11571( 2) - 01-Jul-2008 15:56:31 - [ 1] HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE OBSERVING PROGRAM 11571 Version: 2 Check-in Time: 01-Jul-2008 15:56:31 STScI Edit Number: 0 Title A Fundamental Test of Accretion Physics with NGC 4203 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Type Cycle GO 17 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Investigators Contact? PI: Dr. Joseph C. Shields Ohio University CoI: Dr. Aaron J. Barth University of California - Irvine N CoI: Dr. Alex V. Filippenko University of California - Berkeley N CoI: Dr. Luis C. Ho Carnegie Institution of Washington N CoI: Dr. Hans-Walter Rix Max-Planck-Institut fur Astronomie, N Heidelberg CoI: Dr. Marc Sarzi University of Hertfordshire N ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Abstract The rapid evolution of quasars indicates that supermassive black holes in galaxy nuclei spend most of their time in a relatively quiescent state. Studies of nearby galaxies demonstrate that many such black holes are accreting at a low rate, and appear as low-luminosity active galactic nuclei (LLAGNs). Theoretical arguments suggest that the mode of accretion onto a central black hole may be very different in LLAGNs as compared to high-luminosity systems. The LINER NGC 4203 provides an excellent opportunity to investigate quantitatively the accretion process in a LLAGN, and hence the typical accretion state for a supermassive black hole. Cycle 7 STIS data acquired at one position angle reveal double-peaked H-alpha emission in the nucleus that may trace an accretion disk, and spatially resolved emission that places an upper limit on black-hole mass. We propose observations with STIS to map the two-dimensional velocity field of the circumnuclear gas disk in the central regions of NGC 4203, in order to measure the black-hole mass. This parameter is essential for testing theoretical models of accretion, determining the mass accretion rate, and estimating the radiative efficiency for accreted matter. The results will be important for making sense of LLAGNs, and for translating their measured luminosity into accretion rates that trace the growth of black holes. This is a resubmission of a proposal that was approved for 5 orbits in Cycle 13 (GO-10191) but never carried out due to the failure of STIS. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Observations Description ------------------------ STIS spectra will be obtained for the nucleus of NGC 4203 at 5 adjacent slit positions to measure spatially resolved nebular emission, which will be used to determine the gas velocity field. The observations will employ the G750M grating at a central wavelength of 6581 A, and the 52X0.1E1 aperture to minimize CTE losses. The slit should be oriented approximately perpendicular (+/- 20 degrees) to an existing STIS spectrum for this object, to optimize spatial coverage. At each slit position, observations will be dithered along the slit to enable cosmic ray and bad pixel rejection. The program will be completed in a single visit of 5 orbits. 11571( 2) - 01-Jul-2008 15:56:31 - [ 2] Real Time Justification ----------------------- Calibration Justification ------------------------- Additional Comments ------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 11571( 2) - 01-Jul-2008 15:56:31 - [ 3] TARGET LIST Fixed Targets ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tar| Target | Target | Target |Coord | Radial | Flux data No | Name | Description | Position |Eqnx | Vel. | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1 NGC4203 GALAXY, NUCLEUS, LINER, RA=12H15M5.0200S +/- 1.0", J2000 V = 11.6 LENTICULAR, EMISSION DEC=+33D11'50.70" +/- 1.0" LINE NEBULA, NLR Reference Frame: ICRS Comments: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 11571( 2) - 01-Jul-2008 15:56:31 - [ 4] Patterns ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Pattern_Number: 1 Primary_Pattern Secondary_Pattern Pattern_Type STIS-ALONG-SLIT Pattern_Purpose DITHER Number_Of_Points 3 Point_Spacing 0.25 Line_Spacing Coordinate_Frame POS-TARG Pattern_Orient 90.0 Angle_Between_Sides Center_Pattern NO ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 11571( 2) - 01-Jul-2008 15:56:31 - [ 5] Visit: 01 Visit Requirements: PCS MODE FINE; ORIENT 40.6D TO 80.6 D; ORIENT 220.6D TO 260.6 D On Hold Comments: Additional Comments: ORIENT constraint assumes a slit PA of 175.6 to 215.6 degrees, and offset angle of 45 degrees. Exposures ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Exp | Target | Instr | Oper. | Aper |Spectral|Central| Optional |Num| Time | Special Num | Name | Config | Mode | or FOV |Element |Waveln.| Parameters |Exp| | Requirements ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1 NGC4203 STIS/CCD ACQ F28X50LP MIRROR 1 10.0 S ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2 NGC4203 STIS/CCD ACQ/PEA 52X0.1E1 MIRROR 1 30.0 S K ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3 NGC4203 STIS/CCD ACCUM 52X0.1E1 G750M 6581 CR-SPLIT=NO 1 860.0 S ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4 NGC4203 STIS/CCD ACCUM 52X0.1E1 G750M 6581 CR-SPLIT=NO 1 860.0 S POS TARG 0.0, 0.25 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 5 NGC4203 STIS/CCD ACCUM 52X0.1E1 G750M 6581 CR-SPLIT=NO 1 728.0 S POS TARG 0.0, -0.25 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 6 NGC4203 STIS/CCD ACCUM 52X0.1E1 G750M 6581 CR-SPLIT=NO 1 1059.0 S POS TARG 0.1, -0.25 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 7 NGC4203 STIS/CCD ACCUM 52X0.1E1 G750M 6581 CR-SPLIT=NO 1 1059.0 S POS TARG 0.1, 0.0 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 8 NGC4203 STIS/CCD ACCUM 52X0.1E1 G750M 6581 CR-SPLIT=NO 1 331.0 S POS TARG 0.1, 0.25 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 9 NGC4203 STIS/CCD ACCUM 52X0.1E1 G750M 6581 CR-SPLIT=NO 1 815.0 S POS TARG -0.1, 0.0; PATTERN 1 9 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 10 NGC4203 STIS/CCD ACCUM 52X0.1E1 G750M 6581 CR-SPLIT=NO 1 966.0 S POS TARG -0.2, 0.0; PATTERN 1 10 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 11 NGC4203 STIS/CCD ACCUM 52X0.1E1 G750M 6581 CR-SPLIT=NO 1 966.0 S POS TARG 0.2, 0.0; PATTERN 1 11 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sub Exposures ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Target | Exp |Instr | Oper. | Aper |Spectral|Cent.|Primary |Secondary |Iteration |CR-SPLIT |Orbit |Duration Name | Num |Config | Mode | or FOV |Element |Wave.|Pattern Pos |Pattern Pos |Num |Num |Number | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ NGC4203 1 STIS/CCD ACQ F28X50LP MIRROR none none none none 1 N/A NGC4203 2 STIS/CCD ACQ/PEA 52X0.1E1 MIRROR none none none none 1 N/A K NGC4203 3 STIS/CCD ACCUM 52X0.1E1 G750M 6581 none none none none 1 N/A NGC4203 4 STIS/CCD ACCUM 52X0.1E1 G750M 6581 none none none none 1 N/A NGC4203 5 STIS/CCD ACCUM 52X0.1E1 G750M 6581 none none none none 2 N/A NGC4203 6 STIS/CCD ACCUM 52X0.1E1 G750M 6581 none none none none 2 N/A NGC4203 7 STIS/CCD ACCUM 52X0.1E1 G750M 6581 none none none none 2 N/A NGC4203 8 STIS/CCD ACCUM 52X0.1E1 G750M 6581 none none none none 3 N/A 11571( 2) - 01-Jul-2008 15:56:31 - [ 6] Sub Exposures ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Target | Exp |Instr | Oper. | Aper |Spectral|Cent.|Primary |Secondary |Iteration |CR-SPLIT |Orbit |Duration Name | Num |Config | Mode | or FOV |Element |Wave.|Pattern Pos |Pattern Pos |Num |Num |Number | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ NGC4203 9 STIS/CCD ACCUM 52X0.1E1 G750M 6581 1 none none none 3 N/A NGC4203 9 STIS/CCD ACCUM 52X0.1E1 G750M 6581 2 none none none 3 N/A NGC4203 9 STIS/CCD ACCUM 52X0.1E1 G750M 6581 3 none none none 3 N/A NGC4203 10 STIS/CCD ACCUM 52X0.1E1 G750M 6581 1 none none none 4 N/A NGC4203 10 STIS/CCD ACCUM 52X0.1E1 G750M 6581 2 none none none 4 N/A NGC4203 10 STIS/CCD ACCUM 52X0.1E1 G750M 6581 3 none none none 4 N/A NGC4203 11 STIS/CCD ACCUM 52X0.1E1 G750M 6581 1 none none none 5 N/A NGC4203 11 STIS/CCD ACCUM 52X0.1E1 G750M 6581 2 none none none 5 N/A NGC4203 11 STIS/CCD ACCUM 52X0.1E1 G750M 6581 3 none none none 5 N/A 11571( 2) - 01-Jul-2008 15:56:31 - [ 7] Summary Form for Proposal 11571 Item Used in this proposal ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Apertures 52X0.1E1, F28X50LP ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Configurations STIS/CCD ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Opmodes ACCUM, ACQ, ACQ/PEAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Optional Parameters CR-SPLIT=NO ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Special Requirements ORIENT 220.6D TO 260.6 D, ORIENT 40.6D TO 80.6 D, PATTERN 1 10, PATTERN 1 11, PATTERN 1 9, PCS MODE FINE, POS TARG -0.1, 0.0, POS TARG -0.2, 0.0, POS TARG 0.0, -0.25, POS TARG 0.0, 0.25, POS TARG 0.1, -0.25, POS TARG 0.1, 0.0, POS TARG 0.1, 0.25, POS TARG 0.2, 0.0 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Spectral Elements G750M, MIRROR ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Target Names NGC4203 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------