This week on HST

HST Programs: September 20, 2010 - September 26, 2010

Selected highlights

GO 11593: Dynamical Masses of the Coolest Brown Dwarfs

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 almost 15 years ago, these objects initially have surface temperatures of ~3,500K, but cool rapidly and move through spcetral types M, L and T. 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 to type T and beyond. This transition marks the emergence of methane as a dominant absorber at near-infrared wavelengths. Current models suggest this transition occurs at ~1400-1200K, and that 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 aims to tackle this issue through astrometry of ultracool binary systems, deriving the orbits and hence dynamical masses. Initially designed for ACS, the current observations are being made with WFPC2, and the binary system SDSSJ092615.38+584720.9 will be imaged in the coming week.

GO 11600: Star formation, extinction and metallicity at 0.7

ACS images of a section of the GOODS fields

The Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey, originated as a Cycle 12 HST Treasury program, designed to probe galaxy formation and evolution at redshifts from z~1 to z~6. GOODS covers two ~150 sq. arcminute fields, one centred on the Hubble Deep Field in Ursa Major and the Chandra Deep Field-South in Fornax. Initially, the program combined deep optical/far-red imaging (F435W, F606W, F775W and F850LP filters) using ACS on HST with deep IRAC (3.6 to 8 micron) and MIPS (25 micron) imaging with Spitzer. These two fields have become among the most studied celestial regions. In addition to deep HST data at optical and near-infrared wavelengths (both fields have been covered by NICMOS), the fields have been covered at X-ray wavelengths by Chandra (obviously) and XMM-Newton, and ground-based imaging and spectroscopy using numerous telescopes, including the Kecks, Gemini, Surbaru and the ESO VLT. Part of the GOODS South field was covered by the WFC3 Early Release Science observations (see ), and both fields are also covered partially by one of the three Multi-Cycle Treasury programs allocated time in Cycle 18-20. The present program is using the G141 grism on the WFC3 IR camera to conduct a spectroscopic survey of part of the GOODS-North field. The data will enable the identification of H-alpha+[N II] emission from galaxies at redshifts 0.7 < z < 1.5, and thereby set constraints on star formation at those redshifts.

GO 11598: How Galaxies Acquire their Gas: A Map of Multiphase Accretion and Feedback in Gaseous Galaxy Halos

A computer simulation of galactic gas accretion and outflow

Galaxy formation, and the overall history of star formation within a galaxy, clearly demands the presence of gas. The detailed evolution therefore depends on how gas is accreted, recycled, circulated through the halo and, perhaps, ejected back into the intergalactic medium. Tracing that evolutionary history is difficult, since gas passes through many different phases, some of which are easier to detect than others. During accretion and, probably, subsequent recycling, the gas is expected to be reside predominantly at high temperatures. The most effective means of detecting such gas is through ultraviolet spectroscopy, where gas within nearby systems can be detected as absorption lines superimposed on the spectra of more distant objects, usually quasars. The present program is using the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph to observe z>1 QSOs that lie at small angular separations from SDSS galaxies at redshifts between z=0.15 and 0.35. The sightlines run through the halos of the galaxies, and the QSOs therefore provide a pencilbeam backlight that probes hot gas in the foreground systems.

GO 12311: Multiple Stellar Populations in Galactic Globular Clusters

NGC 2808, a globular cluster with multiple stellar populations

Globular clusters are remnants of the first substantial burst of star formation in the Milky Way. With typical masses of a few x 105 solar masses, distributed among several x 106 stars, the standard picture holds that these are simple systems, where all the stars formed in a single starburst and, as a consequence, have the same age and metallicity. Until recently, the only known exception to this rule was the cluster Omega Centauri, which is significantly more massive than most clusters and has both double main sequence and a range of metallicities among the evolved stars. Omega Cen has been joined by several additional clusters, including NGC 2808, which shows evidence for three distinct branches to the main sequence. The origin of this feature is remains uncertain, but it may be significant that NGC 2808 is also one of the more massive clusters, and might therefore be able to survive several burst of star formation (or, conversely, be the product of a multi proto-globular merger). Evidence for multiple populations has also been found in other clusters, including NGC 1851, 47 Tucanae and NGC 6752 - all relatively massive clusters. The present program aims to use high-precision UV (F275W) and far-red (F814W) WFC3 observations of those clusters, together with M4 and M22, to probe the detailed structure along the main sequence.

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Past weeks:

• Cycle 14 observations (from March 13 2006 to June 30 2006)
• Cycle 15 observations (from July 1 2006)
• Cycle 16 observations (from July 1 2007)
• Cycle 17 observations (from July 13 2009)
• Cycle 18 observations (from August 30 2010)

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page by Neill Reid, updated 12/11/2010