NASA Hubble Space Telescope Daily Report # 3411
HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE
DAILY REPORT # 3411
PERIOD COVERED: DOY 204
OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED
ACS 9482
ACS Pure Parallel Lyman-Alpha Emission Survey {APPLES}
Ly-alpha line emission is an efficient tool for identifying young galaxies
at
high redshift, because it is strong in galaxies with young stars and little
or
no dust — properties expected in galaxies undergoing their first burst of
star- formation. Slitless spectroscopy with the ACS Wide-Field Camera and
G800L
grism allows an unmatched search efficiency for such objects over the
uninterrupted range 4 <~ z <~ 7. We propose the ACS Pure Parallel Ly-alpha
Emission Survey {“APPLES”}, to exploit this unique HST capability and so
obtain the largest and most uniform sample of high redshift Ly-alpha
emitters
yet. Parallel observations will allow this survey to be conducted with
minimal
impact on HST resources, and we will place reduced images and extracted
spectra
in the public domain within three months of observation. We aim to find ~
1000
Ly-alpha emitters, 5 times the biggest current sample of Ly-alpha emitters.
This
unprecedented sample will provide robust statistics on the populations and
evolution of Ly-alpha emitters between redshifts 4–7; a robust measurement
of
the reionization redshift completely independent of the Gunn-Peterson
trough;
spatial clustering information for Ly-alpha emitters which would let us
probe
their bias function and hence halo mass as a function of redshift; many
galaxies
at redshift exceeding 6; and lower redshift serendipitous discoveries.
STIS/CCD/MA2 9491
The Oxygen Abundance in the Metal-Poor Halo Star HD 140283 from UV-OH lines
Oxygen is critical in numerous astrophysical contexts, including the
derivation
of globular cluster ages and the early history of the Galaxy’s chemistry.
However, its abundance, particularly in metal-poor stars, remains
controversial,
with optical, IR and UV abundance indicators in dwarfs and giants yielding
different abundance patterns; a flat O/Fe ratio with Fe/H is suggested by
OI and
IR-OH lines, while a monotonically increasing O/Fe trend with decreasing
Fe/H is
measured from OI and UV-OH lines with a factor of 10 difference at Fe/H=-3.
We
propose an in-depth study of the UV- OH lines in the halo subgiant HD 140283
with R=110, 000 and S/N=200 spectra and state-of-the-art 3-D model
atmospheres.
Understanding UV-OH lines is particularly important because these provide
the
sole means of measuring the oxygen abundance in the most metal-poor stars
and
therefore in the early Galaxy. STIS will for the first time provide several
dozen unblended UV-OH lines. Predictions about the variation of line
strength
with excitation potential and the asymmetries of the OH line profiles will
be
tested and used to refine the cool outer layers of the 3-D models where the
OH
lines are formed. The end result will be an accurate oxygen abundance, a
thorough understanding of OH line formation, and a good characterization of
the
atmosphere of a metal-poor star.
STIS/CCD 9495
Do the Most Powerful Radio Galaxies Host the Most Massive Black Holes ?
The 3CR Snapshot Imaging Survey that we have undertaken has revealed the
existence of spectacular sub-arcsecond emission- line disks in three FR II
radio
galaxies : 3C 109, 3C 184.1, and 3C 382. They span a redshift range of 0.06
< z
< 0.31, have diameters of 3-15 kpc, and have nearly orthogonal disk and
radio
jet axes. We propose to measure the black hole {BH} masses in these three
galaxies with STIS/G750M and test whether the masses correlate more tightly
with
the optical bulge luminosity, the radio luminosity, or the nuclear velocity
dispersion. These will represent the first mass determinations of BHs in FR
II
galaxies. For 3C 184.1 and 3C 382, the radio M_BH-L_5_GHz correlation
predicts
BH masses {{11, 8}x10^9 M_sun} that are factors of ~10-55 greater than
predicted
by the optical M_BH-L_B relation {{0.2, 1}x10^9 M_sun}, while for 3C 109,
both
relations yield a stunning BH mass of ~20×10^9 M_sun. A positive detection
of
these extreme BH masses would confirm radio luminosity as a sensitive
indicator
of BH mass and will extend the M_o-Sigma, M_BH-L_B, and M_BH-L_5_GHz
relations
to unprecedentedly large BH masses. Additionally, line and continuum
diagnostics
will be performed over 2900-10300 Ang to determine the physics of the disks
{shocks vs. photoionization}. This study will help constrain any
evolutionary
sequence between the BH masses and disks of the two FR types.
WFPC2 9595
WFPC2 CYCLE 11 SUPPLEMENTAL DARKS pt3/3
This dark calibration program obtains 3 dark frames every day to provide
data
for monitoring and characterizing the evolution of hot pixels.
STIS 9606
CCD Dark Monitor-Part 2
Monitor the darks for the STIS CCD.
STIS 9608
CCD Bias Monitor – Part 2
Monitor the bias in the 1×1, 1×2, 2×1, and 2×2 bin settings at gain=1, and
1×1
at gain = 4, to build up high-S/N superbiases and track the evolution of hot
columns.
STIS 9615
Cycle 11 MAMA Dark Monitor
This test performs the routine monitoring of the MAMA detector dark noise.
This
proposal will provide the primary means of checking on health of the MAMA
detectors systems through frequent monitoring of the background count rate.
The
purpose is to look for evidence of change in dark indicative of detector
problem
developing.
STIS 9633
STIS parallel archive proposal – Nearby Galaxies – Imaging and Spectroscopy
Using parallel opportunities with STIS which were not allocated by the TAC,
we
propose to obtain deep STIS imagery with both the Clear {50CCD} and
Long-Pass
{F28X50LP} filters in order to make color-magnitude diagrams and luminosity
functions for nearby galaxies. For local group galaxies, we also include
G750L
slitless spectroscopy to search for e.g., Carbon stars, late M giants and
S-type
stars. This survey will be useful to study the star formation histories,
chemical evolution, and distances to these galaxies. These data will be
placed
immediately into the Hubble Data Archive.
ACS 9658
ACS Earth Flats
This program will obtain sequences of flat field images by observing the
bright
Earth. Several UV filters from the interim calibration program {9564}
require
additional exposures to obtain the required illumination. A few UV filters
from
this program will be repeated to monitor for changes in the flat fields and
to
verify the interim results. Since no streaks are observed in the UV, the
wavelength coverage is extended to longer wavelengths in order to explore
the
severity of streaks in the flats from clouds in the FOV. We have added
exposures
for the HRC in the visible filters to verify the results derived from the
L-flat
campaign and to explore the severity of streaks. We have also added
exposures on
WFC using the minimum exposure time and using filters which will not
saturate
the brightest WFC pixel by more than 10 times the full well.
ACS 9674
CCD Daily Monitor
This program consists of basic tests to monitor, the read noise, the
development
of hot pixels and test for any source of noise in ACS CCD detectors. This
programme will be executed once a day for the entire lifetime of ACS.
STIS 9708
STIS Pure Parallel Imaging Program: Cycle 11
This is the default archival pure parallel program for STIS during cycle 11.
WFPC2 9709
POMS Test Proposal: WFII parallel archive proposal
This is the generic target version of the WFPC2 Archival Pure Parallel
program.
The program will be used to take parallel images of random areas of the sky,
following the recommendations of the 2002 Parallels Working Group.
ACS/WFC 9902
The Evolution of the Host Galaxies of Radio-Quiet Quasars
Study of the host galaxies and environments of high redshift AGN is proving
a
valuable probe of current theories of how galaxies form and evolve. Results
from
our NICMOS imaging program have indicated that the hosts of z ~ 2 — 3 faint
radio-quiet quasars {RQQ} have luminosities only around local L*, making
them
similar to Lyman-break field galaxies at the same redshifts, and to the
low-z
hosts RQQ hosts. This is roughly consistent with theoretical predictions of
Kauffmann & Haehnelt {2000} for the hierarchical buildup of galaxy hosts and
their relation to their resident supermassive black holes. The luminosity
of the
AGN in these RQQ is key to understanding this relationship, however, and we
are
making a comprehensive archival HST imaging study of the hosts of RQQs from
low
to high z at a range of nuclear luminosities. At intermediate z, however,
there
are no studies of the hosts of RQQs in the faint luminosity range that
represents the bulk of the quasar population. In the present proposal, we
request imaging at the same rest-wavelengths as our high-z sample of the
hosts
of 10 similarly luminous RQQs at z ~ 0.9. These data will fill in an
important
part of the parameter space defined by quasar luminosity and redshift.
Combined
with existing HST data they will allow us to trace the evolution of the
hosts of
RQQ and that of the relationship between quasar luminosity and host galaxy
luminosity.
ACS/WFC/HRC 9905
The Host Galaxies of Type II Quasars
Type II quasars are the luminous analogues of Type II Seyferts; the central
engines are presumably heavily obscured by dust. We have defined a sample of
9
highly luminous Type II quasar candidates with 0.24 < z < 0.40 from the
spectroscopic data of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, which have high
equivalent
width, narrow emission-line spectra characteristic of a nonthermal
continuum. We
estimate that the obscured AGN in these objects have optical luminosities of
order 10^{12} solar luminosities. We propose to image this sample in
rest-frame
U, B and V, to determine the morphology and color of the host galaxies, and
look
for recent star formation. We will also probe the extended environments of
these
objects, to determine whether they are undergoing interactions with close
companions, and whether they live in appreciably clustered environments.
ACS 9984
Cosmic Shear With ACS Pure Parallels
Small distortions in the shapes of background galaxies by foreground mass
provide a powerful method of directly measuring the amount and distribution
of
dark matter. Several groups have recently detected this weak lensing by
large-scale structure, also called cosmic shear. The high resolution and
sensitivity of HST/ACS provide a unique opportunity to measure cosmic shear
accurately on small scales. Using 260 parallel orbits in Sloan textiti
{F775W}
we will measure for the first time: beginlistosetlength sep0cm
setlengthemsep0cm
setlength opsep0cm em the cosmic shear variance on scales <0.7 arcmin, em
the
skewness of the shear distribution, and em the magnification effect.
endlist Our
measurements will determine the amplitude of the mass power spectrum
sigma_8Omega_m^0.5, with signal-to-noise {s/n} ~ 20, and the mass density
Omega_m with s/n=4. They will be done at small angular scales where
non-linear
effects dominate the power spectrum, providing a test of the gravitational
instability paradigm for structure formation. Measurements on these scales
are
not possible from the ground, because of the systematic effects induced by
PSF
smearing from seeing. Having many independent lines of sight reduces the
uncertainty due to cosmic variance, making parallel observations ideal.
FLIGHT OPERATIONS SUMMARY:
Significant Spacecraft Anomalies: (The following are preliminary reports of
potential non-nominal performance that will be investigated.)
HSTAR 9096: GS Acquisition (1,3,3) @ 204/23:47:29Z failed to RGA control
due to
SRLE on primary FGS 3 (Search Radius -55
arcsec). Prior FHST FM Update
showed good error vector of -3.110, 2.742, and
-12.977 arcsec. Subsequent
FHST Map @ 204/23:55:45Z showed errors of -4.576,
6.530, and -27.123 arcsec.
The guide star acquisition for this observation was
non-nominal, further
analysis will determine if a repeat observation is
required.
COMPLETED OPS REQs: NONE
OPS NOTES EXECUTED:
1138-0 HST486 FSW Software Dump @ 204/22:32z
SCHEDULED SUCCESSFUL FAILURE TIMES
FGS GSacq 04 03 SEE Hstar
# 9096
FGS REacq 12 12
FHST Update 10 10
LOSS of LOCK
SIGNIFICANT EVENTS:
HST CCS Release 4.0.3 Case 17, NSSC-1 and SI Operations Regression test
scheduled
205/11:00Z – 20:00Z with GDOC, HITT, SE, and VEST using CCS "B" String in
Test mode
with CCS Release 4.0.3 and PRD O06100R1T. The purpose of this testing is
to verify
CCS Release 4.0.3 supports normal NSSC-1 and SI commanding in an
operational scenario.
