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============================================================================== TOPIC: Daily Rpt #5063
== 1 of 1 == Date: Tues, Mar 30 2010 8:17 am From: "Bassford, Lynn"
HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to Collect World Class Science
DAILY REPORT #5063
PERIOD COVERED: 5am March 29 - 5am March 30, 2010 (DOY 088/09:00z-089/09:00z)
OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED
ACS/WFC 11995
CCD Daily Monitor (Part 2)
This program comprises basic tests for measuring the read noise and dark current of the ACS WFC and for tracking the growth of hot pixels The recorded frames are used to create bias and dark reference images for science data reduction and calibration This program will be executed four days per week (Mon, Wed, Fri, Sun) for the duration of Cycle 17 To facilitate scheduling, this program is split into three proposals This proposal covers 320 orbits (20 weeks) from 1 February 2010 to 20 June 2010
COS/FUV 11895
FUV Detector Dark Monitor
The purpose of this proposal is to monitor the FUV detector dark rate by taking long science exposures without illuminating the detector The detector dark rate and spatial distribution of counts will be compared to pre-launch and SMOV data in order to verify the nominal operation of the detector Variations of count rate as a function of orbital position will be analyzed to find dependence of dark rate on proximity to the SAA Dependence of dark rate as function of time will also be tracked
COS/NUV 11896
NUV Spectroscopic Sensitivity Monitoring
The purpose of this proposal is to monitor sensitivity of each NUV grating mode to detect any changes due to contamination or other causes
COS/NUV/FUV 11598
How Galaxies Acquire their Gas: A Map of Multiphase Accretion and Feedback in Gaseous Galaxy Halos
We propose to address two of the biggest open questions in galaxy formation - how galaxies acquire their gas and how they return it to the IGM - with a concentrated COS survey of diffuse multiphase gas in the halos of SDSS galaxies at z = 0 15 - 0 35 Our chief science goal is to establish a basic set of observational facts about the physical state, metallicity, and kinematics of halo gas, including the sky covering fraction of hot and cold material, the metallicity of infall and outflow, and correlations with galaxy stellar mass, type, and color - all as a function of impact parameter from 10 - 150 kpc Theory suggests that the bimodality of galaxy colors, the shape of the luminosity function, and the mass-metallicity relation are all influenced at a fundamental level by accretion and feedback, yet these gas processes are poorly understood and cannot be predicted robustly from first principles We lack even a basic observational assessment of the multiphase gaseous content of galaxy halos on 100 kpc scales, and we do not know how these processes vary with galaxy properties This ignorance is presently one of the key impediments to understanding galaxy formation in general We propose to use the high-resolution gratings G130M and G160M on the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph to obtain sensitive column density measurements of a comprehensive suite of multiphase ions in the spectra of 43 z < 1 QSOs lying behind 43 galaxies selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey In aggregate, these sightlines will constitute a statistically sound map of the physical state and metallicity of gaseous halos, and subsets of the data with cuts on galaxy mass, color, and SFR will seek out predicted variations of gas properties with galaxy properties Our interpretation of these data will be aided by state-of-the-art hydrodynamic simulations of accretion and feedback, in turn providing information to refine and test such models We will also use Keck, MMT, and Magellan (as needed) to obtain optical spectra of the QSOs to measure cold gas with Mg II, and optical spectra of the galaxies to measure SFRs and to look for outflows In addition to our other science goals, these observations will help place the Milky Way's population of multiphase, accreting High Velocity Clouds (HVCs) into a global context by identifying analogous structures around other galaxies Our program is designed to make optimal use of the unique capabilities of COS to address our science goals and also generate a rich dataset of other absorption-line systems
S/C 12046
COS FUV DCE Memory Dump
Whenever the FUV detector high voltage is on, count rate and current draw information is collected, monitored, and saved to DCE memory Every 10 msec the detector samples the currents from the HV power supplies (HVIA, HVIB) and the AUX power supply (AUXI) The last 1000 samples are saved in memory, along with a histogram of the number of occurrences of each current value
In the case of a HV transient (known as a "crackle" on FUSE), where one of these currents exceeds a preset threshold for a persistence time, the HV will shut down, and the DCE memory will be dumped and examined as part of the recovery procedure However, if the current exceeds the threshold for less than the persistence time (a "mini-crackle" in FUSE parlance), there is no way to know without dumping DCE memory By dumping and examining the histograms regularly, we will be able to monitor any changes in the rate of "mini-crackles" and thus learn something about the state of the detector
STIS/CC 11845
CCD Dark Monitor Part 2
Monitor the darks for the STIS CCD
STIS/CC 11847
CCD Bias Monitor-Part 2
Monitor the bias in the 1x1, 1x2, 2x1, and 2x2 bin settings at gain=1, and 1x1 at gain = 4, to build up high-S/N superbiases and track the evolution of hot columns
STIS/CCD 11567
Boron Abundances in Rapidly Rotating Early-B Stars
Models of rotation in early-B stars predict that rotationally driven mixing should deplete surface boron abundances during the main-sequence lifetime of many stars However, recent work has shown that many boron depleted stars are intrinsically slow rotators for which models predict no depletion should have occurred, while observations of nitrogen in some more rapidly rotating stars show less mixing than the models predict Boron can provide unique information on the earliest stages of mixing in B stars, but previous surveys have been biased towards narrow- lined stars because of the difficulty in measuring boron abundances in rapidly rotating stars The two targets observed as part of our Cycle 13 SNAP program 10175, just before STIS failed, demonstrate that it is possible to make useful boron abundance measurements for early-B stars with Vsin(i) above 100 km/s We propose to extend that survey to a large enough sample of stars to allow statistically significant tests of models of rotational mixing in early-B stars
STIS/MA1/MA2 11857
STIS Cycle 17 MAMA Dark Monitor
This proposal monitors the behavior of the dark current in each of the MAMA detectors
The basic monitor takes two 1380s ACCUM darks each week with each detector However, starting Oct 5, pairs are only included for weeks that the LRP has external MAMA observations planned The weekly pairs of exposures for each detector are linked so that they are taken at opposite ends of the same SAA free interval This pairing of exposures will make it easier to separate long and short term temporal variability from temperature dependent changes
For both detectors, additional blocks of exposures are taken once every six months These are groups of five 1314s FUV-MAMA Time-Tag darks or five 3x315s NUV ACCUM darks distributed over a single SAA-free interval This will give more information on the brightness of the FUV MAMA dark current as a function of the amount of time that the HV has been on, and for the NUV MAMA will give a better measure of the short term temperature dependence
WFC3/ACS/IR 11142
Revealing the Physical Nature of Infrared Luminous Galaxies at
0
3 We aim to determine physical properties of IR luminous galaxies at
0
3 WFC3/IR 11591 Are Low-Luminosity Galaxies Responsible for Cosmic Reionization? Our group has demonstrated that massive clusters, acting as powerful
cosmic lenses, can constrain the abundance and properties of
low-luminosity star-forming sources beyond z~6; such sources are
thought to be responsible for ending cosmic reionization
The large
magnification possible in the critical regions of well-constrained
clusters brings sources into view that lie at or beyond the limits of
conventional exposures such as the UDF
We have shown that the
combination of HST and Spitzer is particularly effective in delivering
the physical properties of these distant sources, constraining their
mass, age and past star formation history
Indirectly, we therefore
gain a valuable glimpse to yet earlier epochs
Recognizing the result
(and limitations) of blank field surveys, we propose a systematic
search through 10 lensing clusters with ACS/F814W and
WFC3/[F110W+F160W] (in conjunction with existing deep IRAC data)
Our
goal is to measure with great accuracy the luminosity function at z~7
over a range of at least 3 magnitude, based on the identification of
about 50 lensed galaxies at 6
5 WFC3/IR 11696 Infrared Survey of Star Formation Across Cosmic Time We propose to use the unique power of WFC3 slitless spectroscopy to
measure the evolution of cosmic star formation from the end of the
reionization epoch at z>6 to the close of the galaxy- building era at
z~0
3
Pure parallel observations with the grisms have proven to be
efficient for identifying line emission from galaxies across a broad
range of redshifts
The G102 grism on WFC3 was designed to extend this
capability to search for Ly-alpha emission from the first galaxies
Using up to 250 orbits of pure parallel WFC3 spectroscopy, we will
observe about 40 deep (4-5 orbit) fields with the combination of G102
and G141, and about 20 shallow (2-3 orbit) fields with G141 alone
Our primary science goals at the highest redshifts are: (1) Detect Lya
in ~100 galaxies with z>5
6 and measure the evolution of the Lya
luminosity function, independent of of cosmic variance; 2) Determine
the connection between emission line selected and continuum-break
selected galaxies at these high redshifts, and 3) Search for the
proposed signature of neutral hydrogen absorption at re-ionization
At
intermediate redshifts we will (4) Detect more than 1000 galaxies in
Halpha at 0
5 To identify single-line Lya emitters, we will exploit the wide
0
8--1
9um wavelength coverage of the combined G102+G141 spectra
All
[OII] and [OIII] interlopers detected in G102 will be reliably
separated from true LAEs by the detection of at least one strong line
in the G141 spectrum, without the need for any ancillary data
We
waive all proprietary rights to our data and will make high-level data
products available through the ST/ECF
WFC3/IR/S/C 11929 IR Dark Current Monitor Analyses of ground test data showed that dark current signals are more
reliably removed from science data using darks taken with the same
exposure sequences as the science data, than with a single dark
current image scaled by desired exposure time
Therefore, dark current
images must be collected using all sample sequences that will be used
in science observations
These observations will be used to monitor
changes in the dark current of the WFC3-IR channel on a day-to-day
basis, and to build calibration dark current ramps for each of the
sample sequences to be used by Gos in Cycle 17
For each sample
sequence/array size combination, a median ramp will be created and
delivered to the calibration database system (CDBS)
WFC3/IR/S/C 12087 WFC3 IR subarray anomaly Certain combinations of WFC3 IR subarray size and sample sequence
yield images that show a sharp change in background level that exactly
bi-sects each detector amplifier quadrant
The change in level has an
amplitude of a few DN per pixel
The cause of this anomaly and its
apparent correlation with subarray size and sample sequence is not
understood
Given the 4 available subarray sizes and 11 available
readout sample sequences, there are a total of 44 possible subarray
mode readout combinations
To date, 14 of those combinations have been
used on-orbit in either calibration and GO programs
Of those, 3
combinations show the anomaly
This program will obtain IR dark
exposures in the remaining 30 readout combinations that have not yet
been explored
This will add to our knowledge of which combinations
show the anomaly and will therefore help us to understand its origin
WFC3/IR/S/C 12097 Additional IR Subarray Dark Current Measurements (in support of GO
programs 11205, 11580) This proposal will produce IR dark images necessary to calibrate GO
science observations (already taken, see proposals 11205 and 11580)
that use observing modes not supported by the existing IR dark current
monitor (proposal 11929)
These modes are as follows:
SQ256SUB/SPARS100, SQ256SUB/SPARS200, SQ512SUB/SPARS10,
SQ512SUB/SPARS100, and SQ512SUB/SPARS200
WFC3/UVI/IR 11557 The Nature of Low-Ionization BAL QSOs The rare subclass of optically-selected QSOs known as low-ionization
broad absorption line (LoBAL) QSOs show signs of high-velocity gas
outflows and reddened continua indicative of dust obscuration
Recent
studies show that galaxies hosting LoBAL QSOs tend to be ultraluminous
infrared systems that are undergoing mergers, and that have dominant
young (< 100 Myr) stellar populations
Such studies support the idea
that LoBAL QSOs represent a short- lived phase early in the life of
QSOs, when powerful AGN-driven winds are blowing away the dust and gas
surrounding the QSO
If so, understanding LoBALs would be critical in
the study of phenomena regulating black hole and galaxy evolution,
such as AGN feedback and the early stages of nuclear accretion
These
results, however, come from very small samples that may have serious
selection biases
We are therefore taking a more aggressive approach
by conducting a systematic multiwavelength study of a volume limited
sample of LoBAL QSOs at 0
5 < z < 0
6 drawn from SDSS
We propose to
image their host galaxies in two bands using WFC3/UVIS and WFC3/IR to
study the morphologies for signs of recent tidal interactions and to
map their interaction and star forming histories
We will thus
determine whether LoBAL QSOs are truly exclusively found in young
merging systems that are likely to be in the early stages of nuclear
accretion
WFC3/UVIS 11583 The Star Formation Rate In Nearby Elliptical Galaxies Small amounts of star formation in normal elliptical galaxies are
suggested by several results: some surprisingly young ages from
optical line-index dating; cooling X-ray gas; and mid-IR dust
emission
Previously, it was difficult to detect low levels of star
formation, but UV imaging with WFPC3 will permit us to conclusively
identify individual O/B stars in nearby normal ellipticals by their UV
colors and magnitudes
This technique is orders of magnitude more
sensitive than previous methods, allowing detections of star formation
to levels of 1E-4 Msolar/yr
Proof of concept is provided by a very
long UV ACS observation of M87 that revealed many O/B stars
We
propose observations of four normal ellipticals where recent star
formation is likely
This will yield their star formation rates and
the locations of such activity
WFC3/UVIS 11661 The Black Hole Mass - Bulge Luminosity Relationship for the Nearest
Reverberation-Mapped AGNs We propose to obtain WFC3 host galaxy images of the eight nearest AGNs
with masses from reverberation mapping, and one star as a PSF model
These images will allow us to determine with unprecedented accuracy
the bulge luminosities of the host galaxies, a goal which is not
achievable from the ground due to the blurring of the very bright PSF
component under typical, and even very good, seeing conditions
High-resolution ACS images of the host galaxies of more luminous AGNs
reveal that the black hole mass-bulge luminosity and black hole
mass-bulge mass relationships for AGNs are not well constrained and
arise from what appear to be fundamentally flawed data sets
With the
addition of the images proposed here to our current sample of ACS
images, we will be able to extend our determinations of the black hole
mass- bulge luminosity and black hole mass-bulge mass relationships
for AGNs by an order of magnitude and test our preliminary results for
these fundamentally important relationships against those previously
determined for quiescent galaxies
WFC3/UVIS 11786 HST Observations of Astrophysically Important Visual Binaries This is a continuation of a project begun in Cycle 7 and continued up
through Cycle 14
The program consists of annual FGS or WFPC2
observations of three visual binary stars that will yield fundamental
astrophysical results, once their orbits and masses are determined
In
Cycle 17 we are changing WFPC2 to WFC3
Our targets are the following: (1) Procyon (P = 40
9 yr), for which
our first WFPC2 images yielded an extremely accurate angular
separation of the bright F star and its much fainter white- dwarf
companion
Combined with ground-based astrometry of the bright star,
our observation significantly revised downward the derived masses, and
brought Procyon A into much better agreement with theoretical
evolutionary masses for the first time
With the continued monitoring
proposed here, we will obtain masses to an accuracy of better than 1%,
providing a testbed for theories of both Sun-like stars and white
dwarfs
(2) G 107-70, a close double white dwarf (P = 18
5 yr) that
promises to add two accurate masses to the tiny handful of white-dwarf
masses that are directly known from dynamical measurements
(3) Mu Cas
(P = 20
8 yr), a famous nearby metal-deficient G dwarf for which
accurate masses will lead to the stars' helium contents, with
cosmological implications
For all three stars, we will also be
setting increasingly stringent limits on the presence of
planetary-mass bodies in the systems
WFC3/UVIS 11905 WFC3 UVIS CCD Daily Monitor The behavior of the WFC3 UVIS CCD will be monitored daily with a set
of full-frame, four-amp bias and dark frames
A smaller set of 2Kx4K
subarray biases are acquired at less frequent intervals throughout the
cycle to support subarray science observations
The internals from
this proposal, along with those from the anneal procedure (Proposal
11909), will be used to generate the necessary superbias and superdark
reference files for the calibration pipeline (CDBS)
WFC3/UVIS 11908 Cycle 17: UVIS Bowtie Monitor Ground testing revealed an intermittent hysteresis type effect in the
UVIS detector (both CCDs) at the level of ~1%, lasting hours to days
Initially found via an unexpected bowtie-shaped feature in flatfield
ratios, subsequent lab tests on similar e2v devices have since shown
that it is also present as simply an overall offset across the entire
CCD, i
e
, a QE offset without any discernable pattern
These lab
tests have further revealed that overexposing the detector to count
levels several times full well fills the traps and effectively
neutralizes the bowtie
Each visit in this proposal acquires a set of
three 3x3 binned internal flatfields: the first unsaturated image will
be used to detect any bowtie, the second, highly exposed image will
neutralize the bowtie if it is present, and the final image will allow
for verification that the bowtie is gone
FLIGHT OPERATIONS SUMMARY: Significant Spacecraft Anomalies: (The following are preliminary
reports of potential non-nominal performance that will be
investigated
) HSTARS: 12232 - GSAcq(1,2,1) at 089/06:35:20z and REAcq(1,2,1) at
089/07:40:38z and 089/09:16:29z resulted in fine lock backup on FGS1
Observations possibly affected: COS 34-36 Proposal ID#11598, WFC3
49-51 Proposal ID#11700 COMPLETED OPS REQUEST: (None) COMPLETED OPS NOTES: (None) FGS GSAcq 9 9
FGS REAcq 7 7
OBAD with Maneuver 6 6 SIGNIFICANT EVENTS: (None) ==============================================================================
TOPIC: Daily Report #5064 == 1 of 1 ==
Date: Wed, Mar 31 2010 9:05 am
From: "Cooper, Joe" HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to Collect World Class Science DAILY REPORT #5064 PERIOD COVERED: 5am March 30 - 5am March 31, 2010 (DOY 089/09:00z-090/09:00z) OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED COS/NUV/FUV 11598 How Galaxies Acquire their Gas: A Map of Multiphase Accretion and
Feedback in Gaseous Galaxy Halos We propose to address two of the biggest open questions in galaxy
formation - how galaxies acquire their gas and how they return it to
the IGM - with a concentrated COS survey of diffuse multiphase gas in
the halos of SDSS galaxies at z = 0
15 - 0
35
Our chief science goal
is to establish a basic set of observational facts about the physical
state, metallicity, and kinematics of halo gas, including the sky
covering fraction of hot and cold material, the metallicity of infall
and outflow, and correlations with galaxy stellar mass, type, and
color - all as a function of impact parameter from 10 - 150 kpc
Theory suggests that the bimodality of galaxy colors, the shape of the
luminosity function, and the mass-metallicity relation are all
influenced at a fundamental level by accretion and feedback, yet these
gas processes are poorly understood and cannot be predicted robustly
from first principles
We lack even a basic observational assessment
of the multiphase gaseous content of galaxy halos on 100 kpc scales,
and we do not know how these processes vary with galaxy properties
This ignorance is presently one of the key impediments to
understanding galaxy formation in general
We propose to use the
high-resolution gratings G130M and G160M on the Cosmic Origins
Spectrograph to obtain sensitive column density measurements of a
comprehensive suite of multiphase ions in the spectra of 43 z < 1 QSOs
lying behind 43 galaxies selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey
In aggregate, these sightlines will constitute a statistically sound
map of the physical state and metallicity of gaseous halos, and
subsets of the data with cuts on galaxy mass, color, and SFR will seek
out predicted variations of gas properties with galaxy properties
Our
interpretation of these data will be aided by state-of-the-art
hydrodynamic simulations of accretion and feedback, in turn providing
information to refine and test such models
We will also use Keck,
MMT, and Magellan (as needed) to obtain optical spectra of the QSOs to
measure cold gas with Mg II, and optical spectra of the galaxies to
measure SFRs and to look for outflows
In addition to our other
science goals, these observations will help place the Milky Way's
population of multiphase, accreting High Velocity Clouds (HVCs) into a
global context by identifying analogous structures around other
galaxies
Our program is designed to make optimal use of the unique
capabilities of COS to address our science goals and also generate a
rich dataset of other absorption-line systems STIS/CC 11845 CCD Dark Monitor Part 2 Monitor the darks for the STIS CCD
STIS/CC 11847 CCD Bias Monitor-Part 2 Monitor the bias in the 1x1, 1x2, 2x1, and 2x2 bin settings at gain=1,
and 1x1 at gain = 4, to build up high-S/N superbiases and track the
evolution of hot columns
STIS/MA1/MA2 11857 STIS Cycle 17 MAMA Dark Monitor This proposal monitors the behavior of the dark current in each of the
MAMA detectors
The basic monitor takes two 1380s ACCUM darks each week with each
detector
However, starting Oct 5, pairs are only included for weeks
that the LRP has external MAMA observations planned
The weekly pairs
of exposures for each detector are linked so that they are taken at
opposite ends of the same SAA free interval
This pairing of exposures
will make it easier to separate long and short term temporal
variability from temperature dependent changes
For both detectors, additional blocks of exposures are taken once
every six months
These are groups of five 1314s FUV-MAMA Time-Tag
darks or five 3x315s NUV ACCUM darks distributed over a single
SAA-free interval
This will give more information on the brightness
of the FUV MAMA dark current as a function of the amount of time that
the HV has been on, and for the NUV MAMA will give a better measure of
the short term temperature dependence
WFC3/ACS/UVIS/IR 11570 Narrowing in on the Hubble Constant and Dark Energy A measurement of the Hubble constant to a precision of a few percent
would be a powerful aid to the investigation of the nature of dark
energy and a potent "end-to end" test of the present cosmological
model
In Cycle 15 we constructed a new streamlined distance ladder
utilizing high- quality type Ia supernova data and observations of
Cepheids with HST in the near-IR to minimize the dominant sources of
systematic uncertainty in past measurements of the Hubble constant and
reduce its total uncertainty to a little under 5%
Here we propose to
exploit this new route to reduce the remaining uncertainty by more
than 30%, translating into an equal reduction in the uncertainty of
the equation of state of dark energy
We propose three sets of
observations to reach this goal: a mosaic of NGC 4258 with WFC3 in
F160W to triple its sample of long period Cepheids, WFC3/F160W
observations of the 6 ideal SN Ia hosts to triple their samples of
Cepheids, and observations of NGC 5584 the host of a new SN Ia, SN
2007af, to discover and measure its Cepheids and begin expanding the
small set of SN Ia luminosity calibrations
These observations would
provide the bulk of a coordinated program aimed at making the
measurement of the Hubble constant one of the leading constraints on
dark energy
WFC3/IR 11696 Infrared Survey of Star Formation Across Cosmic Time We propose to use the unique power of WFC3 slitless spectroscopy to
measure the evolution of cosmic star formation from the end of the
reionization epoch at z>6 to the close of the galaxy- building era at
z~0
3
Pure parallel observations with the grisms have proven to be
efficient for identifying line emission from galaxies across a broad
range of redshifts
The G102 grism on WFC3 was designed to extend this
capability to search for Ly-alpha emission from the first galaxies
Using up to 250 orbits of pure parallel WFC3 spectroscopy, we will
observe about 40 deep (4-5 orbit) fields with the combination of G102
and G141, and about 20 shallow (2-3 orbit) fields with G141 alone
Our primary science goals at the highest redshifts are: (1) Detect Lya
in ~100 galaxies with z>5
6 and measure the evolution of the Lya
luminosity function, independent of of cosmic variance; 2) Determine
the connection between emission line selected and continuum-break
selected galaxies at these high redshifts, and 3) Search for the
proposed signature of neutral hydrogen absorption at re-ionization
At
intermediate redshifts we will (4) Detect more than 1000 galaxies in
Halpha at 0
5 To identify single-line Lya emitters, we will exploit the wide
0
8--1
9um wavelength coverage of the combined G102+G141 spectra
All
[OII] and [OIII] interlopers detected in G102 will be reliably
separated from true LAEs by the detection of at least one strong line
in the G141 spectrum, without the need for any ancillary data
We
waive all proprietary rights to our data and will make high-level data
products available through the ST/ECF
WFC3/IR/S/C 11929 IR Dark Current Monitor Analyses of ground test data showed that dark current signals are more
reliably removed from science data using darks taken with the same
exposure sequences as the science data, than with a single dark
current image scaled by desired exposure time
Therefore, dark current
images must be collected using all sample sequences that will be used
in science observations
These observations will be used to monitor
changes in the dark current of the WFC3-IR channel on a day-to-day
basis, and to build calibration dark current ramps for each of the
sample sequences to be used by Gos in Cycle 17
For each sample
sequence/array size combination, a median ramp will be created and
delivered to the calibration database system (CDBS)
WFC3/IR/S/C 12097 Additional IR Subarray Dark Current Measurements (in support of GO
programs 11205, 11580) This proposal will produce IR dark images necessary to calibrate GO
science observations (already taken, see proposals 11205 and 11580)
that use observing modes not supported by the existing IR dark current
monitor (proposal 11929)
These modes are as follows:
SQ256SUB/SPARS100, SQ256SUB/SPARS200, SQ512SUB/SPARS10,
SQ512SUB/SPARS100, and SQ512SUB/SPARS200
WFC3/UVIS 11565 A Search for Astrometric Companions to Very Low-Mass, Population II
Stars We propose to carry out a Snapshot search for astrometric companions
in a subsample of very low-mass, halo subdwarfs identified within 120
parsecs of the Sun
These ultra-cool M subdwarfs are local
representatives of the lowest-mass H burning objects from the Galactic
Population II
The expected 3-4 astrometric doubles that will be
discovered will be invaluable in that they will be the first systems
from which gravitational masses of metal-poor stars at the bottom of
the main sequence can be directly measured
WFC3/UVIS 11905 WFC3 UVIS CCD Daily Monitor The behavior of the WFC3 UVIS CCD will be monitored daily with a set
of full-frame, four-amp bias and dark frames
A smaller set of 2Kx4K
subarray biases are acquired at less frequent intervals throughout the
cycle to support subarray science observations
The internals from
this proposal, along with those from the anneal procedure (Proposal
11909), will be used to generate the necessary superbias and superdark
reference files for the calibration pipeline (CDBS)
WFC3/UVIS/IR 11662 Improving the Radius-Luminosity Relationship for Broad-Lined AGNs with
a New Reverberation Sample The radius-luminosity (R-L) relationship is currently the fundamental
basis for all techniques used to estimate black hole masses in AGNs,
in both the nearby and distant universe
However, the current R-L
relationship is based on 34 objects that cover a limited range in
black hole mass and luminosity
To improve our understanding of black
hole growth and evolution, the R-L relationship must be extended to
cover a broader range of black hole masses using the technique known
as reverberation mapping
To this end, we have been awarded an
unprecedented 64 nights on the Lick Observatory 3-m telescope between
March 24 and May 31, 2008, to spectroscopically monitor 12 AGNs in
order to measure their black hole masses
To properly determine the
luminosities of these 12 AGNs, we must correct them for their
host-galaxy starlight contributions using high-resolution images
Previous work by Bentz et al
(2006) has shown that the starlight
correction to AGN luminosity measurements is an essential component to
interpreting the R-L relationship
The correction will be substantial
for each of the 12 sources we will monitor, as the AGNs are relatively
faint and embedded in nearby, bright galaxies
Starlight corrections
are not possible with ground-based images, as the PSF and bulge
contributions become indistinguishable under typical seeing
conditions, and adaptive optics are not yet operational in the
spectral range where the corrections are needed
In addition, spectral
decompositions are very model-dependent and are limited by the degree
of accuracy to which we understand emission processes and stellar
populations in galaxies
Without correcting for starlight, we will be
unable to apply the results of our Spring 2008 campaign to the body of
knowledge from previous reverberation mapping work
Therefore, we
propose to obtain high resolution, high dynamic range images of the
host galaxies of the 12 AGNs in our ground-based monitoring sample, as
well as one white dwarf which will be used as a PSF model
WFC3/UVIS/IR 11700 Bright Galaxies at z>7
5 with a WFC3 Pure Parallel Survey The epoch of reionization represents a special moment in the history
of the Universe as it is during this era that the first galaxies and
star clusters are formed
Reionization also profoundly affects the
environment where subsequent generations of galaxies evolve
Our
overarching goal is to test the hypothesis that galaxies are
responsible for reionizing neutral hydrogen
To do so we propose to
carry out a pure parallel WFC3 survey to constrain the bright end of
the redshift z>7
5 galaxy luminosity function on a total area of 176
arcmin^2 of sky
Extrapolating the evolution of the luminosity
function from z~6, we expect to detect about 20 Lyman Break Galaxies
brighter than M_* at z~8 significantly improving the current sample of
only a few galaxies known at these redshifts
Finding significantly
fewer objects than predicted on the basis of extrapolation from z=6
would set strong limits to the brightness of M_*, highlighting a fast
evolution of the luminosity function with the possible implication
that galaxies alone cannot reionize the Universe
Our observations
will find the best candidates for spectroscopic confirmation, that is
bright z>7
5 objects, which would be missed by small area deeper
surveys
The random pointing nature of the program is ideal to beat
cosmic variance, especially severe for luminous massive galaxies,
which are strongly clustered
In fact our survey geometry of 38
independent fields will constrain the luminosity function like a
contiguous single field survey with two times more area at the same
depth
Lyman Break Galaxies at z>7
5 down to m_AB=26
85 (5 sigma) in
F125W will be selected as F098M dropouts, using three to five orbits
visits that include a total of four filters (F606W, F098M, F125W,
F160W) optimized to remove low-redshift interlopers and cool stars
Our data will be highly complementary to a deep field search for high-
z galaxies aimed at probing the faint end of the luminosity function,
allowing us to disentangle the degeneracy between faint end slope and
M_* in a Schechter function fit of the luminosity function
We waive
proprietary rights for the data
In addition, we commit to release the
coordinates and properties of our z>7
5 candidates within one month
from the acquisition of each field
FLIGHT OPERATIONS SUMMARY: Significant Spacecraft Anomalies: (The following are preliminary
reports of potential non-nominal performance that will be
investigated
) HSTARS: 12232 - REAcqs (1,2,1) at 089/10:52:20z, 089/12:28:11z, and
089/14:04:02z resulted in fine lock backup on FGS1
Observations possibly affected: COS 37-41 Proposal ID#11598, WFC3
52-55 Proposal ID#11700 COMPLETED OPS REQUEST: (None) COMPLETED OPS NOTES: (None) FGS GSAcq 5 5
FGS REAcq 9 9
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