9515(  1) - 12/06/01 12:29  - [  1]

    PROPOSAL FOR HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE OBSERVATIONS   ST ScI Use Only
                                                       ID:      9515
                                                       Version: 1
                                                       Check-in Date: 06-Dec-2001
                                                                      11:43:00

1.Proposal Title:
Galaxy Interaction Simulations for Interpretation of HST Observations
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2. Proposal For  3. Cycle
AR               11
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4. Investigators
                                                                                     Contact?
    PI: Joel Primack                      University of California, Santa Cruz
   CoI: Prof. Piero Madau                 University of California, Santa Cruz          N
   CoI: Prof. Rachel Somerville           University of Michigan                        N

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5. Abstract

There is mounting evidence from HST and ground-based observations that galaxy
interactions and mergers were more common in the past, and may have been the
dominant driver of star formation and galaxy evolution at early epochs. We propose
to carry out an extensive suite of hydrodynamic simulations of galaxy interactions
and mergers, including star formation and stellar population synthesis, over a range
of redshifts z=0-3. The results will be used to create `mock HST' images for direct
comparison with archival WFPC2 and NICMOS and future ACS imaging data. Our proposed
`grid' of simulations will greatly extend previous work of this kind by covering a
much larger parameter space of initial conditions, including high redshift, and by
incorporating state-of-the-art understanding of disk formation theory and the
properties of dark matter halos. We then propose to calculate structural and
morphological statistics (such as concentration/asymmetry statistics, resolved
colors, light profile and effective radius, etc.) on the mock and real images at a
variety of wavelengths (rest UV to near-IR). This comparison will help to interpret
the nature of the observed objects and the reasons for the preponderence of galaxies
with disturbed morphology at high redshift.
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                                                9515(  1) - 12/06/01 12:29  - [  2]

            Summary Form for Proposal  9515

  Item                         Used in this proposal
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  Proposal Category            AR
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