12890( 5) - 09-Nov-2012 14:25:30 - [ 1] HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE OBSERVING PROGRAM 12890 Version: 5 Check-in Time: 09-Nov-2012 14:25:30 STScI Edit Number: 2 Title The Unique Recurrent Nova T Pyxidis: The Decline and Transition to Quiescence ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Type Cycle GO 20 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Investigators Contact? PI: Prof. Edward M. Sion Villanova University Y CoI: Dr. Robert E. Williams Space Telescope Science Institute N CoI: Dr. Patrick Godon Villanova University N CoI: Dr. Mario Livio Space Telescope Science Institute N CoI: Dr. Sumner G. Starrfield Arizona State University N CoI: Dr. Steve Shore Universita di Pisa N CoI: Dr. Gregory James Schwarz American Astronomical Society N CoI: Dr. Charles E. Woodward University of Minnesota - Twin Cities N CoI: Dr. Kim Page University of Leicester N CoI: Dr. Paul Kuin University College London (UCL) N ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Abstract The surprising April, 2011 explosion of the recurrent nova T Pyxidis, a potential Type Ia supernova progenitor, offers a unique opportunity to catch T Pyx on the decline and into quiescence where we expect to see the FUV continuum fade, emission lines weaken and the heated, bloated white dwarf (WD) continue to cool. Our three earlier STIS observations of T Pyx were centered on the outburst maximum, followed by a just awarded DDT proposal to obtain a single STIS and COS spectrum to cover the decline, until this standard Cycle 20 GO proposal. This will culminate in a complete and unprecedented cooling curve of the heated, bloated WD in the FUV, for the first time down to the Lyman Limit at high resolution, all the way from outburst into quiescence. Our hydrodynamic and synthetic spectral modeling of this unique spectroscopic dataset will enable us to measure the cooling rate, discriminate between the cooling of a massive (near Chandrasekhar mass) post-nova WD versus the cooling of a less massive WD, detail the accretion environment including if, and when, the accretion disk is re-formed, discover how much the WD was heated by the outburst, constrain the accretion rate, and possibly help explain why its latest nova outburst was delayed by 44 years. Virtually nothing is known about the cooling behavior of the white dwarf in recurrent novae and classical novae so soon after outburst in the FUV with the necessary resolution. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Observations Description ------------------------ We request one observation (3 orbits) towards the beginning of Cycle 20 while T Pyx is declining and a secong observation about 6months later (or towards the end of Cycle 20; also 3 orbits) when T Pyx will have most possibly reached its quiescent state. We request that each of the two observations (each of 3 orbits) be made of a STIS (E140M) observation (lasting 2 orbits) followed immediately by a COS (G130 1055A) observation (lasting 1 orbit). T Pyx was ob served in the Spring 2012 in 12890( 5) - 09-Nov-2012 14:25:30 - [ 2] this way and there were no safety issue using this configuration. Since the system is cooling down, we do not expect the flux to increase, rather the opposite. We request this configuration in order to obtain a spectrum in the FUV from about 900A to 1700A (with gaps) covering the Lyman series. We request the first two visits (1 + 2) to be carried out towards the beginning of Cycle 20 and the last two visits (3 + 4) to be carried out towards the end of Cycle 20. We set up the observations windows accordingly based on the visit planner results. Visit 2 has been grouped with visit 1; and visit 4 has been grouped with visit 3. We request Visit 2 to follow visit 1 immediately, and visit 4 to follow visit 3 immediately. Real Time Justification ----------------------- Calibration Justification ------------------------- We are aware that the configuration COS 130M 1055A does not yet have a formal automated (pipeline) callibration process and that we may have to wait (we were told it should be taken care of in Summer 2012). We have already worked closely with Steven Pendon from the COS team to work around this callibration problem. Steven Additional Comments ------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 12890( 5) - 09-Nov-2012 14:25:30 - [ 3] TARGET LIST Fixed Targets ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tar| Target | Target | Target |Coord | Radial | Flux data No | Name | Description | Position |Eqnx | Vel. | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1 NOVA-PYX-189 STAR, ACCRETION DISK, RA=09H04M41.5000S +/- 0.1", J2000 V = 13.0 +/- 1.0 0 CLASSICAL NOVA, DEC=-32D22'47.50" +/- 0.1" RECURRENT NOVA Reference Frame: ICRS Comments: This object was generated by the targetselector and retrieved from the SIMBAD database. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 12890( 5) - 09-Nov-2012 14:25:30 - [ 4] Visit: 01 Visit Requirements: BETWEEN 30-NOV-2012:00:00:00 AND 25-DEC-2012:00:00:00 On Hold Comments: Additional Comments: Exposures ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Exp | Target | Instr | Oper. | Aper |Spectral|Central| Optional |Num| Time | Special Num | Name | Config | Mode | or FOV |Element |Waveln.| Parameters |Exp| | Requirements ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1 NOVA-PYX-18 STIS/CCD ACQ F28X50LP MIRROR 1 1 S 90 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2 NOVA-PYX-18 STIS/FUV TIME-TA 0.2X0.2 E140M 1425 BUFFER-TIME=350 1 2300 S 90 -MAMA G see below ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3 NOVA-PYX-18 STIS/FUV TIME-TA 0.2X0.2 E140M 1425 BUFFER-TIME=350 1 2300 S 90 -MAMA G see below ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ NOVA-PYX-1890 1 STIS/CCD ACQ F28X50LP MIRROR none none none none 1 N/A NOVA-PYX-1890 2 STIS/FUV TIME-TA 0.2X0.2 E140M 1425 none none none none 1 2449.0 S -MAMA G NOVA-PYX-1890 3 STIS/FUV TIME-TA 0.2X0.2 E140M 1425 none none none none 2 3015.0 S -MAMA G 12890( 5) - 09-Nov-2012 14:25:30 - [ 5] Visit: 02 Visit Requirements: AFTER 01 BY 1.9 Orbits TO 2.1 Orbits; GROUP 02, 01 WITHIN 2 Orbits On Hold Comments: Additional Comments: Exposures ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Exp | Target | Instr | Oper. | Aper |Spectral|Central| Optional |Num| Time | Special Num | Name | Config | Mode | or FOV |Element |Waveln.| Parameters |Exp| | Requirements ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1 NOVA-PYX-18 COS/NUV ACQ/IMA BOA MIRRORA 1 150 S 90 GE ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2 NOVA-PYX-18 COS/FUV TIME-TA PSA G130M 1055 BUFFER-TIME=479, FP-POS=ALL 1 479 S 90 G see below ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ NOVA-PYX-1890 1 COS/NUV ACQ/IMA BOA MIRRORA none none none none 1 N/A GE NOVA-PYX-1890 2 COS/FUV TIME-TA PSA G130M 1055 none none none 1 1 436.0 S G NOVA-PYX-1890 2 COS/FUV TIME-TA PSA G130M 1055 none none none 2 1 436.0 S G NOVA-PYX-1890 2 COS/FUV TIME-TA PSA G130M 1055 none none none 3 1 436.0 S G NOVA-PYX-1890 2 COS/FUV TIME-TA PSA G130M 1055 none none none 4 1 436.0 S G 12890( 5) - 09-Nov-2012 14:25:30 - [ 6] Visit: 03 Visit Requirements: BETWEEN 25-JUL-2013:00:00:00 AND 01-AUG-2013:00:00:00 On Hold Comments: Additional Comments: Exposures ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Exp | Target | Instr | Oper. | Aper |Spectral|Central| Optional |Num| Time | Special Num | Name | Config | Mode | or FOV |Element |Waveln.| Parameters |Exp| | Requirements ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1 NOVA-PYX-18 STIS/CCD ACQ F28X50LP MIRROR 1 1 S 90 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2 NOVA-PYX-18 STIS/FUV TIME-TA 0.2X0.2 E140M 1425 BUFFER-TIME=350 1 2300 S 90 -MAMA G see below ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3 NOVA-PYX-18 STIS/FUV TIME-TA 0.2X0.2 E140M 1425 BUFFER-TIME=350 1 2300 S 90 -MAMA G see below ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ NOVA-PYX-1890 1 STIS/CCD ACQ F28X50LP MIRROR none none none none 1 N/A NOVA-PYX-1890 2 STIS/FUV TIME-TA 0.2X0.2 E140M 1425 none none none none 1 2449.0 S -MAMA G NOVA-PYX-1890 3 STIS/FUV TIME-TA 0.2X0.2 E140M 1425 none none none none 2 3015.0 S -MAMA G 12890( 5) - 09-Nov-2012 14:25:30 - [ 7] Visit: 04 Visit Requirements: AFTER 03 BY 1.9 Orbits TO 2.1 Orbits On Hold Comments: Additional Comments: Exposures ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Exp | Target | Instr | Oper. | Aper |Spectral|Central| Optional |Num| Time | Special Num | Name | Config | Mode | or FOV |Element |Waveln.| Parameters |Exp| | Requirements ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1 NOVA-PYX-18 COS/NUV ACQ/IMA BOA MIRRORA 1 150 S 90 GE ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2 NOVA-PYX-18 COS/FUV TIME-TA PSA G130M 1055 BUFFER-TIME=479, FP-POS=ALL 1 479 S 90 G see below ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ NOVA-PYX-1890 1 COS/NUV ACQ/IMA BOA MIRRORA none none none none 1 N/A GE NOVA-PYX-1890 2 COS/FUV TIME-TA PSA G130M 1055 none none none 1 1 436.0 S G NOVA-PYX-1890 2 COS/FUV TIME-TA PSA G130M 1055 none none none 2 1 436.0 S G NOVA-PYX-1890 2 COS/FUV TIME-TA PSA G130M 1055 none none none 3 1 436.0 S G NOVA-PYX-1890 2 COS/FUV TIME-TA PSA G130M 1055 none none none 4 1 436.0 S G 12890( 5) - 09-Nov-2012 14:25:30 - [ 8] Summary Form for Proposal 12890 Item Used in this proposal ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Apertures 0.2X0.2, BOA, F28X50LP, PSA ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Configurations COS/FUV, COS/NUV, STIS/CCD, STIS/FUV-MAMA ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Opmodes ACQ, ACQ/IMAGE, TIME-TAG ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Optional Parameters BUFFER-TIME=350, BUFFER-TIME=479, FP-POS=ALL ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Special Requirements AFTER 01 BY 1.9 Orbits TO 2.1 Orbits, AFTER 03 BY 1.9 Orbits TO 2.1 Orbits, BETWEEN 25-JUL-2013:00:00:00 AND 01-AUG-2013:00:00:00, BETWEEN 30-NOV-2012:00:00:00 AND 25-DEC-2012:00:00:00, GROUP 02, 01 WITHIN 2 Orbits ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Spectral Elements E140M, G130M, MIRROR, MIRRORA ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Target Names NOVA-PYX-1890 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------