7987(  1) - 04/16/98 14:08  - [  1]

    PROPOSAL FOR HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE OBSERVATIONS   ST ScI Use Only
                                                       ID:      7987
                                                       Version: 1
                                                       Check-in Date: 16-Apr-1998
                                                                      14:05:41

1.Proposal Title:
Evolution of the Small Scale Correlation Function
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2. Proposal For  3. Cycle
AR               7
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4. Investigators
                                                                                     Contact?
    PI: Andrew Connolly                   Johns Hopkins University
   CoI: Bhuvnesh Jain                     Johns Hopkins University                      N
   CoI: Alex Szalay                       Johns Hopkins University                      N
   CoI: Robert Brunner                    Caltech                                       N

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5. Abstract

The evolution of the clustering of galaxies as a function of redshift provides a
sensitive probe of the underlying cosmology and theories of structure formation.
Ideally we would like to measure the spatial correlation function of galaxies as a
function of redshift and galaxy type and use this to compare with the predictions of
different evolution and formation theories. Observationally, however, it is more
efficient to measure the angular correlation function than undertake large, faint
spectroscopic surveys. The limitation on this angular statistic is that, at faint
magnitude limits, the redshift distribution is very broad and consequently the
clustering signal is difficult to detect due to the large number of randomly
projected pairs. We have, therefore, developed a technique to amplify the signal by
utilizing photometric redshifts to isolate narrow intervals in redshift (removing
the foreground and background contamination). We propose to use the high spatial
resolution of HST to extend our preliminary analysis to study the evolution of the
small scale correlation function as a function of redshift and morphology. By
combining the morphological information (which only HST can provide) and the
clustering statistics (two-point and higher order statistics) we will determine the
merger history of galaxies as a function of redshift, derive powerful constraints on
the available cosmological models and provide a direct measure of the validity of
the hierarchical paradigm at high redshift.
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  Data Distribution

  Media:           ELECTRONIC
  Blocking Factor: 10
  Ship To:         PI_Address
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                                                7987(  1) - 04/16/98 14:08  - [  2]

            Summary Form for Proposal  7987

  Item                         Used in this proposal
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  Proposal Category            AR
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