NASA Hubble Space Telescope Daily Report # 3768

HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE – Continuing to collect World Class Science

DAILY REPORT       # 3768

PERIOD COVERED: DOY 003

OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED

ACS/HRC 10199

The Most Massive Galaxies in the Universe: Double Trouble?

We are proposing an HST snapshot survey of 70 objects with velocity
dispersion larger than 350 km/s, selected from the Sloan Digital Sky
Survey. Potentially this sample contains the most massive galaxies in
the Universe. Some of these objects may be superpositions; HST imaging
is the key to determining if they are single and massive or if they
are two objects in projection. The objects which HST imaging shows to
be single objects are interesting because they potentially harbor the
most massive black holes, and because their existence places strong
constraints on galaxy formation models. When combined with ground
based data already in hand, the objects which HST imaging shows are
superpositions provide valuable information about interaction rates of
early-type galaxies as well as their dust content. They also constrain
the allowed parameter space for models of binary gravitational lenses
{such models are currently invoked to explain discrepancies in the
distribution of lensed image flux ratios and separations}.

ACS/HRC/WFC 10367

ACS CCDs daily monitor- cycle 13 – part 1

This program consists of a set of basic tests to monitor, the read
noise, the development of hot pixels and test for any source of noise
in ACS CCD detectors. The files, biases and dark will be used to
create reference files for science calibration. This programme will be
for the entire lifetime of ACS.

ACS/WFC 10174

Dark-matter halos and evolution of high-z early-type galaxies

Gravitational lensing and stellar dynamics provide two complementary
methods to determine the mass distribution and evolution of luminous
and dark-matter in early-type {E/S0} galaxies. The combined study of
stellar dynamics and gravitational lensing allows one to break
degeneracies inherent to each method separately, providing a clean
probe of the internal structure of massive galaxies. Since most lens
galaxies are at redshifts z=0.1-1.0, they also provide the required
look-back time to study their structural and stellar- population
evolution. We recently analyzed 5 E/S0 lens galaxies between z=0.5 and
1.0, combining exquisite Hubble Space Telescope imaging data with
kinematic data from ground-based Keck spectroscopy, placing the first
precise constraints on the dark-matter mass fraction and its inner
slope beyond the local Universe. To expand the sample to ~30 systems
— required to study potential trends and evolution in the E/S0 mass
profiles — we propose to target the 49 E/S0 lens-galaxy candidates
discovered by Bolton et al. {2004} from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey
{SDSS}. With the average lens rate being 40% and some systems having a
lensing probability close to unity, we expect to discover ~20 strong
gravitational lenses from the sample. This will triple the current
sample of 9 E/S0 systems, with data in hand. With the sample of 30
systems, we will be able to determine the average slope of the
dark-matter and total mass profile of E/S0 galaxies to 10% and 4%
accuracy, respectively. If present, we can simultaneously detect 10%
evolution in the total mass slope with 95% confidence. This will
provide unprecedented constraints on E/S0 galaxies beyond the local
Universe and allow a stringent test of their formation scenarios and
the standard cosmological model.

ACS/WFC 10374

ACS photometric Stability

This program consists of three parts. In the first part we will
observe a subset of the ACS white dwarfs with HRC and ACS to verify
repeatability to ~0.2%, because the filter shifts are based on
photometric differences between stars of ~1%. These observations are
also required to establish relative magnitudes of the primary WD
standards at the 0.1% level. Targets should be GD153 and G191B2B,
which seems to have the largest V mag error of ~0.008 mag. One orbit
on the most important filters, including the grism and the prisms,
should be expended with each camera for both stars for a total of 4
orbits. In the second part will observe with HRC and WFC a solar
analog star, P330E, to estimate any shifts in the short and the long
wavelength cutoffs of selected filters. Complete filter bandpasses can
be derived directly from the ratio of grism observations with and
without the filter in place. The grism is on filter wheel 1, while
four filters of interest F330W, F344N, F660N, and F814W are on wheel
2. Each grism observation requires 3 settings: filter alone,
filter+grism, and grism alone. In the third part we obtain high S/N
photometric and spectroscopic observations of three red stars, VB-8
{M7}, 2M0038+18 {L3.5} and 2M0559-14 {T5} with HRC and WFC to verify
the photometry at the new standard position and to obtain accurate
calibration {1% or better} of the grism spectra.

ACS/WFC/NIC2 10189

PANS-Probing Acceleration Now with Supernovae

Type Ia supernovae {SNe Ia} provide the most direct evidence for an
accelerating Universe, a result widely attributed to dark energy.
Using HST in Cycle 11 we extended the Hubble diagram with 6 of the 7
highest- redshift SNe Ia known, all at z>1.25, providing conclusive
evidence of an earlier epoch of cosmic deceleration. The full sample
of 16 new SNe Ia match the cosmic concordance model and are
inconsistent with a simple model of evolution or dust as alternatives
to dark energy. Understanding dark energy may be the biggest current
challenge to cosmology and particle physics. To understand the nature
of dark energy, we seek to measure its two most fundamental
properties: its evolution {i.e., dw/dz}, and its recent equation of
state {i.e., w{z=0}}. SNe Ia at z>1, beyond the reach of the ground
but squarely within the reach of HST with ACS, are crucial to break
the degeneracy in the measurements of these two basic aspects of dark
energy. The SNe Ia we have discovered and measured with HST in Cycle
11, now double the precision of our knowledge of both properties. Here
we propose to quadruple the sample of SNe Ia at z>1 in the next two
cycles, complementing on-going surveys from the ground at z<1, and again doubling the precision of dark energy constraints. Should the current best fit model prove to be the correct one, the precision expected from the current proposal will suffice to rule out a cosmological constant at the 99% confidence level. Whatever the result, these objects will provide the basis with which to extend our empirical knowledge of this newly discovered and dominant component of the Universe, and will remain one of the most significant legacies of HST. In addition, our survey and follow-up data will greatly enhance the value of the archival data within the target Treasury fields for galaxy studies.

ACS/WFC/NIC3/WFPC2 10134

The Evolution and Assembly of Galactic Disks: Integrated studies of
mass, stars and gas in the Extended Groth Strip

This project is a 126-orbit imaging survey in F606W/F814W ACS to
measure the evolution of galaxy disks from redshift z = 1.4 to the
present. By combining HST imaging with existing observations in the
Extended Groth Strip, we can for the first time simultaneously
determine the mass in dark matter that underlies disks, the mass in
stars within those disks, and the rate of formation of new stars from
gas in the disks, for samples of >1, 000 objects. ACS observations are
critical for this work, both for reliable identifications of disks and
for determining their sizes and inclinations. Combining these data
with the kinematics measured from high- resolution Keck DEIMOS spectra
will give dynamical masses that include dark matter. Stellar masses
can be measured separately using ground-based BRIK and Spitzer IRAC
GTO data, while cross-calibrated star formation rates will come from
DEEP2 spectra, GALEX, and Spitzer/MIPS. The field chosen is the only
one where all multiwavelength data needed will be available in the
near term. These data will show how the fundamental properties of
disks {luminosity, rotation speed, scale length} and their scaling
relations have evolved since z~1, and also will measure the build-up
of stellar disks directly, providing fundamental tests of disk
formation and evolution. In addition to the above study of disk
galaxies, the data will also be used to measure the evolution of
red-sequence galaxies and their associated stellar populations. ACS
images will yield the number of red-sequence galaxies versus time,
together with their total associated stellar mass. ACS images are
crucial to classify red-sequence galaxies into normal E/S0s versus
peculiar types and to measure radii, which will complete the suite of
fundamental structural parameters needed to study evolution. We will
measure the zeropoints of major scaling laws {Fundamental Plane,
radius versus sigma}, as well as evolution in characteristic
quantities such as L*, v*, and r*. Stellar population ages will be
estimated from high-resolution Keck DEIMOS spectra and compared to SED
evolution measured from GALEX, HST, Spitzer, and ground-based colors.
Important for both disk and red-galaxy programs are parallel exposures
to be taken with both NIC3 {J and H} and WFPC2 {B}. These are arranged
so that ACS, WFPC2, and NIC3 all overlap where possible , providing a
rich data set of galaxies imaged with all three HST cameras from B to
H. These data will be used to measure restframe visible morphologies
and UV star-formation rates for galaxies near the edge of the survey,
to discover and count EROs below the Keck spectroscopic limit of R =
24, and to provide an improved database of photometric redshifts for
galaxies in the overlap regions.

ACS/WFC/WFPC2 10265

The Formation History of Andromeda

We propose deep observations of Andromeda’s outer disk and giant tidal
stream, to reconstruct their star formation histories. As the nearest
giant galaxy, Andromeda offers the best testing ground for
understanding galaxy formation and evolution. Given the dramatic
increase in sensitivity offered by the ACS, we can now resolve stars
on the old main sequence in the other giant spiral of the Local Group,
and employ the same direct age diagnostics that have been used for
decades in the study of Galactic globular clusters. In Cycle 11, we
successfully observed a field in the Andromeda halo and constructed a
deep color-magnitude diagram reaching well below the oldest main
sequence turnoff. In Cycle 13, we propose to extend these observations
to the outer disk and tidal stream of Andromeda, to constrain their
star formation histories and compare them to that of the halo. The
combined observations from these two programs will offer a dramatic
advance in our understanding of the overall evolution of spiral
galaxies.

NIC1 10143

Ultracool companions to the nearest L dwarfs

We propose to conduct the most sensitive survey to date for low mass
companions to nearby L dwarfs. We will use NICMOS to image targets
drawn from a volume-complete sample of 70 L dwarfs within 20 parsecs.
The combination of infrared imaging and proximity will allow us to
search for T dwarf companions at separations as small as 1.6 AU. This
is crucial, since no ultracool binaries are currently known with
separations exceeding 15 AU. Only 10 dwarfs in this sample have
previous HST observations primarily at optical wavelengths. With the
increased sensitivity of our survey, we will provide the most
stringent test to date of brown dwarf models which envisage formation
as ejected stellar embryos. In addition, our observations will be
capable of detecting binaries with mass ratios as low as 0.3, and will
therefore also test the apparent preference for equal-mass ultracool
binaries. Finally, our observations offer the best prospect to date of
detecting companions significantly cooler than the coolest t dwarf
currently known.

NIC2 10418

Morphologies and Color Gradients of Galaxies with the Oldest Stellar
Populations at High Redshifts

We have isolated a sample of 9 luminous {~2L*} galaxies with the very
oldest stellar populations at their respective redshifts. The galaxies
have been found in radio-source fields chosen to be at the key
redshifts z~1.5 and z~2.5, which allow the cleanest separation of old
stellar populations from highly reddened starbursts with colors
derived from standard filter combinations. Ground-based observations
in excellent seeing and with adaptive optics of 3 of these galaxies
indicate that all 3 are dominated by well relaxed disks of old stars,
suggesting that the first large stellar systems to form in the
universe were disks in which star formation proceeded extremely
rapidly and efficiently. In order to test this conjecture, we are
requesting NICMOS2 exposures of our sample to obtain high S/N imaging
in the F160W filter to determine detailed morphologies of the old
stellar population, coupled with either NICMOS2 F110W or ACS F814W
exposures {depending on redshift} to determine color gradients and/or
other systematic color variations that might provide clues to
formation processes.

NICMOS 8790

NICMOS Post-SAA calibration – CR Persistence Part 1.

A new procedure proposed to alleviate the CR-persistence problem of
NICMOS. Dark frames will be obtained immediately upon exiting the SAA
contour 23, and every time a NICMOS exposure is scheduled within 50
minutes of coming out of the SAA. The darks will be obtained in
parallel in all three NICMOS Cameras. The POST-SAA darks will be
non-standard reference files available to users with a USEAFTER
date/time mark.

WFPC2 10132

UV Confirmation of New Quasar Sightlines Suitable for the Study of
Intergalactic Helium

The reionization of intergalactic helium is thought to have occurred
between redshifts of about 3 and 4. The study of HeII Lyman-alpha
absorption towards a half-dozen quasars at 2.7 < z < 3.5 demonstrates the great potential of such probes of the IGM, but the current critically-small sample limits confidence in resulting cosmological inferences. The requisite unobscured quasar sightlines to high-redshift are extremely rare, especially due to severe absorption in random intervening Lyman-limit systems, but SDSS provides hundreds of bright, new quasars at such redshifts potentially suitable for HeII studies. Our cycle 13 SNAP program proposes to verify the UV detectability of 40 new, bright, z> 2.9 SDSS quasars, but with special
emphasis on extending helium studies to the highest redshift
sightlines. Our proposed approach has already proven successful, and
additional sightlines will enable follow-up spectal observations to
measure the spectrum and evolution of the ionizing background
radiation, the density of intergalactic baryons, and the epoch of
reionization of the IGM.

WFPC2 10359

WFPC2 CYCLE 13 Standard Darks

This dark calibration program obtains dark frames every week in order
to provide data for the ongoing calibration of the CCD dark current
rate, and to monitor and characterize the evolution of hot pixels.
Over an extended period these data will also provide a monitor of
radiation damage to the CCDs.

WFPC2 10362

WFPC2 Cycle 13 UV Earth Flats

Monitor flat field stability. This proposal obtains sequences of earth
streak flats to improve the quality of pipeline flat fields for the
WFPC2 UV filter set. These Earth flats will complement the UV earth
flat data obtained during cycles 8-12.

FLIGHT OPERATIONS SUMMARY:

Significant Spacecraft Anomalies: (The following are preliminary
reports of potential non-nominal performance that will be
investigated.) None

COMPLETED OPS REQs: None

OPS NOTES EXECUTED: None

                         SCHEDULED     SUCCESSFUL    FAILURE TIMES
FGS Gsacq              08                       08
FGS Reacq              08                       08
FHST Update            13                       13
LOSS of LOCK

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS: None