9156( 5) - 07/26/01 12:32 - [ 1] PROPOSAL FOR HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE OBSERVATIONS ST ScI Use Only ID: 9156 Version: 5 Check-in Date: 26-Jul-2001 12:31:39 1.Proposal Title: Spectrum and pulse profile of PSR 0656+14 in the near-UV ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2. Proposal For 3. Cycle GO 10 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4. Investigators Contact? PI: Peter Lundqvist Stockholm University CoI: Mr. Alexey Koptsevich Ioffe Physico-Technical Institute N CoI: Prof. Yuri Shibanov Ioffe Physico-Technical Institute N CoI: Dr. Theodore Gull Goddard Space Flight Center Y CoI: Mr. Don Lindler Goddard Space Flight Center N CoI: Dr. Jesper Sollerman European Southern Observatory N ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 5. Abstract We propose to do STIS/NUV/TIMETAG prism observations of the middle-aged (~ 10^5 year) pulsar PSR B0656+14. This would allow us to make for the first time phase- resolved spectroscopy of a middle-aged pulsar as a function of wavelength in the UV, and to study how the pulse profile of such a pulsar at these wavelengths differs from the only similar data available so far, namely those of the much younger Crab pulsar. This is important for the understanding of how the spectral evolution evolves with pulsar age. For the Crab pulsar, non-thermal emission dominates strongly at all wavelengths, while for PSR B0656+14 thermal emission from the cooling surface of the neutron star dominates in the EUV - soft X-ray band. The broad-band photometry of PSR B0656+14 shows a turn-over from a power-law component in the optical toward the Rayleigh-Jeans part of the thermal component in the NUV. Our observations will reveal a possible further increase of the flux toward shorter wavelengths, and will follow the changes in the pulse profile. We will also determine the pulsed fraction to distinguish between the non-thermal and thermal components. For a plausible pulsed fraction we are even likely to detect spectral variations over the pulse period. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 9156( 5) - 07/26/01 12:32 - [ 2] Observations Description ------------------------ We propose to do spectroscopy of PSR B0656+14 in the near-UV in TIME-TAG mode. We will use STIS/NUV with PRISM and a 52x0.5 slit. PSR 0656+14 has a visual magnitude of V=24.97+/-0.12 (Koptsevich et al. 2001). The interstellar extinction in its direction is E(B-V)=0.03 (Pavlov et al. 1996). We will perform observations in 2 visits (3 and 5 orbits). At the beginning of the first (shorter) visit we will acquire 3 CCD free-aperture exposures, 200 sec each, to have a control image for precise determination of the pulsar position. We will take a lamp-illuminated exposure of the 52x0.5 aperture, then a 200 second exposure of the pulsar within the slit. This permits us confirmation that the pulsar was in the slit and provides positional reference for correcting the wavelength scale. The aperture exposures will be repeated for the second visit. We will have 20 ksec on-target in spectroscopic mode with allowance for an orbital visibility of the pulsar of 48 min. Changing to a schedulability of 30% increases the orbital visibility of the pulsar to 54 minutes. Target acquisition will be performed using a field star, U0975_04374987 from the USNO catalogue, B=17.9. It sits 13.9" away from the pulsar. The pulsar field has been observed with HST/WFPC2 (Mignani et al. 1997) and HST/NICMOS (reported by Koptsevich et al. 2001). Pulsar proper motion has recently been updated using HST/WFPC2 data (Program 8328) and is equal to 43+/- 2 mas yr^-1. The brightest star in the pulsar field is V=17 is acquisition star, it would not exceed any MAMA count rate limit. A closer star (9.2") of V=20.3 and B=22 will be excluded by specifying the ORIENT range. Real Time Justification ----------------------- Calibration Justification ------------------------- Additional Comments ------------------- This program is divided into two visits. WE REQUEST THAT VISIT ONE BE FIRST WITH A SEVERAL MONTH INTERVAL BETWEEN VISITS TO PERMIT INITIAL DATA REDUCTION AND DIAGNOSTICS. As the NUV MAMA window dark count is expected to increase after SM4, given the low flux level, we request this proposal be done before SM4 if reasonably possible. The first visit is three orbits because of conservatism in ensuring good acquisition. The second visit is for a full five orbits. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 9156( 5) - 07/26/01 12:32 - [ 3] TARGET LIST Fixed Targets ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tar| Target | Target | Target |Coord | Radial | Flux data No | Name | Description | Position |Eqnx | Vel. | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1 PSRB0656+14 STAR, PULSAR, STAR, RA=06H 59M 48.139S +/- 0.05", J2000 V = 24.97+/-0.12 NEUTRON STAR DEC=14D 14' 21.56" +/- 0.05", E(B-V) = 0.03+/-0.01 PLATE-ID=02UU Coordinate Source: HST_IMAGE Comments: Target coordinates were obtained from the WFPC2 image acquired during program 8328 to measure the proper motion of the pulsar and the acquisition star. Measurements have been independently done and agree relatively well with Mignani et al. Epoch of Position RA proper motion (seconds of time/yr) DEC Proper Motion (arcsec/yr) Annual Parallax (arcsec) J2000.02 0.003 0.0 0.0 2 U09750437498 STAR RA=06H 59M 48.873S +/- 0.05", J2000 B = 17.9+/-0.1 7 DEC=14D 14' 30.15" +/- 0.05", E(B-V) = 0.03+/-0.01 PLATE-ID=02UU Coordinate Source: HST_IMAGE Comments: Target coordinates are obtained from the WFPC2 image acquired by Mignani et al. to measure the proper motion of the pulsar. This object is the brightest star on that image. The name is the USNO identifier. 9156( 5) - 07/26/01 12:32 - [ 4] Visit: 01 Visit Priority: Visit Requirements: ORIENT 201D TO 4D ORIENT 10D TO 193D SCHED 30% BEFORE 31-Oct-2001 On Hold Comments: Additional Comments: ORIENT constraints are to avoid a magnitude 20 star that could enter the aperture at 9" offset. Merely limits count rate in TIME-TAG mode. Exposures ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Exposure| Target |Instr | Oper. | Aper |Spectral|Central| Optional |Num| Time | Special Number | Name |Config| Mode |or FOV |Element |Waveln.| Parameters |Exp| | Requirements ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 10 PSRB0656+14 STIS/C ACCUM 50CCD MIRROR 1 120 S POS TARG 0.0, 0.0 MAX DUR CD Comments: Getting precise target position ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 20 PSRB0656+14 STIS/C ACCUM 50CCD MIRROR 1 120 S POS TARG 1.0, 1.0 MAX DUR CD Comments: Getting precise target position ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 30 PSRB0656+14 STIS/C ACCUM 50CCD MIRROR 1 120 S POS TARG 1.0,-1.0 MAX DUR CD Comments: Getting precise target position ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 40 U0975043749 STIS/C ACQ F28X50L MIRROR 1 10 S 87 CD P Comments: Acquisition performed via bright field star ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 50 NONE STIS/C ACCUM 52X0.5 MIRROR LAMP=TUNGSTEN,CR-SPLIT=NO,GAIN=4 1 0.5 S CD Comments: Image of the slit on the CCD. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 60 PSRB0656+14 STIS/C ACCUM 52X0.5 MIRROR 1 120 S MAX DUR CD Comments: Position of the pulsar within the 52x0.5 aperture. Goes in hand with the lamp illumination of the aperture to define the aperture bounds. (Exposure 50) S/N =12.7 for pulsar in 200 seconds with broad-band CCD. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 70 PSRB0656+14 STIS/N TIME-TA 52X0.5 PRISM 2125 BUFFER-TIME=500 1 1060 S UV-MAM G A Comments: First orbit exposure ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 90 PSRB0656+14 STIS/N TIME-TA 52X0.5 PRISM 2125 BUFFER-TIME=500 1 2900 S UV-MAM G A Comments: Second orbit exposure ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 110 PSRB0656+14 STIS/N TIME-TA 52X0.5 PRISM 2125 BUFFER-TIME=500 1 2830 S UV-MAM G A Comments: Third orbit exposure ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 9156( 5) - 07/26/01 12:32 - [ 5] Exposures ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Exposure| Target |Instr | Oper. | Aper |Spectral|Central| Optional |Num| Time | Special Number | Name |Config| Mode |or FOV |Element |Waveln.| Parameters |Exp| | Requirements ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 130 NONE STIS/C ACCUM 52X0.1 MIRROR LAMP=TUNGSTEN,CR-SPLIT=NO,GAIN=4 1 0.5 S CD Comments: Image of the slit on the CCD. Check for star image drift at beginning of third orbit. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 140 NONE STIS/C ACCUM 52X0.5 MIRROR LAMP=TUNGSTEN,CR-SPLIT=NO,GAIN=4 1 0.5 S CD Comments: Image of the slit on the CCD. Check for star image drift at beginning of third orbit. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 9156( 5) - 07/26/01 12:32 - [ 6] Visit: 02 Visit Priority: Visit Requirements: ORIENT 201D TO 4D ORIENT 10D TO 193D AFTER 01 BY 60 D BEFORE 01-Jan-2002 On Hold Comments: Additional Comments: Exposures ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Exposure| Target |Instr | Oper. | Aper |Spectral|Central| Optional |Num| Time | Special Number | Name |Config| Mode |or FOV |Element |Waveln.| Parameters |Exp| | Requirements ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 10 U0975043749 STIS/C ACQ F28X50L MIRROR 1 10 S 87 CD P Comments: Acquisition performed via bright field star ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 20 NONE STIS/C ACCUM 52X0.5 MIRROR LAMP=TUNGSTEN,CR-SPLIT=NO,GAIN=4 1 0.5 S CD Comments: Image of the slit on the CCD. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 30 PSRB0656+14 STIS/C ACCUM 52X0.5 MIRROR CR-SPLIT=2,GAIN=1 1 120 S MAX DUR CD Comments: Position of the pulsar within the 52x0.5 aperture. Goes in hand with the lamp illumination of the aperture to define the aperture bounds. (Exposure 20) S/N =12.7 for pulsar in 200 seconds with broad-band CCD. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 40 PSRB0656+14 STIS/N TIME-TA 52X0.5 PRISM 2125 BUFFER-TIME=400 1 1800 S UV-MAM G A Comments: First orbit exposure ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 60 PSRB0656+14 STIS/N TIME-TA 52X0.5 PRISM 2125 BUFFER-TIME=500 1 2900 S UV-MAM G A Comments: Second orbit exposure ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 80 NONE STIS/C ACCUM 52X0.1 MIRROR LAMP=TUNGSTEN,CR-SPLIT=NO,GAIN=4 1 0.5 S CD Comments: Image of the slit on the CCD. Check for star image drift at beginning of third orbit. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 90 NONE STIS/C ACCUM 52X0.5 MIRROR LAMP=TUNGSTEN,CR-SPLIT=NO,GAIN=4 1 0.5 S CD Comments: Image of the slit on the CCD. Check for star image drift at beginning of third orbit. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 100 PSRB0656+14 STIS/C ACCUM 52X0.5 MIRROR CR-SPLIT=2,GAIN=1 1 120 S MAX DUR CD Comments: Position of the pulsar within the 52x0.5 aperture. Goes in hand with the lamp illumination of the aperture to define the aperture bounds. (See exposure 80). S/N =12.7 for pulsar in 200 seconds with broad-band CCD. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 9156( 5) - 07/26/01 12:32 - [ 7] Exposures ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Exposure| Target |Instr | Oper. | Aper |Spectral|Central| Optional |Num| Time | Special Number | Name |Config| Mode |or FOV |Element |Waveln.| Parameters |Exp| | Requirements ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 110 PSRB0656+14 STIS/N TIME-TA 52X0.5 PRISM 2125 BUFFER-TIME=500 1 2310 S UV-MAM G A Comments: Third orbit exposure ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 130 PSRB0656+14 STIS/N TIME-TA 52X0.5 PRISM 2125 BUFFER-TIME=500 1 2900 S UV-MAM G A Comments: Fourth orbit exposure ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 150 PSRB0656+14 STIS/N TIME-TA 52X0.5 PRISM 2125 BUFFER-TIME=500 1 2850 S UV-MAM G A Comments: Fifth orbit exposure ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 160 WAVE STIS/N ACCUM 52X0.1 PRISM 2125 1 DEF UV-MAM A Comments: The dump & wavecal should be done during occultation. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 170 NONE STIS/C ACCUM 52X0.1 MIRROR LAMP=TUNGSTEN,CR-SPLIT=NO,GAIN=4 1 0.5 S CD Comments: Image of the slit on the CCD. Check for star image drift at beginning of third orbit. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 180 NONE STIS/C ACCUM 52X0.5 MIRROR LAMP=TUNGSTEN,CR-SPLIT=NO,GAIN=4 1 0.5 S CD Comments: Image of the slit on the CCD. Check for star image drift at beginning of third orbit. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 9156( 5) - 07/26/01 12:32 - [ 8] Summary Form for Proposal 9156 Item Used in this proposal ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Apertures 50CCD F28X50LP 52X0.5 52X0.1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Configurations STIS/CCD STIS/NUV-MAMA ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Opmodes ACCUM ACQ TIME-TAG ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Optional Parameters LAMP=TUNGSTEN CR-SPLIT=NO GAIN=4 BUFFER-TIME=500 GAIN=1 BUFFER-TIME=400 CR-SPLIT=2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Proposal Category GO ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Special Requirements ORIENT 201D TO 4D ORIENT 10D TO 193D SCHED 30% BEFORE 31-Oct-2001 POS TARG 0.0, 0.0 MAX DUR POS TARG 1.0, 1.0 MAX DUR POS TARG 1.0,-1.0 MAX DUR MAX DUR ORIENT 201D TO 4D ORIENT 10D TO 193D AFTER 01 BY 60 D BEFORE 01-Jan-2002 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Spectral Elements MIRROR PRISM ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Target Names PSRB0656+14 U097504374987 NONE WAVE ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Wavelengths 2125 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------