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============================================================================== TOPIC: Daily Report #5107
== 1 of 1 == Date: Tues, Jun 1 2010 10:36 am From: "Bassford, Lynn"
HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to Collect World Class Science
DAILY REPORT #5107
PERIOD COVERED: 5am May 28 - 5am June 1, 2010 (DOY 148/09:00z-152/09:00z)
FLIGHT OPERATIONS SUMMARY:
Significant Spacecraft Anomalies: (The following are preliminary reports of potential non-nominal performance that will be investigated )
HSTARS:
@ 148/15:45
Observations affected: WFC3 #116-117, Proposal #12021
Observations possibly affected: ACS #9-10 Proposal #11995; WFC3 #10-11 Proposal #11905; COS #32 Proposal #11894; STIS #3 Proposal #11845; Astrometry Proposals #11704 and #11995
COMPLETED OPS REQUEST:
148/11:26z
COMPLETED OPS NOTES: (None)
SCHEDULED SUCCESSFUL
FGS GSAcq 32 31 FGS REAcq 29 29 OBAD with Maneuver 24 23
SIGNIFICANT EVENTS: (None)
OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED:
WFC3/UV 12117
Determining the Nature of an Exceptional Optical Transient
During the course of the Catalina Real-time Transient Survey (CRTS) we have discovered an exceptionally luminous optical transient The source of this event appears to be either the most luminous supernova ever discovered, or the first clear optical detection of the tidal disruption of a star by a massive black hole In spite of numerous ground and space-based observations the exact nature of the event remains unclear High spatial resolution observations with HST WFC3 are critical to solving this mystery
COS/NUV/S/C/FUV 12082
Extending COS/G130M Coverage Down to 905A With Two New Central Wavelengths
These exploratory observations will provide sensitivity, wavelength range, and resolution measurements for two new COS FUV G130M central wavelength settings These new settings will extend COS/G130M coverage down to 905? in two new bandpasses; 1021-1171? (BLUE) and 905-1055? (Ultra-BLUE) The modes are chosen to provide continuous coverage from 905? to the existing coverage in the G130M/1291? setting with approximately 30? of overlap in each mode for cross-calibration purposes No focus adjustments will be made for these settings, as this is deemed an unnecessary risk to COS
These new modes have the potential to provide greater than FUSE sensitivity at moderate (3, 000-5, 000) resolution
Three WD targets are defined;
1) GD50 (GSC-04717-00588; a well observed standard WD) 2) WD0320-539 (GSC-08493-00891, one of the targets used in exploring the G140L sensitivity), 3) REJ0503-289 (WD-5001-289 = GSC-04717-00588, a hot EUVE bright WD)
But only target 2) is used at this time
In the observations section, G130M/1291A is a placeholder for the BLUE and Super-BLUE settings
WFC3/UV 12077
Monitoring the Aftermath of an Asteroid Impact Event
Our Director's Discretionary program (GO-12053) to image the newly discovered object P/2010 A2 executed successfully on 2010 Jan 25 and 29 with spectacular results Hubble has apparently borne witness to the first detection of a collision in the asteroid belt Hubble imaging with the WFC3 has revealed an object unlike anything ever seen before and with details impossible to detect with any other facility We request 6 more orbits of Hubble time (1 orbit every 20 days over the next few months, until the object enters Hubble's solar exclusion zone in late-June 2010) to monitor the evolution of this remarkable object and further clarify the nature of this event These observations may usher in a new era of searching for and characterizing collisional events within the asteroid belt
WFC3/UV/IR 12021
An Irradiated Disk in an Ultraluminous X-Ray Source
Whether ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) contain stellar-mass or intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs) is an important, but as yet unresolved, astrophysical question We have discovered variable optical emission from the ULX NGC 5408 X-1 that we interpret as reprocessed emission in an irradiated disk We propose simultaneous observations with Chandra and HST to test this interpretation and place constraints on the geometry of the accretion disk The observations should provide a means to discriminate between stellar-mass versus intermediate-mass black holes
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
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 11915
IR Internal Flat Fields
This program is the same as 11433 (SMOV) and depends on the completion of the IR initial alignment (Program 11425) This version contains three instances of 37 internal orbits: to be scheduled early, middle, and near the end of Cycle 17, in order to use the entire 110-orbit allocation
In this test, we will study the stability and structure of the IR channel flat field images through all filter elements in the WFC3-IR channel Flats will be monitored, i e to capture any temporal trends in the flat fields and delta flats produced High signal observations will provide a map of the pixel-to-pixel flat field structure, as well as identify the positions of any dust particles
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
WFC3/UVIS 11907
UVIS Cycle 17 Contamination Monitor
The UV throughput of WFC3 during Cycle 17 is monitored via weekly standard star observations in a subset of key filters covering 200-600nm and F606W, F814W as controls on the red end The data will provide a measure of throughput levels as a function of time and wavelength, allowing for detection of the presence of possible contaminants
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)
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/FUV 11895
FUV Detector Dark Monitor
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 11894
NUV Detector Dark Monitor
The purpose of this proposal is to measure the NUV detector dark rate by taking long science exposures with no light on 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
ACS/WFC3/STIS/CCD 11889
Photometric Cross-Calibration using Stellar Flux Standards
The purpose of this proposal is to: A) Verify the ACS HRC and WFC photometric calibrations with a repeat visit to one of the three primary WDs B) Measure the change in sensitivity with time for bright stars (which would include any small CTE contributions) C) Continue to investigate the ~2% discrepancy between ACS flux calibration and that of STIS (ACS ISR 2007-06) The goal is to measure any filter bandpass shifts in ACS or rule out the possibility of shifts as the primary contributors to the ACS/STIS discrepancy for cool stars
STIS/CCD 11852
STIS CCD Spectroscopic Flats C17
The purpose of this proposal is to obtain pixel-to-pixel lamp flat fields for the STIS CCD in spectroscopic mode
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/CC 11845
CCD Dark Monitor Part 2
Monitor the darks for the STIS CCD
FGS 11788
The Architecture of Exoplanetary Systems
Are all planetary systems coplanar? Concordance cosmogony makes that prediction It is, however, a prediction of extrasolar planetary system architecture as yet untested by direct observation for main sequence stars other than the Sun To provide such a test, we propose to carry out FGS astrometric studies on four stars hosting seven companions Our understanding of the planet formation process will grow as we match not only system architecture, but formed planet mass and true distance from the primary with host star characteristics for a wide variety of host stars and exoplanet masses
We propose that a series of FGS astrometric observations with demonstrated 1 millisecond of arc per-observation precision can establish the degree of coplanarity and component true masses for four extrasolar systems: HD 202206 (brown dwarf+planet); HD 128311 (planet+planet), HD 160691 = mu Arae (planet+planet), and HD 222404AB = gamma Cephei (planet+star) In each case the companion is identified as such by assuming that the minimum mass is the actual mass For the last target, a known stellar binary system, the companion orbit is stable only if coplanar with the AB binary orbit
COS/NUV/FUV 11741
Probing Warm-Hot Intergalactic Gas at 0 5 < z < 1 3 with a Blind Survey for O VI, Ne VIII, Mg X, and Si XII Absorption Systems
Currently we can only account for half of the baryons (or less) expected to be found in the nearby universe based on D/H and CMB observations This "missing baryons problem" is one of the highest-priority challenges in observational extragalatic astronomy Cosmological simulations suggest that the baryons are hidden in low-density, shock-heated intergalactic gas in the log T = 5 - 7 range, but intensive UV and X-ray surveys using O VI, O VII, and O VIII absorption lines have not yet confirmed this prediction We propose to use COS to carry out a sensitive survey for Ne VIII and Mg X absorption in the spectra of nine QSOs at z(QSO) > 0 89 For the three highest-redshift QSOs, we will also search for Si XII This survey will provide more robust constraints on the quantity of baryons in warm-hot intergalactic gas at 0 5 < z < 1 3, and the data will provide rich constraints on the metal enrichment, physical conditions, and nature of a wide variety of QSO absorbers in addition to the warm-hot systems By comparing the results to other surveys at lower redshifts (with STIS, FUSE, and from the COS GTO programs), the project will also enable the first study of how these absorbers evolve with redshift at z < 1 By combining the program with follow-up galaxy redshift surveys, we will also push the study of galaxy-absorber relationships to higher redshifts, with an emphasis on the distribution of the WHIM with respect to the large-scale matter distribution of the universe
ACS/WFC3 11735
The LSD Project: Dynamics, Merging and Stellar Populations of a Sample of Well-Studied LBGs at z~3
A large observational effort with the ground-based ESO/VLT telescopes allowed us to obtain deep, spatially-resolved, near-IR spectra of complete sample of 11 Lyman-Break Galaxies at z~3 1 These observations were used to obtain, for the first time, the metallicity and the dynamical properties of a sample of objects that, albeit small, is representative of the total population of the LBGs We propose to use HST to obtain high-resolution optical and near-IR images of this sample of LBGs in order to study the broad-band morphology and the stellar light distribution of these galaxies These images, exploiting the superior spatial resolution of HST images and the low-background : 1- will allow a precise measure of the dynamical mass from the velocity field derived with spectroscopy; 2- will permit a comparison of the distribution of star formation (from the line emission) with the underlying stellar population, and, 3- will be used to check if the complex velocity field and the multiple line-emitting regions detected in most targets can be ascribed to on-going mergers This accurate study will shed light on a number of unsolved problems still affecting the knowledge of the LBGs
COS/NUV/FUV 11728
The Impact of Starbursts on the Gaseous Halos of Galaxies
Perhaps the most important (yet uncertain) aspects of galaxy evolution are the processes by which galaxies accrete gas and by which the resulting star formation and black hole growth affects this accreting gas It is believed that both the form of the accretion and the nature of the feedback change as a function of the galaxy mass At low mass the gas comes in cold and the feedback is provided by massive stars At high mass, the gas comes in hot, and the feedback is from an AGN The changeover occurs near the mass where the galaxy population transitions from star-forming galaxies to red and dead ones The population of red and dead galaxies is building with cosmic time, and it is believed that feedback plays an important role in this process: shutting down star formation by heating and/or expelling the reservoir of cold halo gas To investigate these ideas, we propose to use COS far-UV spectra of background QSOs to measure the properties of the halo gas in a sample of galaxies near the transition mass that have undergone starbursts within the past 100 Myr to 1 Gyr The galactic wind associated with the starburst is predicted to have affected the properties of the gaseous halo To test this, we will compare the properties of the halos of the post-starburst galaxies to those of a control sample of galaxies matched in mass and QSO impact parameter Do the halos of the post-starburst galaxies show a higher incidence rate of Ly-Alpha and metal absorption-lines? Are the kinematics of the halo gas more disturbed in the post-starbursts? Has the wind affected the ionization state and/or the metallicity of the halo? These data will provide fresh new insights into the role of feedback from massive stars on the evolution of galaxies, and may also offer clues about the properties of the QSO metal absorption-line systems at high-redshift
STIS/CCD 11721
Verifying the Utility of Type Ia Supernovae as Cosmological Probes: Evolution and Dispersion in the Ultraviolet Spectra
The study of distant type Ia supernova (SNe Ia) offers the most practical and immediate discriminator between popular models of dark energy Yet fundamental questions remain over possible redshift-dependent trends in their observed and intrinsic properties High-quality Keck spectroscopy of a representative sample of 36 intermediate redshift SNe Ia has revealed a surprising, and unexplained, diversity in their rest-frame UV fluxes One possible explanation is hitherto undiscovered variations in the progenitor metallicity Unfortunately, this result cannot be compared to local UV data as only two representative SNe Ia have been studied near maximum light Taking advantage of two new `rolling searches' and the restoration of STIS, we propose a non-disruptive TOO campaign to create an equivalent comparison local sample This will allow us to address possible evolution in the mean UV spectrum and its diversity, an essential precursor to the study of SNe beyond z~1
WFC3/IR 11712
Calibration of Surface Brightness Fluctuations for WFC3/IR
We aim to characterize galaxy surface brightness fluctuations (SBF), and calibrate the SBF distance method, in the F110W and F160W filters of the Wide Field Camera 3 IR channel Because of the very high throughput of F110W and the good match of F160W to the standard H band, we anticipate that both of these filters will be popular choices for galaxy observations with WFC3/IR The SBF signal is typically an order of magnitude brighter in the near-IR than in the optical, and the characteristics (sensitivity, FOV, cosmetics) of the WFC3/IR channel will be enormously more efficient for SBF measurements than previously available near-IR cameras As a result, our proposed SBF calibration will allow accurate distance derivation whenever an early-type or bulge-dominated galaxy is observed out to a distance of 150 Mpc or more (i e , out to the Hubble flow) in the calibrated passbands For individual galaxy observations, an accurate distance is useful for establishing absolute luminosities, black hole masses, linear sizes, etc Eventually, once a large number of galaxies have been observed across the sky with WFC3/IR, this SBF calibration will enable accurate mapping of the total mass density distribution in the local universe using the data available in the HST archive The proposed observations will have additional important scientific value; in particular, we highlight their usefulness for understanding the nature of multimodal globular cluster color distributions in giant elliptical galaxies
WFC3/UV/ACS/WFC 11710
The Extreme Globular Cluster System of Abell 1689: The Ultimate Test of Universal Formation Efficiency
The stellar masses of the most luminous galaxies poorly represent the masses of the halos in which they reside However, recent studies of the very rich globular cluster (GC) populations in the centers of galaxy clusters point toward an apparently linear scaling of the number of GCs with the total core mass of the galaxy cluster Thus, unlike for the stars in cD galaxies, GC formation in these systems appears to have proceeded with a roughly universal mass conversion efficiency GCs are also distinct in that their spatial distributions are more extended than the starlight, and recent simulations suggest that they follow the mass density profile of the merged dark matter halos that formed stars at high redshift To provide a definitive test of the universal efficiency hypothesis requires measuring the number of GCs in the most massive galaxy clusters, where the number should be a factor of 5 or more greater than seen in M87 Likewise, the relationship between GCs and mass density can only be tested in systems where the total mass and mass density are well-determined Fortunately, the imaging power of HST brings the GC population of Abell 1689, the most extreme high-mass lensing cluster, into range Estimates of the size of the A1689 GC population from available data suggest an unprecedented 100, 000 GCs, but this number is based on the tip of the iceberg and is extremely uncertain We propose to obtain the first accurate measurement of the number of GCs and their density profile in this extraordinary system - the most massive and most distant GC system ever studied - and thus make the ultimate test of the universal GC formation hypothesis Our deep I-band image will also provide a stringent "null-detection" test of several known z>7 galaxy candidates and improve the mass model of the system by increasing the number of usable lensed background galaxies Finally, we will take deep multi-band parallel observations with WFC3/IR to help in quantifying the abundance of rare faint red objects
FGS 11704
The Ages of Globular Clusters and the Population II Distance Scale
Globular clusters are the oldest objects in the universe whose age can be accurately determined The dominant error in globular cluster age determinations is the uncertain Population II distance scale We propose to use FGS 1R to obtain parallaxes with an accuracy of 0 2 milliarcsecond for 9 main sequence stars with [Fe/H] < -1 5 This will determine the absolute magnitude of these stars with accuracies of 0 04 to 0 06mag This data will be used to determine the distance to 24 metal-poor globular clusters using main sequence fitting These distances (with errors of 0 05 mag) will be used to determine the ages of globular clusters using the luminosity of the subgiant branch as an age indicator This will yield absolute ages with an accuracy of 5%, about a factor of two improvement over current estimates Coupled with existing parallaxes for more metal-rich stars, we will be able to accurately determine the age for globular clusters over a wide range of metallicities in order to study the early formation history of the Milky Way and provide an independent estimate of the age of the universe
The Hipparcos database contains only 1 star with [Fe/H] < -1 4 and an absolute magnitude error less than 0 18 mag which is suitable for use in main sequence fitting Previous attempts at main sequence fitting to metal-poor globular clusters have had to rely on theoretical calibrations of the color of the main sequence Our HST parallax program will remove this source of possible systematic error and yield distances to metal-poor globular clusters which are significantly more accurate than possible with the current parallax data The HST parallax data will have errors which are 10 times smaller than the current parallax data Using the HST parallaxes, we will obtain main sequence fitting distances to 11 globular clusters which contain over 500 RR Lyrae stars This will allow us to calibrate the absolute magnitude of RR Lyrae stars, a commonly used Population II distance indicator
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
COS/NUV/FUV 11698
The Structure and Dynamics of Virgo's Multi-Phase Intracluster Medium
The dynamical flows of the intracluster medium (ICM) are largely unknown We propose to map the spatial and kinematic distribution of the warm ICM of the nearby Virgo cluster using the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph 15 sightlines at a range of impact parameters within the virial radius of the cluster (0 2 - 1 7 Mpc) will be probed for Lyman-alpha absorption and the data compared to blind HI, dust and x-ray surveys to create a multi-phase map of the cluster's ICM Absorption line sightlines are commonly 40-100 kpc from a galaxy, allowing the flow of baryons between galaxies and the ICM to be assessed The velocity distribution of the absorbers will be directly compared to simulations and used to constrain the turbulent motions of the ICM This proposal will result in the first map of a cluster's warm ICM and provide important tests for our theoretical understanding of cluster formation and the treatment of gas cooling in cosmological simulations
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
COS/NUV/FUV/STIS/CCD/ 11692 MA1 The LMC as a QSO Absorption Line System We propose to obtain high resolution, high signal-to-noise
observations of QSOs behind the Large Magellanic Clouds
These QSOs
are situated beyond the star forming disk of the galaxy, giving us the
opportunity to study the distribution of metals and energy in regions
lacking significant star formation
In particular, we will derive the
metallicities and study the ionization characteristics of LMC gas at
impact parameters 3-17 kpc
We will compare our results with high-z
QSO absorption line systems
COS/FUV 11686 The Cosmological Impact of AGN Outflows: Measuring Absolute Abundances
and Kinetic Luminosities AGN outflows are increasingly invoked as a major contributor to the
formation and evolution of supermassive black holes, their host
galaxies, the surrounding IGM, and cluster cooling flows
Our HST/COS
proposal will determine reliable absolute chemical abundances in six
AGN outflows, which influences several of the processes mentioned
above
To date there is only one such determination, done by our team
on Mrk 279 using 16 HST/STIS orbits and 100 ksec of FUSE time
The
advent of COS and its high sensitivity allows us to choose among
fainter objects at redshifts high enough to preclude the need for
FUSE
This will allow us to determine the absolute abundances for six
AGN (all fainter than Mrk 279) using only 40 HST COS orbits
This will
put abundances studies in AGN on a firm footing, an elusive goal for
the past four decades
In addition, prior FUSE observations of four of
these targets indicate that it is probable that the COS observations
will detect troughs from excited levels of C III
These will allow us
to measure the distances of the outflows and thereby determine their
kinetic luminosity, a major goal in AGN feedback research
We will use our state of the art column density extraction methods and
velocity-dependent photoionization models to determine the abundances
and kinetic luminosity
Previous AGN outflow projects suffered from
the constraints of deciding what science we could do using ONE of the
handful of bright targets that were observable
With COS we can choose
the best sample for our experiment
As an added bonus, most of the
spectral range of our targets has not been observed previously,
greatly increasing the discovery phase space
WFC3/IR 11666 Chilly Pairs: A Search for the Latest-type Brown Dwarf Binaries and
the Prototype Y Dwarf We propose to use HST/NICMOS to image a sample of 27 of the nearest (<
20 pc) and lowest luminosity T-type brown dwarfs in order to identify
and characterize new very low mass binary systems
Only 3 late-type T
dwarf binaries have been found to date, despite that fact that these
systems are critical benchmarks for evolutionary and atmospheric
models at the lowest masses
They are also the most likely systems to
harbor Y dwarf companions, an as yet unpopulated putative class of
very cold (T < 600 K) brown dwarfs
Our proposed program will more
than double the number of T5-T9 dwarfs imaged at high resolution, with
an anticipated yield of ~5 new binaries with initial characterization
of component spectral types
We will be able to probe separations
sufficient to identify systems suitable for astrometric orbit and
dynamical mass measurements
We also expect one of our discoveries to
contain the first Y-type brown dwarf
Our proposed program complements
and augments ongoing ground-based adaptive optics surveys and provides
pathway science for JWST
WFC3/UVIS 11650 Mutual Orbits, Colors, Masses, and Bulk Densities of 3 Cold Classical
Trans-Neptunian Binaries Many Trans-Neptunian Objects (TNOs) have been found to be binary or
multiple systems
As in other astrophysical settings, Trans-Neptunian
Binaries (TNBs) offer uniquely valuable information
Their mutual
orbits allow the direct determination of their system masses, perhaps
the most fundamental physical quantity of any astronomical object
Their frequency of occurrence and dynamical characteristics provide
clues to formation conditions and evolution scenarios affecting both
the binaries and their single neighbors
Combining masses with sizes,
bulk densities can be measured
Densities constrain bulk composition
and internal structure, key clues to TNO origins and evolution over
time
Several TNB bulk densities have been determined, hinting at
interesting trends
But none of them belongs to the Cold Classical
sub-population, the one group of TNOs with demonstrably distinct
physical characteristics
Two top-priority Spitzer programs will soon
observe and measure the sizes of 3 Cold Classical TNBs
This proposal
seeks to determine the mutual orbits and thus masses of these systems,
enabling computation of their densities
STIS/CC/MA 11608 How Far Does H2 Go: Constraining FUV Variability in the Gaseous Inner
Holes of Protoplanetary Disks By studying the innermost, planet-forming regions of circumstellar
disks around low-mass pre-main sequence stars we can refine theories
of planet formation and develop timescales for the evolution of disks
and their planets
Spitzer infrared observations of T Tauri stars have
given us an unprecedented look at dust evolution in young objects,
particularly the transitional disks
However, despite this ground
breaking progress in studying the dust in young disks, the
relationship between the dust and gas properties in the inner disk
remains essentially unknown
Using STIS on HST, we propose to quantify
the variability of H2 emission originating within the inner holes of
transitional disks and explore its implications on dust distribution
and planet formation
STIS/CCD 11606 Dynamical Hypermassive Black Hole Masses We will use STIS spectra to derive the masses of 5 hypermassive black
holes (HMBHs)
From the observed scaling relations defined by less
massive spheroids, these objects are expected to reside at the nuclei
of host galaxies with stellar velocity dispersions greater than 320
km/s
These 5 targets have confirmed regular gas distributions on the
scales of the black hole sphere of influence
It is essential that the
sphere of influence is resolved for accurate determinations of black
hole mass (0
1")
These scales cannot be effectively observed from the
ground
Only two HMBHs have had their masses modeled so far; it is
impossible to draw any general conclusions about the connections
between HMBH mass and their massive host galaxies
With these 5
targets we will determine whether these HMBHs deviate from the scaling
relations defined by less massive spheroids
A larger sample will
allow us to firmly anchor the high mass end of the correlation between
black hole mass and stellar velocity dispersion, and other scaling
relations
Therefore we are also conducting a SNAPshot program with
which we expect to detect a further 24 HMBH candidates for STIS
observation in future cycles
At the completion of this project we
will have populated the high mass end of the scaling relations with
the sample sizes enjoyed by less massive spheroids
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 WFC3/UVIS 11595 Turning Out the Light: A WFC3 Program to Image z>2 Damped Lyman Alpha
Systems We propose to directly image the star-forming regions of z>2 damped
Lya systems (DLAs) using the WFC3/UVIS camera on the Hubble Space
Telescope
In contrast to all previous attempts to detect the galaxies
giving rise to high redshift DLAs, we will use a novel technique that
completely removes the glare of the background quasar
Specifically,
we will target quasar sightlines with multiple DLAs and use the higher
redshift DLA as a ``blocking filter'' (via Lyman limit absorption) to
eliminate all FUV emission from the quasar
This will allow us to
carry out a deep search for FUV emission from the lower redshift DLA,
shortward of the Lyman limit of the higher redshift absorber
The
unique filter set and high spatial resolution afforded by WFC3/UVIS
will then enable us to directly image the lower redshift DLA and thus
estimate its size, star- formation rate and impact parameter from the
QSO sightline
We propose to observe a sample of 20 sightlines,
selected primarily from the SDSS database, requiring a total of 40 HST
orbits
The observations will allow us to determine the first FUV
luminosity function of high redshift DLA galaxies and to correlate the
DLA galaxy properties with the ISM characteristics inferred from
standard absorption-line analysis to significantly improve our
understanding of the general DLA population
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/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/UV 11556 Investigations of the Pluto System We propose a set of high SNR observations of the Pluto system that
will provide improved lightcurves, orbits, and photometric properties
of Nix and Hydra
The key photometric result for Nix and Hydra will be
a vastly improved lightcurve shape and rotation period to test if the
objects are in synchronous rotation or not
A second goal of this
program will be to retrieve a new epoch of albedo map for the surface
of Pluto
These observations will also improve masses and in some case
densities for the bodies in the Pluto system
NIC2/WFC3/IR 11219 Active Galactic Nuclei in Nearby Galaxies: A New View of the Origin of
the Radio-Loud Radio- Quiet Dichotomy? Using archival HST and Chandra observations of 34 nearby early-type
galaxies (drawn from a complete radio selected sample) we have found
evidence that the radio-loud/radio-quiet dichotomy is directly
connected to the structure of the inner regions of their host galaxies
in the following sense: [1] Radio-loud AGN are associated with
galaxies with shallow cores in their light profiles [2] Radio-quiet
AGN are only hosted by galaxies with steep cusps
Since the brightness
profile is determined by the galaxy's evolution, through its merger
history, our results suggest that the same process sets the AGN
flavor
This provides us with a novel tool to explore the co-evolution
of galaxies and supermassive black holes, and it opens a new path to
understand the origin of the radio-loud/radio-quiet AGN dichotomy
Currently our analysis is statistically incomplete as the brightness
profile is not available for 82 of the 116 targets
Most galaxies were
not observed with HST, while in some cases the study is obstructed by
the presence of dust features
We here propose to perform an infrared
NICMOS snapshot survey of these 82 galaxies
This will enable us to i)
test the reality of the dichotomic behavior in a substantially larger
sample; ii) extend the comparison between radio-loud and radio-quiet
AGN to a larger range of luminosities
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 ==============================================================================
TOPIC: Daily Report #5108 == 1 of 1 ==
Date: Wed, Jun 2 2010 4:59 am
From: "Cooper, Joe" HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to Collect World Class Science DAILY REPORT #5108 PERIOD COVERED: 5am June 1 - 5am June 2, 2010 (DOY 152/09:00z-153/09:00z) FLIGHT OPERATIONS SUMMARY: Significant Spacecraft Anomalies: (The following are preliminary
reports of potential non-nominal performance that will be
investigated
) HSTARS: (None) COMPLETED OPS REQUEST: (None) COMPLETED OPS NOTES: (None) FGS GSAcq 8 8
FGS REAcq 5 5
OBAD with Maneuver 6 6 SIGNIFICANT EVENTS: (None) 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 11686 The Cosmological Impact of AGN Outflows: Measuring Absolute Abundances
and Kinetic Luminosities AGN outflows are increasingly invoked as a major contributor to the
formation and evolution of supermassive black holes, their host
galaxies, the surrounding IGM, and cluster cooling flows
Our HST/COS
proposal will determine reliable absolute chemical abundances in six
AGN outflows, which influences several of the processes mentioned
above
To date there is only one such determination, done by our team
on Mrk 279 using 16 HST/STIS orbits and 100 ksec of FUSE time
The
advent of COS and its high sensitivity allows us to choose among
fainter objects at redshifts high enough to preclude the need for
FUSE
This will allow us to determine the absolute abundances for six
AGN (all fainter than Mrk 279) using only 40 HST COS orbits
This will
put abundances studies in AGN on a firm footing, an elusive goal for
the past four decades
In addition, prior FUSE observations of four of
these targets indicate that it is probable that the COS observations
will detect troughs from excited levels of C III
These will allow us
to measure the distances of the outflows and thereby determine their
kinetic luminosity, a major goal in AGN feedback research
We will use
our state of the art column density extraction methods and
velocity-dependent photoionization models to determine the abundances
and kinetic luminosity
Previous AGN outflow projects suffered from
the constraints of deciding what science we could do using ONE of the
handful of bright targets that were observable
With COS we can choose
the best sample for our experiment
As an added bonus, most of the
spectral range of our targets has not been observed previously,
greatly increasing the discovery phase space
COS/FUV 11692 The LMC as a QSO Absorption Line System We propose to obtain high resolution, high signal-to-noise
observations of QSOs behind the Large Magellanic Clouds
These QSOs
are situated beyond the star forming disk of the galaxy, giving us the
opportunity to study the distribution of metals and energy in regions
lacking significant star formation
In particular, we will derive the
metallicities and study the ionization characteristics of LMC gas at
impact parameters 3-17 kpc
We will compare our results with high-z
QSO absorption line systems
FGS 11704 The Ages of Globular Clusters and the Population II Distance Scale Globular clusters are the oldest objects in the universe whose age can
be accurately determined
The dominant error in globular cluster age
determinations is the uncertain Population II distance scale
We
propose to use FGS 1r to obtain parallaxes with an accuracy of 0
2
milliarcsecond for 9 main sequence stars with [Fe/H] < -1
5
This will
determine the absolute magnitude of these stars with accuracies of
0
04 to 0
06mag
This data will be used to determine the distance to
24 metal-poor globular clusters using main sequence fitting
These
distances (with errors of 0
05 mag) will be used to determine the ages
of globular clusters using the luminosity of the subgiant branch as an
age indicator
This will yield absolute ages with an accuracy 5%,
about a factor of two improvement over current estimates
Coupled with
existing parallaxes for more metal-rich stars, we will be able to
accurately determine the age for globular clusters over a wide range
of metallicities in order to study the early formation history of the
Milky Way and provide an independent estimate of the age of the
universe
The Hipparcos database contains only 1 star with [Fe/H] < -1
4 and an
absolute magnitude error less than 0
18 mag which is suitable for use
in main sequence fitting
Previous attempts at main sequence fitting
to metal-poor globular clusters have had to rely on theoretical
calibrations of the color of the main sequence
Our HST parallax
program will remove this source of possible systematic error and yield
distances to metal-poor globular clusters which are significantly more
accurate than possible with the current parallax data
The HST
parallax data will have errors which are 10 times smaller than the
current parallax data
Using the HST parallaxes, we will obtain main
sequence fitting distances to 11 globular clusters which contain over
500 RR Lyrae stars
This will allow us to calibrate the absolute
magnitude of RR Lyrae stars, a commonly used Population II distance
indicator
FGS 11788 The Architecture of Exoplanetary Systems Are all planetary systems coplanar? Concordance cosmogony makes that
prediction
It is, however, a prediction of extrasolar planetary
system architecture as yet untested by direct observation for main
sequence stars other than the Sun
To provide such a test, we propose
to carry out FGS astrometric studies on four stars hosting seven
companions
Our understanding of the planet formation process will
grow as we match not only system architecture, but formed planet mass
and true distance from the primary with host star characteristics for
a wide variety of host stars and exoplanet masses
We propose that a series of FGS astrometric observations with
demonstrated 1 millisecond of arc per-observation precision can
establish the degree of coplanarity and component true masses for four
extrasolar systems: HD 202206 (brown dwarf+planet); HD 128311
(planet+planet), HD 160691 = mu Arae (planet+planet), and HD 222404AB
= gamma Cephei (planet+star)
In each case the companion is identified
as such by assuming that the minimum mass is the actual mass
For the
last target, a known stellar binary system, the companion orbit is
stable only if coplanar with the AB binary orbit
STIS/CCD 11845 CCD Dark Monitor Part 2 Monitor the darks for the STIS CCD
STIS/CCD 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
WFC3/IR 11712 Calibration of Surface Brightness Fluctuations for WFC3/IR We aim to characterize galaxy surface brightness fluctuations (SBF),
and calibrate the SBF distance method, in the F110W and F160W filters
of the Wide Field Camera 3 IR channel
Because of the very high
throughput of F110W and the good match of F160W to the standard H
band, we anticipate that both of these filters will be popular choices
for galaxy observations with WFC3/IR
The SBF signal is typically an
order of magnitude brighter in the near-IR than in the optical, and
the characterisitics (sensitivity, FOV, cosmetics) of the WFC3/IR
channel will be enormously more efficient for SBF measurements than
previously available near-IR cameras
As a result, our proposed SBF
calibration will allow accurate distance derivation whenever an
early-type or bulge-dominated galaxy is observed out to a distance of
150 Mpc or more (i
e
, out to the Hubble flow) in the calibrated
passbands
For individual galaxy observations, an accurate distance is
useful for establishing absolute luminosities, black hole masses,
linear sizes, etc
Eventually, once a large number of galaxies have
been observed across the sky with WFC3/IR, this SBF calibration will
enable accurate mapping of the total mass density distribution in the
local universe using the data available in the HST archive
The
proposed observations will have additional important scientific value;
in particular, we highlight their usefulness for understanding the
nature of multimodal globular cluster color distributions in giant
elliptical galaxies
WFC3/IR 11915 IR Internal Flat Fields This program is the same as 11433 (SMOV) and depends on the completion
of the IR initial alignment (program 11425)
This version contains
three instances of 37 internal orbits; to be scheduled early, middle,
and near the end of Cycle 17, in order to use the entire 110-orbit
allocation
In this test, we will study the stability and structure of the IR
channel flat field images through all filter elements in the WFC3-IR
channel
Flats will be monitored, i
e
to capture any temporal trends
in the flat fields, and delta flats produced
High signal observations
will provide a map of the pixel-to-pixel flat field structure, as well
as identify the positions of any dust particles
WFC3/UVI 11556 Investigations of the Pluto System We propose a set of high SNR observations of the Pluto system that
will provide improved lightcurves, orbits, and photometric properties
of Nix and Hydra
The key photometric result for Nix and Hydra will be
a vastly improved lightcurve shape and rotation period to test if the
objects are in synchronous rotation or not
A second goal of this
program will be to retrieve a new epoch of albedo map for the surface
of Pluto
These observations will also improve masses and in some case
densities for the bodies in the Pluto system
WFC3/UVI 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 WFC3/UVI 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
==============================================================================
TOPIC: Daily Report #5109 == 1 of 1 ==
Date: Thurs, Jun 3 2010 5:04 am
From: "Bassford, Lynn" HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to Collect World Class Science DAILY REPORT #5109 PERIOD COVERED: 5am June 2 - 5am June 3, 2010 (DOY 153/09:00z-154/09:00z) FLIGHT OPERATIONS SUMMARY: Significant Spacecraft Anomalies: (The following are preliminary
reports of potential non-nominal performance that will be
investigated
) HSTARS: (None) COMPLETED OPS REQUEST: (None) COMPLETED OPS NOTES: (None) FGS GSAcq 7 7
FGS REAcq 9 9
OBAD with Maneuver 6 6 SIGNIFICANT EVENTS: (None) 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 11686 The Cosmological Impact of AGN Outflows: Measuring Absolute Abundances
and Kinetic Luminosities AGN outflows are increasingly invoked as a major contributor to the
formation and evolution of supermassive black holes, their host
galaxies, the surrounding IGM, and cluster cooling flows
Our HST/COS
proposal will determine reliable absolute chemical abundances in six
AGN outflows, which influences several of the processes mentioned
above
To date there is only one such determination, done by our team
on Mrk 279 using 16 HST/STIS orbits and 100 ksec of FUSE time
The
advent of COS and its high sensitivity allows us to choose among
fainter objects at redshifts high enough to preclude the need for
FUSE
This will allow us to determine the absolute abundances for six
AGN (all fainter than Mrk 279) using only 40 HST COS orbits
This will
put abundances studies in AGN on a firm footing, an elusive goal for
the past four decades
In addition, prior FUSE observations of four of
these targets indicate that it is probable that the COS observations
will detect troughs from excited levels of C III
These will allow us
to measure the distances of the outflows and thereby determine their
kinetic luminosity, a major goal in AGN feedback research
We will use our state of the art column density extraction methods and
velocity-dependent photoionization models to determine the abundances
and kinetic luminosity
Previous AGN outflow projects suffered from
the constraints of deciding what science we could do using ONE of the
handful of bright targets that were observable
With COS we can choose
the best sample for our experiment
As an added bonus, most of the
spectral range of our targets has not been observed previously,
greatly increasing the discovery phase space
COS/FUV/WFC3/UVIS/IR 11519 COS-GTO: Great Wall Tomography This is a program to observe several targets behind the Great Wall
(GW), a typical galaxy filament in the Universe
The approach is to
observe a series of targets in one area of sky to perform a "cosmic
tomography" in a 10 Mpc^2 region which includes sightlines through
regions of varying galaxy density from no galaxies within 3 Mpc of the
sight line to a dozen or more galaxies within 3 Mpc of the sight line
The Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) plus various CfA redshift surveys
are nearly complete at Great Wall distances to 0
1-0
25L*, making the
available galaxy survey material sufficient for this study
This
program will address several science drivers, including probing the
typical covering factor of warm, photoionized gas in galaxy filaments
and the metallicity of such gas and how far it is spread from large
and small galaxies
Preliminary studies suggest such material extends
~800 kpc from the nearest L* galaxy (even if that galaxy is not the
source of the gas) and ~250 kpc from the nearest 0
1L* galaxy
(H0
assumed to be 70 km/s/Mpc) COS/NUV/FUV 11718 The Stellar Halos of Dwarf Galaxies The metal-poor stellar halo is the oldest extended structure in the
Galaxy
Such halos are thought to form through hierarchical merging,
and contain stars pulled from accreted subhalos
The diffuse stellar
halo therefore stores information about the prop reties of the
accreted galaxies (i
e
, their orbits, stellar masses, and
metallicities)
It is therefore unsurprising that stellar halos have
become a popular probe of the early epoch of galaxy formation
Almost all current work on stellar halos has focused on massive
galaxies, however
We propose to extend the work on stellar halos to
much lower mass scales, by studying the halos of faint dwarf galaxies
By taking halo studies into the dwarf galaxy regime, we can probe
exceptionally small mass scales for the accreted halos
At these mass
scales the effects of reionization and supernova feedback have the
largest impact on the galaxy population
Stellar halos of dwarf
galaxies are therefore a sensitive probe of the key processes needed
to resolve the lack of substructure observed at low masses
We are requesting two far-field ACS pointings for the three closest
isolated nearby dwarf irregular galaxies whose inner halos have
already been mapped with the ACS Nearby Galaxy Survey Treasury
These
outer fields will allow us to trace the halo out to roughly half the
virial radius, further than any previous study
We will use the
resulting distribution of halo stars (1) to unambiguously measure the
structure of the stellar halo, with minimal contamination from the
main galaxy; (2) to constrain the flattening of the stellar halo; (3)
to measure the metallicity of halo stars as a function of radius; (4)
to correlate any changes in halo profile with changes in metallicity
The resulting data will constrain models of halo accretion and the
epoch of reionization
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
WFC3/ACS/UVIS 11613 GHOSTS: Stellar Outskirts of Massive Spiral Galaxies We propose to continue our highly successful GHOSTS HST survey of the
resolved stellar populations of nearby, massive disk galaxies using
SNAPs
These observations provide star counts and color-magnitude
diagrams 2-3 magnitudes below the tip of the Red Giant Branch of the
outer disk and halo of each galaxy
We will measure the metallicity
distribution functions and stellar density profiles from star counts
down to very low average surface brightnesses, equivalent to ~32 V-mag
per square arcsec
This proposal will substantially improve our unique sampling of galaxy
outskirts
Our targets cover a range in galaxy mass, luminosity,
inclination, and morphology
As a function of these galaxy properties,
this survey provides: - the most extensive, systematic measurement of
radial light profiles and axial ratios of the diffuse stellar halos
and outer disks of spiral galaxies; - a comprehensive analysis of halo
metallicity distributions as function of galaxy type and position
within the galaxy; - an unprecedented study of the stellar metallicity
and age distribution in the outer disk regions where the disk
truncations occur; - the first comparative study of globular clusters
and their field stellar populations
We will use these fossil records of the galaxy assembly process to
test halo formation models within the hierarchical galaxy formation
scheme
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
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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 (11909), will be used to generate the
necessary superbias
and superdark reference files for the
calibration pipeline (CDBS)
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