| Program Number | Principal Investigator | Program Title |
|---|---|---|
| 13665 | Bjoern Benneke, California Institute of Technology | Exploring the Diversity of Exoplanet Atmospheres in the Super-Earth Regime |
| 14066 | Angela Adamo, Stockholm University | Hi-PEEC, Hubble imaging Probe of Extreme Environments and Clusters |
| 14076 | Boris T. Gaensicke, The University of Warwick | An HST legacy ultraviolet spectroscopic survey of the 13pc white dwarf sample |
| 14077 | Boris T. Gaensicke, The University of Warwick | The frequency and chemical composition of rocky planetary debris around young white dwarfs: Plugging the last gaps |
| 14079 | Matthew Hayes, Stockholm University | Unveiling the Dark Baryons II: the First Sample of OVI Emission Imaging |
| 14080 | Anne Jaskot, Smith College | LyC, Ly-alpha, and Low Ions in Green Peas: Diagnostics of Optical Depth, Geometry, and Outflows |
| 14094 | Vincent Bourrier, Observatoire de Geneve | Characterization of the extended atmosphere and the nature of the hot super-Earth 55 Cnc e and the warm Jupiter 55 Cnc b |
| 14095 | Gabriel Brammer, Space Telescope Science Institute - ESA | Calibrating the Dusty Cosmos: Extinction Maps of Nearby Galaxies |
| 14115 | Schuyler D. Van Dyk, California Institute of Technology | The Stellar Origins of Supernovae |
| 14119 | Luciana C. Bianchi, The Johns Hopkins University | Understanding Stellar Evolution of Intermediate-Mass Stars from a New Sample of SiriusB-Like Binaries |
| 14120 | Jarle Brinchmann, Universiteit Leiden | He II emission as a tracer of ultra-low metallicity and massive star evolution |
| 14127 | Michele Fumagalli, Durham Univ. | First Measurement of the Small Scale Structure of Circumgalactic Gas via Grism Spectra of Close Quasar Pairs |
| 14131 | Ivana Orlitova, Astronomical Institute, Academy of Sciences of CR | Origin of double peaks in Lyman-alpha spectra: diffuse halos or Lyman continuum leakage? |
| 14135 | Gordon T. Richards, Drexel University | Are High-Redshift Spectroscopic Black Hole Mass Estimates Biased? |
| 14148 | Eiichi Egami, University of Arizona | Near-IR Imaging of Three Spectacular Lensed Submillimeter Galaxies Discovered by the Herschel Lensing Survey |
| 14168 | Daniel P. Stark, University of Arizona | COS Views of He II Emitting Star Forming Galaxies: Preparing for the JWST Era |
| 14178 | Matthew A. Malkan, University of California - Los Angeles | WFC3 Infrared Spectroscopic Parallel Survey: The WISP Deep Fields |
| 14199 | Patrick Kelly, University of California - Berkeley | Refsdal Redux: Precise Measurements of the Reappearance of the First Supernova with Multiple Resolved Images |
| 14201 | Sangeeta Malhotra, Arizona State University | Lyman alpha escape in Green Pea galaxies (give peas a chance) |
| 14206 | Adam Riess, The Johns Hopkins University | A New Threshold of Precision, 30 micro-arcsecond Parallaxes and Beyond |
| 14213 | Pier-Emmanuel Tremblay, The University of Warwick | Defining New IR-Bright Flux Standards for Cosmology Applications |
| 14220 | Trent J. Dupuy, University of Texas at Austin | Mapping the Substellar Mass-Luminosity Relation Down to the L/T Transition |
| 14223 | Brenda L. Frye, University of Arizona | The Planck Dusty Gravitationally Enhanced subMillimeter Sources (GEMS) |
| 14240 | Bart P. Wakker, University of Wisconsin - Madison | Mapping the circumgalactic medium of two large spiral galaxies |
| 14251 | Amy E. Reines, National Optical Astronomy Observatory, AURA | The Structures of Dwarf Galaxies Hosting Massive Black Holes |
| 14260 | Drake Deming, University of Maryland | A Metallicity and Cloud Survey of Exoplanetary Atmospheres Prior to JWST |
| 14265 | Tae-Sun Kim, INAF, Osservatorio Astronomico di Trieste | Crossing the redshift desert: ionizing background radiation and intergalactic hydrogen at z ~ 1 |
| 14327 | Saul Perlmutter, University of California - Berkeley | See Change: Testing time-varying dark energy with z>1 supernovae and their massive cluster hosts |
| 14329 | Martin C. Weisskopf, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center | Joint Chandra and HST Monitoring and Studies of the Crab Nebula |
| 14356 | Richard M. Plotkin, Curtin University | Multiwavelength Characterization of Candidate Black Holes in Nearby Dwarf Galaxies |
| 14453 | Diana Dragomir, University of Chicago | The Nature of 55 Cancri e |
| 14460 | Frederick Hamann, University of California - Riverside | A Remarkable New Transient Outflow in the Quasar PG1411+442 |
| 14498 | David Jewitt, University of California - Los Angeles | Comet P/2010 V1 as a Natural Disintegration Laboratory |
GO 13665: Exploring the Diversity of Exoplanet Atmospheres in the Super-Earth Regime
Artist's impression of the GJ 1214 system |
The first exoplanet, 51 Peg b, was discovered through radial velocity measurements in 1995. 51 Pegb was followed by a trickle, and then a flood of other discoveries, as astronomers realised that there were other solar systems radically different from our own, where "hot jupiters" led to short-period, high-amplitude velocity variations. Then, in 1999, came the inevitable discovery that one of those hot jupiters. HD 209458b, was in an orbit aligned with our line of sight to the star, resulting in transits. Since that date, the number of known transiting exoplanet systems has grown to more than 100 from ground-based observations, most detected through wide-field photometric surveys, while the high-sensitivity data provided by Kepler has added a further 1000+ confirmed systems and ~2000 additional candidates. With the added numbers, observations have pushed detections to lower and lower masses, and it is now clear that the most common type of planet is the "super-Earth" - planets with masses that are several (3-6) times that of Earth and radii 2-4 times larger than Earth. One of the earliest examples is the planet circling the M dwarf, GJ 1214. Such planets have no obvious analogue in the Solar System, and the measured masses and diameters might reflect a range of interior structurees: large rocky bodies with relatively thin atmospheres; dense cores surrounded by a steam atmosphere; or "mini-Neptunes", with rock or ice cores surrounded by extended hydrogen or helium atmospheres. The present program aims to probe the diversity of these systems by using the G141 grism on Wide-Field Camera 3 to obtain time-resolved scanning observations of five transiting systems. The goal is to obtain data that will clearky distinguish between large scaleheight, hydrogen-dominated atmospheres and a more compact, steam-dominated systems. |
GO 14115: The stellar origins of supernovae
A recent supernova in M100 |
Supernovae mark the (spectacular) evolutionary endpoint for a subset of stellar systems. Standard models predict that Type II supernovae originate from relatively massive stars, while Type Ia arise from interactions between close binaries that include a compact (WD, neutron star) component. There are, however, still some questions over whether we fully understand the range of possible progenitors.The present program focuses on probing the progenitors of nearby supernovae. The last decade has seen the development of a number of large-scale programs, usually using moderate-sized telescopes, that are dedicated to monitoring (relatively nearby galaxies, searching for new supernovae. Over the past 25 years, Hubble has acquired images of numerous galaxies, and some of the newly discovered supernovae fall within those galaxies. The research team associated with this project will scour those data for evidence of a point-source that matches the astrometric position of the supernova derived from ground-based data. Should such a candidate be detected, Hubble observations are triggered to refine the supernova position and obtain a more definitive match with a optential progenitor in the pre-supernova hubble image. The present observation targets the type IIb supernova SN2016BKV, discovered in NGC 3184 on march 21 2016. |
GO 14148: Near-IR Imaging of Three Spectacular Lensed Submillimeter Galaxies Discovered by the Herschel Lensing Survey
An ALMA/HST composite image of the lensed galaxy, SDP 81 |
Gravitational lensing is a consequence the theory of general relativity. Its importance as an astrophysical tool first became apparent with the realisation (in 1979) that the quasar pair Q0957+561 actually comprised two lensed images of the same background quasar. In the succeeding years, lensing has been used primarily to probe the mass distribution of galaxy clusters, using theoretical models to analyse the arcs and arclets that are produced by strong lensing of background galaxies, and the large-scale mass distribution, through analysis of weak lensing effects on galaxy morphologies. Gravitational lensing can also be used to investigate the mass distribution of individual galaxies. Until recently, the most common background sources that were being detected and investigates were quasars. Galaxy-galaxy lenses, however, offer a distinct advantage, since the background source is extended, and therefore imposes a stronger constraints on the mass distribution of the lensing galaxy than a point-source QSO. HST has carried out a number of programs following up candidate lenses identified from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (eg GO 10886 , GO 11289 , GO 12210 ). The present program is using WFC3 on HST to obtain follow-up near-infrared (F110W/F160W) images of three exceptionally bright gravitationally lensed sub-millimeter galaxies. The systems lie at redshifts of 2.04, 4.69 and 5.04, and have been extensively studied through continuum and line emission mapping at sub-millimeter wavelengths. Observations will soon be obtained by ALMA. The HST observations will probe the underlying stellar populations as well as providing the angular resolution necessary to model the mass distribution. |
GO 14220: Mapping the Substellar Mass-Luminosity Relation Down to the L/T Transition
Epsilon Indi Bab, the binary brown dwarf companion of the nearby K dwarf |
Brown dwarfs are objects that form like stars, but lack sufficient mass to drive the central temperature above a few million degrees, and therefore never succeed in igniting core hydrogen fusion. Discovered in the mid-1990s, these objects initially have surface temperatures of ~3,500K, but cool rapidly and move through spectral types M, L, T and Y. Following their discovery, considerable theoretical attention has focused on the evolution of their intrinsic properties, particularly the details of the atmospheric changes in the evolution from type L through T to Y and beyond. The initial transition marks the emergence of methane as a dominant absorber at near-infrared wavelengths, while ammonia becomes increasingly apparent in the coolest dwarfs identified by the WISE mission. Current models suggest that the L to T transition occurs at ~1400-1200K, while the T to Y transition occurs around 600K. The spectral changes are at least correlated with, and perhaps driven by, the distribution and properties of dust layers ("clouds"). The overall timescales associated with this process remains unclear. Mass is a crucial factor in mapping those changes, but mass is also the most difficult quantity to measure in a reliable fashion. The present proposal tackles this issue through astrometry and photometry of ultracool binary systems, deriving the orbits, and hence dynamical masses, and mapping the spectral energy distributions to probe the temperatures. The targets in this multi-year program include three late-L/T dwarf binaries, spanning the L/T transition. |