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Daily Report #4641



 
 
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Old June 27th 08, 03:44 PM posted to sci.astro.hubble
Cooper, Joe
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Default Daily Report #4641

HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to collect World Class Science

DAILY REPORT***** #4641

PERIOD COVERED: 5am June 26 - 5am June 27, 2008 (DOY
178/0900z-179/0900z)

OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED

NIC1/NIC2/NIC3 8795

NICMOS Post-SAA Calibration - CR Persistence Part 6

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=date/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 DARKSs. 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.

NIC2 11237

The Origin of the Break in the AGN Luminosity Function

We propose to use NICMOS imaging to measure rest-frame optical
luminosities and morphological properties of a complete sample of
faint AGN host galaxies at redshifts z ~ 1.4. The targets are drawn
from the VLT-VIMOS Deep Survey, and they constitute a sample of the
lowest luminosity type 1 AGN known at z 1. The spectroscopically
estimated black hole masses are up to an order of magnitude higher
than expected given their nuclear luminosities, implying highly
sub-Eddington accretion rates. This exactly matches the prediction
made by recent theoretical models of AGN evolution, according to which
the faint end of the AGN luminosity function is populated mainly by
big black holes that have already exhausted a good part of their fuel.
In this proposal we want to test further predictions of that
hypothesis, by focussing on the host galaxy properties of our
low-luminosity, low- accretion AGN. If the local ratio between black
hole and bulge masses holds at least approximately at these redshifts,
one expects most of these low-luminosity AGN to reside in fairly big
ellipticals with stellar masses around and above 10^11 solar masses
(in contrast to the Seyfert phenomenon in the local universe). With
NICMOS imaging we will find out whether that is true, implying also a
sensitive test for the validity of the M_BH/M_bulge relation at z ~
1.4.

WFPC2 11206

At the Cradle of the Milky Way: Formation of the Most Massive Field
Disk Galaxies at z1

We propose to obtain 2 orbit WFPC2 F814W images of a sample of the 15
most massive galaxies found at $1 z 1.3$. These were culled from
over 20,000 Keck spectra collected as part of DEEP and are unique
among high redshift massive galaxy samples in being kinematically
selected. Through a recent HST NICMOS-2 imaging program {GO-10532}, we
have confirmed that these galaxies have regular stellar disks, and
their emission line kinematics are not due to gradients from merging
components. These potentially very young galaxies are likely
precursors to massive local disks, assuming no further merging. The
proposed WFPC2 and existing NIC-2 data provide colors, stellar masses,
and ages of bulge and disk subcomponents, to assess whether old
stellar bulges and disks are in place at that time or still being
built, and constrain their formation epochs. Finally, this sample will
yield the first statistically significant results on the $z 1$
evolution of the size-velocity-luminosity scaling relations, for
massive galaxies at different wavelengths, and constrain whether this
evolution reflects stellar mass growth, or passive evolution, of
either bulge or disk components.

WFPC2 11235

HST NICMOS Survey of the Nuclear Regions 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 enhanced star formation and Active
Galactic Nuclei {AGN} activity, possibly triggered as the objects
transform into massive S0 and elliptical merger remnants. We propose
NICMOS NIC2 imaging of the nuclear regions of a complete sample of 88
L_IR 10^11.4 L_sun luminous infrared galaxies in the IRAS Revised
Bright Galaxy Sample {RBGS: i.e., 60 micron flux density 5.24 Jy}.
This sample is ideal not only in its completeness and sample size, but
also in the proximity and brightness of the galaxies. The superb
sensitivity and resolution of NICMOS NIC2 on HST enables a unique
opportunity to study the detailed structure of the nuclear regions,
where dust obscuration may mask star clusters, AGN and additional
nuclei from optical view, with a resolution significantly higher than
possible with Spitzer IRAC. This survey thus provides a crucial
component to our study of the dynamics and evolution of IR galaxies
presently underway with Wide-Field, HST ACS/WFC and Spitzer IRAC
observations of these 88 galaxies. Imaging will be done with the F160W
filter {H-band} to examine as a function of both luminosity and merger
stage {i} the luminosity and distribution of embedded star clusters,
{ii} the presence of optically obscured AGN and nuclei, {iii} the
correlation between the distribution of 1.6 micron emission and the
mid- IR emission as detected by Spitzer IRAC, {iv} the evidence of
bars or bridges that may funnel fuel into the nuclear region, and {v}
the ages of star clusters for which photometry is available via
ACS/WFC observations. The NICMOS data, combined with the HST ACS,
Spitzer, and GALEX observations of this sample, will result in the
most comprehensive study of merging and interacting galaxies to date.

WFPC2/NIC3 11188

First Resolved Imaging of Escaping Lyman Continuum

The emission from star-forming galaxies appears to be responsible for
reionization of the universe at z6. However, the models that attempt
to describe the detailed impact of high- redshift galaxies on the
surrounding inter-galactic medium {IGM} are strongly dependent upon
several uncertain parameters. Perhaps the most uncertain is the
fraction of HI-ionizing photons produced by young stars which escape
into the IGM. Most attempts to measure this "escape fraction" {f_esc}
have produced null results. Recently, a small subset of z~3 Lyman
Break Galaxies {LBGs} has been found exhibiting large escape
fractions. It remains unclear however, what differentiates them from
other LBGs. Several models attempt to explain how such a large
fraction of ionizing continuum can escape through the HI and dust in
the ISM {eg. "chimneys" created by SNe winds, globular cluster
formation, etc.}, each producing unique signatures which can be
observed with resolved imaging of the escaping Lyman continuum. We
propose a deep, high resolution WFPC2 image of the ionizing continuum
{F336W} and the rest-frame 1500 Angstrom continuum {F606W} of five of
the six known LBGs with large escape fractions. These LBGs all fit
within a single WFPC2 pointing, yielding high observing efficiency.
Additionally, they all have z~3.1 or higher, the optimal redshift
range for probing the Lyman Continuum region with available WFPC2
filters. These factors make our proposed sample especially suitable
for follow- up. With these data we will discern the mechanisms
responsible for producing large escape fractions, and therefore gain
insight into the process of reionization.

WFPC2/NIC3/ACS/SBC 11144

Building on the Significant NICMOS Investment in GOODS: A Bright,
Wide-Area Search for z=7 Galaxies

One of the most exciting frontiers in observational cosmology has been
to trace the buildup and evolution of galaxies from very early times.
While hierarchical theory teaches us that the star formation rate in
galaxies likely starts out small and builds up gradually, only
recently has it been possible to see evidence for this observationally
through the evolution of the LF from z~6 to z~3. Establishing that
this build up occurs from even earlier times {z~7-8} has been
difficult, however, due to the small size of current high-redshift
z~7-8 samples -- now numbering in the range of ~4-10 sources.
Expanding the size of these samples is absolutely essential, if we are
to push current studies of galaxy buildup back to even earlier times.
Fortunately, we should soon be able to do so, thanks to ~50 arcmin**2
of deep {26.9 AB mag at 5 sigma} NICMOS 1.6 micron data that will be
available over the two ACS GOODS fields as a result of one recent 180-
orbit ACS backup program and a smaller program. These data will nearly
triple the deep near-IR imaging currently available and represent a
significant resource for finding and characterizing the brightest
high-redshift sources -- since high-redshift candidates can be easily
identified in these data from their red z-H colours. Unfortunately,
the red z-H colours of these candidates are not sufficient to
determine that these sources are at z=7, and it is important also to
have deep photometry at 1.1 microns. To obtain this crucial
information, we propose to follow up each of these z-H dropouts with
NICMOS at 1.1 microns to determine which are at high redshift and thus
significantly expand our sample of luminous, z=7 galaxies. Since
preliminary studies indicate that these candidates occur in only 30%
of the NIC3 fields, our follow-up strategy is ~3 times as efficient as
without this preselection and 9 times as efficient as a search in a
field with no pre-existing data. In total, we expect to identify ~8
luminous z-dropouts and possibly ~2 z~10 J-dropouts as a result of
this program, more than tripling the number currently known. The
increased sample sizes are important if we are to solidify current
conclusions about galaxy buildup and the evolution of the LF from z~8.
In addition to the high redshift science, these deep 1.1 micron data
would have significant value for many diverse endeavors, including {1}
improving our constraints on the stellar mass density at z~7-10 and
{2} doubling the number of galaxies at z~6 for which we can estimate
dust obscuration.

FLIGHT OPERATIONS SUMMARY:

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

HSTARS:

11356 - GSAcq (2,0,2) failed to RGA Hold

At Acquisition of Signal, 178/09:48:55, GSAcq (2,0,2) scheduled from
178/09:25:51 - 09:31:21 had failed to RGA Hold. This was due to
QF2STOPF flag on FGS 2. No other ESB messages were noted. OBAD #1 & #2
data is unavailable due to loss of signal. OBAD MAP: V1 -12.70, V2
-6.40, V3 -0.32, RSS 14.22 arc seconds. Awaiting engineering data dump
for further analysis.

Possible observations affected: NICMOS Proposal 11235, Observation
Numbers 171 & 172

11358 - GSACQ(2,1,2) failed, scan step limit exceeded on FGS 2

GSACQ(2,1,2) at 178/14:24:40 failed due to scan step limit exceeded on
FGS 2 at 14:28:37. No ESB messages were received, #44 commands did not
update from their values prior to LOS.

Observations affected: WFPC 126 to 129, Proposal number 11206

11359 - REacq(1,2,1) failed to RGA Hold

During LOS REacq(1,2,2) scheduled at 178/2040:03 - 20:47:22 failed
toRGA hold. At AOS (21:51:08) stop flags QF1STOPF and QSTOP were set
for FGS 1. Also during LOS we received an ESB 1805 "FHST moving target
det".

Observations affected: NIC 176 Proposal ID#11237

The REacq(1,2,2) scheduled at 22:15:57 also failed to RGA hold. Stop
flags QF1STOPF and QSTOP were set for FGS 1.

OBAD1 showed errors of V1=1261.02, V2=-1096.80, V3=-745.72 and RSS=
1830.10. OBAD2 showed errors of V1=-9.69, V2=-8.90, V3=15.49.

Observations affected: NIC 177 Proposal ID#08795 and NIC 178 Proposal
ID#11237

REacq(1,2,2) at 23:51:52 also failed with stop flags on FGS 1.
Observations affected: NIC 179 Proposal ID#08795, NIC 180 Proposal
ID#11237

COMPLETED OPS REQUEST: (None)

COMPLETED OPS NOTES: (None)

*********************** SCHEDULED***** SUCCESSFUL

FGS GSacq************** 05***************** 03
FGS REacq************** 10***************** 07
OBAD with Maneuver **** 30***************** 30

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS: (None)


 




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