MARCS: Model Stellar Atmospheres and Their Application to the Photometric Calibration of the Spitzer Space Telescope Infrared Spectrograph (IRS)

We describe state-of-the-art MARCS-code model atmospheres generated for a group of A dwarf, G dwarf, and late-G to mid-K giant standard stars, selected to photometrically calibrate the Spitzer-IRS, and compare the synthetic spectra to observations of HR 6688, HR 6705, and HR 7891. The general calibration processes and uncertainties are briefly described, and the differences between various templated composite spectra of the standards are addressed. In particular, a contrast between up-to-date model atmospheres and previously published composite and synthetic spectra is illustrated for wavelength ranges around 8um (where the SiO Delta(v) = 1 band occurs for the cooler standards) and lambda greater than 20um, where the use of the Engelke function will lead to increasingly large discrepancies due to the neglect of gravity in cool stars. At this point, radiometric requirements are being met, absolute flux calibration uncertainties (1-sigma) are ~20% in the SH and LH, and ~15% in the SL and LL data, and order-to-order flux uncertainties are ~10% or less. Iteration between the MARCS model atmosphere inputs and the data processing will improve the S/N ratios and calibration accuracies.