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Observations of the Hubble Deep Field with the Infrared Space Observatory - III. Source counts and P(D) analysis
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1997
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We present source counts at 6.7 and 15 /lm from our maps of the Hubble Deep Field (HDF) region, reaching 38.6 ~y at 6.7 /lm and 255 ~y at 15 /lm. These are the first ever extragalactic number counts to be presented at 6.7 /lm, and are three decades fainter than IRAS at 12 /lm. Both source counts and a P(D) analysis suggest that we have reached the Infrared Space ObselVatory (ISO) confusion limit at 15 Jlffi: this will have important implications for future space missions. These data provide an excellent reference point for other ongoing ISO surveys. A no-evolution model at 15 ~m is ruled out at > 30-, while two models which fit the steep IRAS 60-Jlffi counts are acceptable. This provides important confirmation of the strong evolution seen in IRAS surveys. One of these models can then be ruled out from the 6.7-/lm data.