120 research outputs found
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The Star Formation Camera
The Star Formation Camera (SFC) is a wide-field (~15f~19f, \u3e280 arcmin2), highresolution (18~18 mas pixels) UV/optical dichroic camera designed for the Theia 4-m space-borne space telescope concept. SFC will deliver diffraction-limited images at ă \u3e 300 nm in both a blue (190-517nm) and a red (517-1075nm) channel simultaneously. Our aim is to conduct a comprehensive and systematic study of the astrophysical processes and environments relevant for the births and life cycles of stars and their planetary systems, and to investigate and understand the range of environments, feedback mechanisms, and other factors that most affect the outcome of the star and planet formation process. Via a 4-Tier program, we will step out from the nearest star-forming regions within our Galaxy (Tier 1), via the Magellanic Clouds and Local Group galaxies (Tier 2), to other nearby galaxies out to the Virgo Cluster (Tier 3), and on to the early cosmic epochs of galaxy assembly (Tier 4). Each step will build on the detailed knowledge gained at the previous one. This program addresses the origins and evolution of stars, galaxies, and cosmic structure and has direct relevance for the formation and survival of planetary systems like our Solar System and planets like Earth. We present the design and performance specifications resulting from the implementation study of the camera, conducted under NASAfs Astrophysics Strategic Mission Concept Studies program, which is intended to assemble realistic options for mission development over the next decade. The result is an extraordinarily capable instrument that will provide deep, high-resolution imaging across a very wide field enabling a great variety of community science as well as completing the core survey science that drives the design of the camera. The technology associated with the camera is next generation but still relatively high TRL, allowing a low-risk solution with moderate technology development investment over the next 10 years. We estimate the cost of the instrument to be $390M FY08
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The Magellanic Clouds Survey: a Bridge to Nearby Galaxies
We outline to the community the value of a Magellanic Clouds Survey that consists of three components: I) a complete-area, high resolution, multi-band UV-near-IR broadband survey; II) a narrowband survey in 7 key nebular filters to cover a statistically significant sample of representative HII regions and a large-area, contiguous survey of the diffuse, warm ISM; and III) a comprehensive FUV spectroscopic survey of 1300 early-type stars. The science areas enabled by such a dataset are as follows: A) assessment of massive star feedback in both HII regions and the diffuse, warm ISM; B) completion of a comprehensive study of the 30 Doradus giant extragalactic HII region (GEHR); C) development and quantitative parameterization of stellar clustering properties; D) extensive FUV studies of early-type stellar atmospheres and their energy distributions; and E) similarly extensive FUV absorption-line studies of molecular cloud structure and ISM extinction properties. These data will also allow a number of additional studies relating to the underlying stellar populations
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Understanding Global Galactic Star Formation
We propose to the community a comprehensive UV/optical/NIR imaging survey of Galactic star formation regions to probe all aspects of the star formation process. The primary goal of such a study is to understand the evolution of circumstellar protoplanetary disks and other detailed aspects of star formation in a wide variety of different environments. This requires a comprehensive emission-line survey of nearby star-forming regions in the Milky Way, where a high spatial resolution telescope+camera will be capable of resolving circumstellar material and shock structures. In addition to resolving circumstellar disks themselves, such observations will study shocks in the jets and outflows from young stars, which are probes of accretion in the youngest protoplanetary disks still embedded in their surrounding molecular clouds. These data will allow the measurement of proper motions for a large sample of stars and jets/shocks in massive star-forming regions for the first time, opening a new window to study the dynamics of these environments. It will require better than 30 mas resolution and a stable PSF to conduct precision astrometry and photometry of stars and nebulae. Such data will allow production of precise color-color and color magnitude diagrams for millions of young stars to study their evolutionary states. One can also determine stellar rotation, multiplicity, and clustering statistics as functions of environment and location in the Galaxy. For the first time we can systematically map the detailed excitation structure of HII regions, stellar winds, supernova remnants, and supershells/superbubbles. This survey will provide the basic data required to understand star formation as a fundamental astrophysical process that controls the evolution of the baryonic contents of the Universe
Structure and Evolution of Hot Gas in 30 Dor
We have investigated the structure and evolution of hot gas in the 30 Dor
nebula, based on recent X-ray observations. Our deep ROSAT HRI image shows that
diffuse X-ray emission arises in blister-shaped regions outlined by loops of
HII gas. X-ray spectroscopic data from ASCA confirm the thermal nature of the
emission and indicate that hot gas temperature decreases from the core to the
halo of the nebula. The structure of the nebula can be understood as outflows
of hot and HII gases from the parent giant molecular cloud of the central OB
association. The dynamic mixing between the two gas phases is likely
responsible for the mass loading to the hot gas, as required to explain the
observed thermal structure and X-ray luminosity of the nebula. Such processes
should also be important in the formation of similar giant HII regions and in
their subsequent evolution into supergiant bubbles or galactic chimneys.Comment: 9 page text plus 4 color figures. To appear in ApJ
Hubble Space Telescope Observations of the Draco Dwarf Spheroidal
We present an F606W-F814W color-magnitude diagram for the Draco dwarf
spheroidal galaxy based on Hubble Space Telescope WFPC2 images. The luminosity
function is well-sampled to 3 magnitudes below the turn-off. We see no evidence
for multiple turnoffs and conclude that, at least over the field of the view of
the WFPC2, star formation was primarily single-epoch. If the observed number of
blue stragglers is due to extended star formation, then roughly 6% (upper
limit) of the stars could be half as old as the bulk of the galaxy. The color
difference between the red giant branch and the turnoff is consistent with an
old population and is very similar to that observed in the old, metal-poor
Galactic globular clusters M68 and M92. Despite its red horizontal branch,
Draco appears to be older than M68 and M92 by 1.6 +/- 2.5 Gyrs, lending support
to the argument that the ``second parameter'' which governs horizontal branch
morphology must be something other than age. Draco's observed luminosity
function is very similar to that of M68, and the derived initial mass function
is consistent with that of the solar neighborhood.Comment: 16 pages, AASTeX, 9 postscript figures, figures 1 and 2 available at
ftp://bb3.jpl.nasa.gov/pub/draco/. Accepted for publication in the
Astronomical Journa
The Exoplanet Climate Infrared TElescope (EXCITE)
Although there are a large number of known exoplanets, there is little data on their global atmospheric properties. Phase-resolved spectroscopy of transiting planets – continuous spectroscopic observation of planets during their full orbits – probes varied depths and longitudes in the atmospheres thus measuring their three-dimensional thermal and chemical structure and contributing to our understanding of their global circulation. Planets with characteristics suitable for atmospheric characterization have orbits of several days, so phase curve observations are highly resource intensive, especially for shared use facilities. The Exoplanet Climate Infrared TElescope (EXCITE) is a balloon-borne near-infrared spectrometer designed to observe from 1 to 5 μm to perform phaseresolved spectroscopy of hot Jupiters. Flying from a long duration balloon (LDB) platform, EXCITE will have the stability to continuously stare at targets for days at a time and the sensitivity to produce data of the quality and quantity needed to significantly advance our understanding of exoplanet atmospheres. We describe the EXCITE design and show results of analytic and numerical calculations of the instrument sensitivity. We show that an instrument like EXCITE will produce a wealth of quality data, both complementing and serving as a critical bridge between current and future space-based near infrared spectroscopic instruments
Observations and Implications of the Star Formation History of the LMC
We present derivations of star formation histories based on color-magnitude
diagrams of three fields in the LMC from HST/WFPC2 observations. A significant
component of stars older than 4 Gyr is required to match the observed
color-magnitude diagrams. Models with a dispersion-free age-metallicity
relation are unable to reproduce the width of the observed main sequence;
models with a range of metallicity at a given age provide a much better fit.
Such models allow us to construct complete ``population boxes'' for the LMC
based entirely on color-magnitude diagrams; remarkably, these qualitatively
reproduce the age-metallicity relation observed in LMC clusters. We discuss
some of the uncertainties in deriving star formation histories. We find,
independently of the models, that the LMC bar field has a larger relative
component of older stars than the outer fields. The main implications suggested
by this study are: 1) the star formation history of field stars appears to
differ from the age distribution of clusters, 2) there is no obvious evidence
for bursty star formation, but our ability to measure bursts shorter in
duration than 25% of any given age is limited by the statistics of the
observed number of stars, 3) there may be some correlation of the star
formation rate with the last close passage of the LMC/SMC/Milky Way, but there
is no dramatic effect, and 4) the derived star formation history is probably
consistent with observed abundances, based on recent chemical evolution models.Comment: Accepted by AJ, 36 pages including 12 figure
WFPC2 Observations of the Cooling Flow Elliptical in Abell 1795
We present WFPC2 images of the core of the cooling flow cD galaxy in Abell
1795. An irregular, asymmetric dust lane extends 7 \h75 kpc in projection to
the north-northwest. The dust shares the morphology observed in the H
and excess UV emission. We see both diffuse and knotty blue emission around the
dust lane, especially at the ends. The dust and emission features lie on the
edge of the radio lobes, suggesting star formation induced by the radio source
or the deflection of the radio jets off of pre-existing dust and gas. We
measure an apparent R significantly less than 3.1, implying that the
extinction law is not Galactic in the dust lane, or the presence of line
emission which is proportional to the extinction. The dust mass is at least
2 M\solar\ and is more likely to be 6.5 M\solar.Comment: 14 pages, LaTeX, Figure 4 included, Postscript Figs. 1-3 available at
ftp://astro.nmsu.edu/pub/JASON/A1795/, accepted for publication in ApJ
Letter
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