9531(  1) - 12/06/01 12:41  - [  1]

    PROPOSAL FOR HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE OBSERVATIONS   ST ScI Use Only
                                                       ID:      9531
                                                       Version: 1
                                                       Check-in Date: 06-Dec-2001
                                                                      11:46:29

1.Proposal Title:
The Role of Star-Formation in Active Galaxies: Uncovering Nuclear Star Clusters with
NICMOS
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2. Proposal For  3. Cycle
AR               11
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4. Investigators
                                                                                     Contact?
    PI: Jack Gallimore                    Bucknell University
   CoI: Dr. Lynn Matthews                 Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory         N
   CoI: Mr. John Krist                    Space Telescope Science Institute             N

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5. Abstract

The phenomena associated with active galactic nuclei are generally thought to arise
from the accretion of material onto a supermassive black hole. Bursts of star
formation may also be required to account for certain properties. In support of this
picture, recent studies have shown that circumnuclear starbursts are probably the
source of the unpolarized ``featureless continuum'' of Seyfert galaxies. Seyfert
nuclei reside in very dusty environments, however, and therefore optical/UV studies
are not always the best suited for studying compact starbursts surrounding the AGN.
We propose to analyze a survey of 41 Seyfert nuclei and other active galactic nuclei
for which the archive holds multifilter NICMOS images. We will employ a rigorous and
tested image decomposition algorithm to separate the relative contributions of the
active nucleus (point source) and nuclear starburst or star cluster (extended
emission). We show that NICMOS color analysis can provide unique constraints on the
size, age, and bolometric contribution of a nuclear starburst within the central
tens of parsecs of nearby AGNs. To the best of our knowledge, this proposed effort
will be the first to examine systematically the starburst-AGN connection on such
compact scales (i.e., size comparable to or smaller than the NLR) that might be
relevant for fueling and unification.
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                                                9531(  1) - 12/06/01 12:41  - [  2]

            Summary Form for Proposal  9531

  Item                         Used in this proposal
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  Proposal Category            AR
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