm data.