7982(  1) - 04/16/98 14:06  - [  1]

    PROPOSAL FOR HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE OBSERVATIONS   ST ScI Use Only
                                                       ID:      7982
                                                       Version: 1
                                                       Check-in Date: 16-Apr-1998
                                                                      14:03:45

1.Proposal Title:
Circumnuclear Morphology in Disk
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Proposal For  3. Cycle
AR               7
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. Investigators
                                                                                     Contact?
    PI: Isaac Shlosman                    UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY
   CoI: David Axon                        Space Telescope Science Institute             N
   CoI: Johan Knapen                      U. HERTFORDSHIRE                              N
   CoI: Reynier Peletier                  U. DURHAM                                     N

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5. Abstract

We propose to study HST archival images of a large sample of disk galaxies. We
specifically propose to analyze the NICMOS and WFPC2 images of circumnuclear regions
in these galaxies, using 2--3 different bands. The photometry will provide us high
spatial resolution information about the distribution of stars, from the near-IR
light, and gas, by using dust extinction and star formation as tracers. We shall
determine morphological parameters of the circumnuclear regions, such as position
angles, boxiness, lopsidedness, and ellipticities of small-scale non-axisymmetries,
and shall attempt to disentangle the asymmetry in the mass distribution (when
appropriate) from that in the light. We shall analyze the morphological parameters
statistically, by correlating them against global parameters like galaxy type,
rotation velocity and central activity, but also in detail, by comparing our
observed tracers for gas and stars with the predicted synthetic morphologies from
the largely completed theoretical modeling by Englmaier & Shlosman of gas flows
within the central kpc, i.e., between the galactic center and the inner resonance
region. Results of this study will advance our understanding of the physical
processes occurring on scales up to 1 kpc from the center, and guide the development
of future strategies in the field.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Data Distribution

  Media:           ELECTRONIC
  Blocking Factor: 10
  Ship To:         PI_Address
  Ship Via:
  Email:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                                                7982(  1) - 04/16/98 14:06  - [  2]

            Summary Form for Proposal  7982

  Item                         Used in this proposal
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Proposal Category            AR
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------