Date: April 1st 2010

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Today's topics:

  • Daily Rpt #5063 - 1 messages, 1 author http://groups google com/group/sci astro hubble/t/4a3615c0e0593997?hl=en
  • Daily Report #5064 - 1 messages, 1 author http://groups google com/group/sci astro hubble/t/4ac13648603d9b94?hl=en

============================================================================== TOPIC: Daily Rpt #5063

http://groups google com/group/sci astro hubble/t/4a3615c0e0593997?hl=en

== 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 0 8mJy and their mid-IR spectra have already provided the majority targets with spectroscopic redshifts (0 31 ULIRGs, as in the local Universe, (2) study the co-evolution of star formation and blackhole accretion by investigating the relations between the fraction of starburst/AGN measured from mid-IR spectra vs HST morphologies, L(bol) and z, and (3) obtain the current best estimates of the far-IR emission, thus L(bol) for this sample, and establish if the relative contribution of mid-to-far IR dust emission is correlated with morphology (resolved vs unresolved)

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)

                   SCHEDULED  SUCCESSFUL

FGS GSAcq 9 9 FGS REAcq 7 7 OBAD with Maneuver 6 6

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS: (None)

============================================================================== TOPIC: Daily Report #5064

http://groups google com/group/sci astro hubble/t/4ac13648603d9b94?hl=en

== 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)

                   SCHEDULED SUCCESSFUL

FGS GSAcq 5 5 FGS REAcq 9 9 OBAD with Maneuver 6 6

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS: (None)

==============================================================================

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