NASA Hubble Space Telescope Daily Report # 4524

HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE DAILY REPORT # 4524

Continuing to collect World Class Science

DAILY REPORT # 4524 PERIOD COVERED: UT January 010, 2008 (DOY 010)

OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED

ACS/SBC 11011

Dissecting An Accretion Disk

We will use 5 epochs of CXO and HST imaging to determine the X-ray and UV size of the accretion disk of the lensed quasar RXJ1131–1231 using microlensing. Based on preliminary data, we find that the X-ray source is roughly 1/10 the size of the accretion disk in the rest- frame B-band. The new observations will significantly reduce the uncertainties in this estimate, provide a comparison between the size of the X-ray source and the size of the accretion disk in the rest frame ultraviolet, and have the signal-to-noise ratio necessary to begin examining the size of the hard and soft-band X-ray emission regions separately. The results will quantitatively test accretion disk theory and X-ray emission mechanisms.

NIC1/NIC2/NIC3 8794

NICMOS Post-SAA calibration – CR Persistence Part 5

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. The keyword ‘USEAFTER=3Ddate/time’ will also be added to the header of each POST-SAA DARK frame. The keyword must be populated with the time, in addition to the date, because HST crosses the SAA ~8 times per day so each POST-SAA DARK will need to have the appropriate time specified, for users to identify the ones they need. Both the raw and processed images will be archived as POST-SAA DARKs. Generally we expect that all NICMOS science/calibration observations started within 50 minutes of leaving an SAA will need such maps to remove the CR persistence from the science images. Each observation will need its own CRMAP, as different SAA passages leave different imprints on the NICMOS detectors.

NIC1/NIC3 10924

Constraints on the Assembly and Dynamical Masses of z~2 Galaxies

We propose deep NICMOS/NIC2 F160W imaging of seven star-forming galaxies at z~2. These galaxies comprise an entirely unique sample, with not only redshifts measured from optical and near-IR spectra, but also SINFONI/VLT near-IR integral field spectroscopic measurements providing kinematic maps of H-alpha emission out to radii of >=3D10 kpc. We aim to determine the dynamical masses and evolutionary states of these systems, as part of the larger goal of understanding how mass is assembled in distant galaxies. In order to interpret our novel H-alpha integral field maps in terms of mass, we require detailed knowledge of the structural parameters of our target objects at rest-frame optical wavelengths and on ~1 kpc scales. We want to establish if the mass is distributed in a disk, bulge, or merging sub-units, and if we can detect tidal features associated with a merger. F160W imaging with NICMOS/NIC2 provides the perfect combination of sensitivity and resolution to address these questions, and arrive at the fundamental quantity: the dynamical mass.

NIC2 11142

Revealing the Physical Nature of Infrared Luminous Galaxies at 0.3

We aim to determine physical properties of IR luminous galaxies at 0.3 0.8mJy and their mid-IR spectra have already provided the majority targets with spectroscopic redshifts {0.31 ULIRGs, as in the local Universe. {2} study the co-evolution of star formation and blackhole accretion by investigating the relations between the fraction of starburst/AGN measured from mid-IR spectra vs. HST morphologies, L{bol} and z. {3} obtain the current best estimates of the far-IR emission, thus L{bol} for this sample, and establish if the relative contribution of mid-to-far IR dust emission is correlated with morphology {resolved vs. unresolved}.

WEPC2 11196

An Ultraviolet Survey of Luminous Infrared Galaxies in the Local Universe

At luminosities above 10^11.4 L_sun, the space density of far-infrared selected galaxies exceeds that of optically selected galaxies. These Luminous Infrared Galaxies {LIRGs} are primarily interacting or merging disk galaxies undergoing starbursts and creating/fueling central AGN. We propose far {ACS/SBC/F140LP} and near {WFPC2/PC/F218W} UV imaging of a sample of 27 galaxies drawn from the complete IRAS Revised Bright Galaxy Sample {RBGS} LIRGs sample and known, from our Cycle 14 B and I-band ACS imaging observations, to have significant numbers of bright {23 < B < 21 mag} star clusters in the central 30 arcsec. The HST UV data will be combined with previously obtained HST, Spitzer, and GALEX images to {i} calculate the ages of the clusters as function of merger stage, {ii} measure the amount of UV light in massive star clusters relative to diffuse regions of star formation, {iii} assess the feasibility of using the UV slope to predict the far-IR luminosity {and thus the star formation rate} both among and within IR-luminous galaxies, and {iv} provide a much needed catalog of rest- frame UV morphologies for comparison with rest-frame UV images of high-z LIRGs and Lyman Break Galaxies. These observations will achieve the resolution required to perform both detailed photometry of compact structures and spatial correlations between UV and redder wavelengths for a physical interpretation our IRX-Beta results. The HST UV data, combined with the HST ACS, Spitzer, Chandra, and GALEX observations of this sample, will result in the most comprehensive study of luminous starburst galaxies to date.

FLIGHT OPERATIONS SUMMARY:

Significant Spacecraft Anomalies: (The following are preliminary reports of potential non-nominal performance that will be investigated.)

HSTARS: 11137 – REAcq (1,2,1) failed to RGA Hold At 010/11:15:55 REAcq (1,2,1) scheduled from 010/10:36:39 – 10:44:03 had failed to RGA Hold due to QSTOP and QF2STOPF flags on FGS 2. Pre-acquisition OBAD #1 & #2 unavailable due to LOS. OBAD MAP RSS value =3D 12.82 a-s.

11139 – GSacq(1,3,1) fails to RGA control=20 GSacq(1,3,1) scheduled at 010/16:16:39 failed to RGA control. 486 ESB message “A07” (“FGS Coarse Track failed – Time out waiting for Data Valid”) was received. No FGS flags were seen. OBAD prior to GSACQ at 16:09:46 had RSS error of 7.85 arcseconds

REacq(1,3,1) at 17:52:31 also failed with another “A07” ESB and no FGS flags. OBAD at 17:45:40 had RSS error of 16.55 arc seconds.

REacq(1,3,1) at 19:29:05 also failed. There were no flags and a A07 was received. OBAD at 19:21:34 had RSS error of 14.82 arc seconds.

REacq(1,3,1) at 21:04:57 also failed with no flags. ESB A07 was received. OBAD at 20:57:28 had RSS error of 1.48 arc seconds. =20 COMPLETED OPS REQUEST: (None)

COMPLETED OPS NOTES: (None)

                       SCHEDULED      SUCCESSFUL
FGS GSacq                08                07
FGS REacq                06                02
OBAD with Maneuver       28                28

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS: (None)