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Approved NOAO Survey ProgramsTwenty-nine programs have been recommended for approval by the NOAO Survey Panel of the Telescope Allocation Committee and approved by the NOAO Director. The approved NOAO Survey Programs are identified below. Data from these surveys are being made public through the NOAO Science Archive. |
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The planetesimals in the Kuiper belt are a mixed group of survivors originating at different places in the proto-planetary nebula around the young Sun. They show a remarkable diversity of surface properties, but this heterogeneity remains to be understood in terms of formation in physically and chemically distinct nebular regions. Trans-neptunian binary and multiple systems can provide this link through measurement of their mutual orbits and masses, opening the door to a rich family of investigations that can probe bulk properties such as density and albedo, chemical composition, and internal structure. Binaries are a natural laboratory for a wealth of dynamical studies that can constrain conditions at the time of their formation as well as their subsequent evolution. But to realize their full potential to elucidate conditions in the proto-planetary nebula requires access to a large sample to tease apart the distinct influences of formation conditions and subsequent history. The natural time-dependence of this problem and the necessity of a large sample call for the investment of a survey program.
Eclipsing binary stars have played a paramount role in our understanding of stellar astrophysics - most of what we know about the T-R-L-M relationships comes from studying these systems. The Kepler mission set a new milestone by pushing photometric errors to sub- millimagnitude levels. This opens up a new opportunity to study these continuously observed binaries: 1) find and analyze well-detached systems that serve as ideal calibrators for stars across the H-R diagram; 2) resolve the discrepancy between observations and theory on the low-mass end of the main sequence; 3) use total eclipses to derive parameters to unprecedented accuracy; 4) study intrinsic variables and chromospherically active components, and 5) explore system dynamics on a long time scale without missing a beat, thus detecting eclipse timing variations that are indicative of tertiary components. We request 10 nights/year (7 in Spring, 3 in Fall) for 3 years. We aim to observe, reduce and fully analyze ~ 150 eclipsing binaries that have been prioritized from a list of 1879 targets in the Kepler field. We focus on systems with the greatest promise of significant scientific advancement.
We are requesting time through the NOAO Survey Program to carry out an extensive program of narrow-band H(alpha) imaging. Our two primary goals are to derive the most accurate value possible for the local star- formation rate (SFR) density and to explore possible environmental impacts on galaxian star-formation properties. Both projects require large, unbiased samples of galaxies. Our target sample is drawn from ALFALFA, a blind HI survey being carried out using the Arecibo 305-m radio telescope. We argue that this HI-selected sample provides the best available catalog of sources to be used for measuring SFRs. We have constructed a \bf volume-limited sample of HI-detected objects (553 galaxies). Data for this new sample will be combined with the images from our ongoing narrow-band project currently taking place on the WIYN 0.9-m telescope to yield the largest (>1100), most comprehensive sample of H(alpha) images available beyond the Local Supercluster. We will also be able to use the survey data to address a number of important issues regarding galaxy evolution. All data from both projects will be made available to the community.
We propose to acquire GMOS spectroscopy of 85 clusters of galaxies selected via the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) effect from the South Pole Telescope (SPT) microwave background survey. This will bring our total to 100 SPT clusters with velocity dispersions. The SPT survey is delivering a uniformly-selected high-mass cluster sample that is essentially volume-complete beyond z>0.3. We will target a subset (0.3 < z < 0.8) of the SPT cluster catalog, extracted from 2500 deg^2. This data set will establish competitive, independent constraints on cosmological parameters, including the nature of the dark energy. Achieving this goal requires a precise understanding of the relationship between the cluster's SZ signature and the cluster mass, and this mass normalization is currently the largest systematic error in SPT's cosmological constraints. One promising method of determining galaxy cluster masses is to probe the dark matter potential with galaxy velocities. Using data from a large cluster sample will average over random projection effects, and will enable the calibration of the SZ-mass scaling relation, in conjunction with X-ray and lensing data on a smaller sample. The cluster galaxy spectroscopy we obtain will also equip the community to address a wide range of questions in galaxy evolution and cluster astrophysics.
Current observations of the most massive galaxies at 0<z<1 suggest that they evolve very slowly, contrary to expectations from galaxy formation models. Unfortunately it has proven difficult to push these studies to higher redshifts, because broad-band near-infrared surveys do not have the required redshift accuracy. We have recently developed and implemented an extremely efficient technique to measure accurate redshifts of large samples of K-selected galaxies. In the NOAO NEWFIRM Medium Band Survey (NMBS) we used five custom medium-bandwidth filters from 1-1.8 (micron) to measure redshifts for ~18,000 galaxies down to K_AB=22.5 in two 0.22 deg^2 fields. We securely identified 8 galaxies with K_AB<20.5 at 2<z<3 and 1 spectacular galaxy with K_AB=20.3 at z=3.24. These are the most luminous and massive galaxies yet known at z>2. Here we propose a wide area extension to the NMBS for a ten-fold increase in the known number of very massive galaxies at z>2. In addition, the resulting database of high-quality SEDs and redshifts of ~50,000 galaxies down to K_AB=20.5 (of which ~7500 will be at z>1) will form a lasting legacy of NEWFIRM, enabling the most accurate studies of the clustering of K-selected galaxies at 1<z<2, studies of rare objects such as AGN, and the identification of several dozen (proto- )clusters.
The Large and Small Magellanic Clouds are a laboratory for the study of star formation in low metallicity, gas rich environments. Both Clouds exhibit a variety of star formation physics with multiple phase components. The ~10 K, ~100 K, and ~10^4 K regimes are well explored. Our Survey will fill the gap in temperature and physics by imaging the principal molecular component, H_2, in the ~1000 K transition zone of molecular clouds. The resulting images will have immediate morphological applications, including resolution of a fundamental question of molecular cloud structure and target selection for followup near infrared spectroscopy. Our previous exploratory work has shown the value of integrating H_2 data into multiwavelength investigations of star formation physics. We are proposing this program as a Survey to secure a large and homogeneous data set during NEWFIRM's limited southern deployment; it is a unique facility for the purpose. We will provide a public archive of fully calibrated images with no proprietary period. These images will support future observations with groundbased 4-8 m telescopes, Herschel, SOFIA, and JWST.
Daniel Kelson, Patrick McCarthy, Alan Dressler, John Mulchaey, Steve Shectman, Augustus Oemler (Carnegie), Haojing Yan (Ohio State)
We request time with NEWFIRM to complete our wide-area deep spectrophotometric survey of galaxy and structure evolution from z = 1.5 to the present. Combining the NEWFIRM photometry with low- dispersion spectroscopy with the IMACS spectrograph on the 6.5m Magellan telescope we will obtain redshifts, spectral classifications, and emission-line strengths for ~ 500,000 galaxies over 15 degs^2 in three fields over the next three years. Our targets are selected at .6 microns from Spitzer/IRAC legacy fields. The J, H, and K_s imaging to modest depths is critical for reaching the redshift precision required to characterize local galaxy density and the role it plays in history of star formation and the growth of stellar mass. NEWFIRM is the only instrument in the US system that can provide the necessary near- IR coverage. We aim to reach J = 21.5 mag, H = 20.5 mag, and K_s = 20.0 mag (Vega, D=3", 10-sigma), allowing us to retain better than 1% redshift precision to M^*/2 at z = 1 and for M^* to z = 1.5. Magellan time has already been allocated to this program, and we have been awarded NEWFIRM time in two previous semesters.
Anthony Gonzalez (U Florida), Mark Brodwin (NOAO), Daniel Stern (JPL/Caltech), Jamie Bock (JPL/Caltech), Michael Brown (Monash U.), Shane Bussman (U. Arizona), Asantha Cooray (UC-Irvine), Arjun Dey, Mark Dickinson (NOAO), Peter Eisenhardt (JPL/Caltech), Buell Jannuzi (NOAO), Yen-Ting Lin (Princeton/Catolica), Amanda Mainzer, S. Adam Stanford (IGPP/LLNL, UC Davis), Ian Sullivan (Caltech), Mike Zemcov (JPL)
We propose a NEWFIRM survey imaging the Spitzer Deep Wide-Field Survey (SDWFS) region. This program is designed to enable a broad variety of investigations, ranging from detecting the first generation of galaxy clusters, to finding elusive Y-class field brown dwarfs, to measuring the diffuse infrared background from primordial galaxies. The power of this survey is the combination of deep, wide-area NIR imaging with existing deep optical imaging (NDWFS) and \spitzer data from the 267 hr SDWFS \irac legacy project. This combination permits robust photometric redshifts for L^* galaxies to z>3 and color selection of faint, red sources. With these data sets we can detect galaxy clusters to z>2, AGN to z>7, and brown dwarfs with T<500 K. We will also measure the growth of massive (L>L^*) galaxies since z=3. We have previously demonstrated our ability to derive robust photometric redshifts, and have performed many of these analyses at lower redshift (and for warmer brown dwarfs) using shallower data. With the proposed program we will cover a total volume of 0.23 Gpc^3 at z<3 - equivalent to the SDSS volume locally - making this survey by far the largest to explore this redshift regime.
Pieter van Dokkum, Danilo Marchesini, Gabriel Brammer, Katherine Whitaker (Yale), Gregory Rudnick (NOAO), Mariska Kriek (Princeton), Garth Illingworth (UC Santa Cruz), Ryan Quadri (Leiden), Ivo Labbe (Carnegie), Marijn Franx (Leiden), Kyoung-Soo Lee (Yale)
Deep near-IR imaging surveys allow us to select and study distant galaxies in the rest-frame optical, and have transformed our understanding of the early Universe. As the vast majority of K- selected galaxies is too faint for spectroscopy, the interpretation relies on photometric redshifts determined from fitting templates to the broad-band photometry. The best-achieved accuracy of these redshifts (Delta) z / (1+z) ~ 0.07 at z>1.5, sufficient for determining the broad characteristics of the galaxy population but not for measuring accurate luminosities, masses, and colors. We propose a medium-band imaging survey with NEWFIRM to dramatically improve the accuracy of photometric redshifts of K-selected samples. Five custom filters provide crude ``spectra'' over the wavelength range 1-1.8 (mu)m, which should yield redshifts with an accuracy of ~ 0.02. In 28 nights of telescope time we will obtain accurate redshifts of 40,000 galaxies with K<21.5, 9000 of which are expected to be at z>1.5. This public database of high-quality SEDs and redshifts in two fields with a wealth of ancillary data (COSMOS and AEGIS) will provide a lasting legacy and open up a large array of science, ranging from accurate determinations of mass, luminosity, and color evolution to studies of the relations between the stellar populations of galaxies, their environment, and central black holes.
Jonathan E. Grindlay, Ping Zhao, Silas Laycock, Maureen van den Berg, Jaesub Hong, Xavier Koenig, (CfA) Haldan Cohn, Phyllis Lugger, (Indiana U.)
We propose to conduct Phase II of our Chandra Multiwavelength Plane (ChaMPlane) Survey to complete our study of the nature and distributions of low luminosity accretion sources in the Galaxy. Phase II is the optical spectroscopic and IR imaging follow-up of the ChaMPlane X-ray sources identified in Phase I under a NOAO long term survey project (2000 - 2005). We obtained 65 Mosaic fields (V,R,I,Ha) covering ~23 square degrees and 154 ACIS observations on 105 distinct Chandra fields. The optical spectroscopic follow-up for ChaMPlane object classification and IR imaging follow-up for severely reddened ChaMPlane fields are the final, crucial steps for completing the survey. We propose to use CTIO-4m-Hydra for spectroscopy on Chandra IDs as faint as R~21, and CTIO-4m-ISPI for J,H,K photometry of ChaMPlane sources in Bulge fields obscured by interstellar dust. We have successfully observed with both of these instruments over the past 3 years to begin Phase II and already obtained significant results. This proposal is to transform our annual effort into a three-year project, as required to complete the ChaMPlane Survey. The complete survey results, Phase I+II, will be available to the public via the NOAO archive and our ChaMPlane website - http://hea-www.harvard.edu/ChaMPlane
Abhijit Saha (NOAO), Edward Olszewski (U. Arizona), Chris Smith (NOAO), Annapurni Subramaniam (Indian Institute of Astrophysics), Andrew Dolphin (U. Arizona) Nicholas B. Suntzeff (Texas A & M), Armin Rest (NOAO), Patrick Seitzer (U. Michigan), Jason Harris (U. Arizona), Dante Minniti (U. Catolica de Chile), Kem Cook (LLNL, NOAO), Knut Olsen (NOAO), Patricia Knezek (NOAO)
Knowledge of the distribution and population characteristics in outlying regions of the LMC/SMC complex is essential for understanding the early history of these objects and their place in the (Lambda)CDM heirarchy. Past studies have either been very localized albeit detailed (e.g. deep HST population studies); or panoramic, but only identifying brighter objects. The latter limits not only what we can learn about the ages and abundances, but also how far out we can trace the structures, since small numbers of bright Cloud stars are overwhelmed by foreground stars from the Galaxy well before the estimated tidal radii are reached. We propose a survey that addresses this information gap by reaching 1.5 mag deeper than the oldest Main Sequence (MS) turnoff stars. Well chosen passbands (R,I and Washington C,M,DDO51) provide ages and abundances. Using MS stars, we can measure the stellar distribution free of population bias beyond the expected tidal radius, out to 15^\circ from either galaxy. While we cannot image the full ~ 800 square degrees of the region of interest, our chosen fields allow several important questions to be attacked. The survey will also identify stars that can be used later as kinematic probes of the dark matter surrounding the LMC and SMC, and their role within the Galactic halo.
Andrew Connolly, (U. Pittsburgh), Ken Chambers, Istvan Szapudi, (U. Hawaii), Andrew Hopkins, Sam Schmidt, (U. Pittsburgh), Elizabeth McGrath, (U. Hawaii)
Radio galaxies have long been used to probe the epoch of galaxy formation. As the likely progenitors of present day elliptical galaxies they represent the first massive systems to form in the universe. Thus they provide an ideal sample with which to study the physical processes that drive gravitational collapse and the formation of structure at high redshift. Current high redshift radio samples are small, limited by the need to survey large volumes in order to identify sources in the tails of the luminosity function. Utilizing existing deep optical and radio surveys we can filter the low redshift systems to efficiently sample galaxies at redshifts z>1.7. We propose here to undertake a complete K-band census of S_1.4GHz>100mJy sources at redshifts z>1.7 (covering a volume of 6x10**10 Mpc**3). This will enable the identification of radio galaxies close to the epoch of their formation and provide a complete sample of high redshift radio galaxies for spectroscopic and multi-wavelength follow-up. The primary science goals of this program are: to understand the timescales for the evolution of stellar populations at high redshift, to characterize the evolution of the number densities and luminosity functions of the most massive systems in the universe and to determine the clustering evolution of radio galaxies as a function of lookback time.
Christopher J. Miller, (NOAO), Adam Stanford, (LLNL), Michael West, (U. Hawaii), Kivanc Sabirli, (CMU), Kathy Romer, (U. Sussex), Robert Nichol, (U. Portsmouth), Pedro Viana, (U. Porto), Michael Davidson, (U. Edinburgh), Chris Collins, Matt Hilton, (Liverpool John Moores U.), Scott Kay, (Oxford), Andrew Liddle, (U. Sussex), Robert Mann, (U. Edinburgh)
We propose to image more than 500 X-ray clusters serendipitously detected in XMM-Newton observations. The X-ray cluster candidates are taken from the XMM Cluster Survey (XCS), which will provide thousands of X-ray cluster detections (0 < z <~ 1.5) over 500 square degrees of the sky. The MOSAIC multi-band ground-based imaging will provide photo- z's and will allow us to estimate X-ray luminosities and temperatures. The combined NOAO and XMM data will allow us to pin down the evolution of the X-ray luminosity-temperature relation and to put useful constraints on \sigma_8, Omega_matter and Omega_(Lambda) that are independent to those measured from the CMB or Type Ia supernovae. Simultaneously, the NOAO data will help us understand cluster formation and cluster galaxy evolution through the interplay between the cluster gas and the galaxies over the last 8 billion years. The rapid publication of the unique optical/X-ray dataset produced from the survey will make it possible for the wider community to undertake a broad range of scientific analyses including gravitational lensing and the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Effect.
Joseph Mohr, (U. Illinois), S. Adam Stanford, (LLNL/UC Davis), Yen-Ting Lin (U Illinois/Princeton/PUC), Huan Lin, James Annis, (Fermilab), R. Chris Smith, (CTIO), Hernan Quintana, (P. Universidad Catolica de Chile), J. Frieman, (Fermilab/UChicago), D. Tucker, (Fermilab), W. Barkhouse, (CfA/U Illinois), C. Stoughton, (Fermilab), M. Brodwin, (NASA JPL), P. Eisenhardt, (NASA JPL), A. Gonzalez, (U. Florida), C. Stubbs, (Harvard), A. Rest, (CTIO), F. Valdes, (NOAO), J. Carlstrom, (U. Chicago), W. Holzapfel, (UC Berkeley), A. Kosowsky, (Rutgers), A. Lee, (UC Berkeley), S. Meyer, (U. Chicago), S. Padin, (U. Chicago), L. Page, (Princeton), J. Ruhl, (CWRU), A. Stark, (CfA)
We propose to study the cosmic acceleration through a precise measurement of the expansion history of the universe (Hubble parameter as a function of redshift) out to redshift z=1. This measurement will result from detailed study of the evolution of the galaxy cluster population over cosmic time using (1) forefront mm-wave instruments to detect galaxy clusters through their Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect (SZE) and (2) multiband optical data to measure their photometric redshifts. All major mm-wave survey teams that are operating (ACBAR; or soon will operate: APEX, SPT and ACT) in the southern hemisphere have coordinated their mm-wave observing plans, ensuring the maximum scientific return from the proposed MOSAIC imaging. The proposed 100 deg^2 griz survey will push about two magnitudes deeper than SDSS, providing photo- z estimates for galaxies with L\ge L_* at z=1 and L\ge 0.5L_* at lower z. This mm-wave+optical survey will open a unique, large solid angle window on the intermediate to high redshift universe, enabling many other investigations: galaxy based cluster finding, correlations of CMB and optical structure, evolution of galaxy clustering, weak and strong lensing studies and discovery of luminous, high redshift QSO's.
G. Mallen-Ornelas (Princeton U.), S. Seager (IAS), H. Yee (U. Toronto), T. Brown (High Altitude Observatory), M. Gladders (Carnegie), L. Eyer (Princeton U.), K. von Braun (G) (U. Michigan), C. Blake (U) (Princeton U.), B. Lee (G) (U. Toronto), S. Ellison (ESO), G. Mallen-Fullerton (O) (Universidad Iberoamericana)
We propose a search for transiting short-period extrasolar planets using the MOSAIC wide-field imagers on the KPNO 4m and CTIO 4m telescopes. Our goal is to detect transiting planets and to derive statistics of planet frequency, radius, and mass for stars ranging from types early G to late K. Planet transits will be detected via 1% photometric precision lightcurves with 3-minute time sampling spanning 18 nights per run. Transit searches will mark a new era in planetary discovery and characterization. Planet radii, which provide constraints on composition, evolution, and migration history, can only be measured for transiting planets. In addition absolute planet mass can be determined with follow-up radial velocity measurements. Our 2001 search with the CTIO 4m has demonstrated our technique: we have reached a relative photometric precision of 0.2-1% on 37,000 stars. Our lightcurve database will have unprecedented time sampling and very high photometric precision for hundreds of thousands of stars, enabling new research on variable and binary stars, short microlensing events, and moving objects such as asteroids.
N. Suntzeff (NOAO), B. Schmidt (Australia Telescope National Facility), C. Stubbs (U. of Washington), R. Kirshner (CfA), A. Filippenko (UC Berkeley), P. Garnavich (U. of Notre Dame), A. Riess (STScI), J. Tonry (U. of Hawaii), R. Smith (NOAO), K. Krisciunas (CTIO), M. Phillips (Carnegie), A. Clocchiatti (Universidad Catolica de Chile), B. Leibundgut, J. Spyromilio (ESO), B. Barris (U. of Hawaii), W. Li (UC Berkeley), C. Hogan, G. Miknaitis (U. of Washington), S. Holland (U. of Notre Dame), S. Jha, T. Matheson (CfA), J. Sollerman (ESO), P. Challis (O) (CfA), S. Pompea (NOAO), A. Becker (Lucent), A. Rest (U. of Washington)
We propose to find and follow ~200 Type Ia supernovae with the
Mosaic Imager on the Blanco 4-m telescope over a five-year period. This
search is designed to find supernovae distributed evenly over the redshift
range [0.15, 0.75]. The survey will obtain VRI photometry which we will
supplement with zJ photometry and spectra using Keck, MMT, Magellan,
Gemini, and the VLT. We aim to answer a simple, but very important,
question: is the dark energy of the universe consistent with a
cosmological constant (w=-1)? If not, this means the dark energy must be
a more general energy field such as "quintessence." This survey should
determine w to +/- 0.1 (1sigma). We propose to use the other
half of the 30 half-nights per year already assigned to the SuperMacho
Team. We will exploit the same data reduction pipelines already
developed for SuperMacho to find SNe and to measure their light curves.
By merging the two projects, we can use the same software, hardware, and
people for two important investigations of matter and energy in the
universe.
The w Project: Measuring the Equation of State of the Universe
Richard Elston (U. Fl.) S. Stanford (IGPP/LLNL), P. Eisenhardt (JPL), J. Mohr (U. Ill.), A. Dey (NOAO), B. Jannuzi (NOAO), D. Stern (JPL), K. Wu (U. Fl.), M. Dickinson, (STSCI), K. McFarland, (U. Fl.), E. McKenzie, (U. Fl.), S. N. Raines, (U. Fl.)
Distant clusters of galaxies provide unique insight into cosmology, the formation of large scale structure, and the formation and evolution of galaxies. We propose to conduct a deep near-IR survey covering 10 deg2 within the NOAO Deep Wide-Field Survey (NDWFS) regions, identifying and studying clusters with redshifts in the critical range between 1 and 2. Models indicate we would find ~1200 clusters with a virial mass >1014 h-165 M(solar) and should detect ~500 at z > 1. The redshift range between 1 and 2 is of particular interest since it is during this interval that we expect rapid evolution of the cluster population. Direct measurement of the evolution of the numbers of clusters in this range will provide constraints to both cosmological parameters and large scale structure formation models. 1 < z < 2 also is the redshift range over which we expect the density- morphology relationship to be established. The evolution of both the cluster luminosity function and the color-magnitude relation will clearly differentiate the competing theories of monolithic collapse and hierarchical formation for cluster galaxies. The deep near-IR data will be very useful for a wide range of other programs and will complement planned studies of the NDWFS regions with SIRTF, Chandra, and major radio observatories.
Robert L. Millis (Lowell),
M. Buie (Lowell),
E. Chiang (IAS),
J. Elliot (MIT),
S. Kern (MIT),
D. Trilling (U. Penn.),
R. M. Wagner (LBT Obs.),
L. H. Wasserman (Lowell)
The Kuiper Belt is a zone beyond Neptune containing tens of
thousands of asteroidal sized objects orbiting the Sun. These bodies
promise fundamental insight into the chief unsolved problem
in planet formation - how (micron) sized dust grains in the early solar nebula
agglomerated into the km sized planetesimals we observe today.
Their physical characteristics contain fossil remnants of the chemical and
dynamical processes that molded the outer regions of the protoplanetary
disk. Furthermore, the Kuiper Belt is the contemporary manifestation in
our Solar System of circumstellar dust disks seen around other stars
and offers a bridge between planetary astronomy and extrasolar
astrophysics. In this proposal, we seek to undertake a deep survey of the
ecliptic to learn the dimensions, content, and dynamical characteristics
of the Kuiper Belt. The product of this survey will be a unique,
publicly accessible database of ~500 new Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs) discovered
with with well-understood and readily quantified biases. The statistics
of our survey are sufficient to answer fundamental questions regarding the
origin and evolution of our own Solar System. Moreover, this survey is
badly needed to facilitate physical studies (e.g., spectroscopy, photometry,
and thermal IR measurements) of KBOs with 6-to- 10-meter-class
groundbased telescopes and with space observatories such as HST and
SIRTF.
Christopher W. Stubbs (U. Wash.),
K. Cook (LLNL),
S. Hawley (U. Wash.),
D. Welch (McMaster U.),
C. Alcock (U. Penn.)
K. Mighell (NOAO),
A. Becker (Lucent/Bell Labs),
C. Nelson (UC Berkeley),
A. Drake (LLNL),
A. Rest (U. Wash.),
G. Miknaitis (U. Wash.),
S. Keller (LLNL)
One of the foremost outstanding problems in the physical sciences is
the nature and distribution of the ``dark matter'' that is the
gravitationally dominant component of mass in all galaxies, including
the Milky Way. One way to search for astrophysical dark matter objects
(often called MAssive Compact Halo Objects, or MACHOs) is to search
for the transient brightening of background stars due to the gravitational
lensing by foreground MACHOs. A previous experiment has produced a
peculiar result: While the detected rate of gravitational lensing events
indicates that MACHOs comprise at most perhaps 20% of the dark matter
halo, the number of events far exceeds that expected from known
stellar populations. The nature of these excess lensing objects remains
a mystery. We intend to determine the nature of this lensing population,
which may outweigh all other known components of the Galaxy, by conducting
a search with at least a tenfold improvement in the event
detection rate. This will be one of the deepest time-domain surveys
to date. The survey will have no proprietary data period, and we can draw
heavily upon existing tools to provide useful access to the data.
Deep Ecliptic Survey
A Next Generation Microlensing Survey of the LMC
Josh Grindlay (CfA), P. Edmonds (CfA), P. Xhao (CfA), A. Cool (SFSU), D. Hoard (NOAO), B. Wilkes, (CfA), V. Kashyap (CfA), H.Cohn (IU), J. McClintock (CfA), M. Garcia (CfA), S. Wachter (NOAO), P. Green (CfA), J. Drake (CfA). C. Bailyn (Yale University)
We propose to conduct the Chandra Multiwavelength Plane (ChaMPlane) Survey to identify a large sample of serendipitous x-ray sources located to arcsec precision in the deep (>~30 ksec) galactic fields (b <~ 10deg.) imaged by the Chandra X-ray Observatory. Our primary goal is to identify cataclysmic variables (CVs) and quiescent Low Mass X-ray Binaries (qLMXBs), primarily black hole x-ray novae in quiescence, in order to constrain and ultimately measure the luminosity functions of each. Secondary objectives are to determine the Be x-ray binary content and stellar coronal source distributions in the Galaxy. The deep Chandra galactic fields will detect 2-6 keV fluxes (allowing for low energy absorption) of F_x(2-6 keV) = 2 X 10^-15 erg/s and thus CVs or qLMXBs with L_x = 10^31 erg/s out to ~7 kpc. Thus most CVs and qLMXBs in the Galaxy can be reached, and the ChaMPlane survey offers the best chance for constraining their formation/evolution and the stellar BH content of the Galaxy. CVs and qLMXBs will be identified by their ubiquitous H-alpha excess as ``blue'' objects in the R vs. (H-alpha - R) plane down to R~24. We have demonstrated this technique for crowded fields with our HST discovery of the first CVs in globular cluster cores and have now conducted a successful pilot ChaMPlane survey at CTIO.
E. Lada (U. Fl.),
R. Elston (U. Fl.),
C. Roman (U. Fl.),
C. Lada (CfA),
J. Najita (NOAO),
D. Dahari (U. Fl.),
J. Alves (ESO),
A. Muensch (CfA),
J. Williams (U. Fl.),
We propose to use the FLAMINGOS multi-object spectrometer and imager to obtain
complete inventories of the star and planet forming activity in the most active,
nearby Giant Molecular Clouds. We will image all young stellar objects within
these clouds down to the hydrogen burning limit and classify their types through
their near-infrared spectra. The goals of this survey are to determine the
number and spatial extent of young stars in the clouds and to measure their
ages and masses. The resulting catalogs will be of wide interest and of great
use in determining the stellar initial mass function and addressing fundamental
questions such as the variation of star formation efficiency and rate from
cloud to cloud, the formation of clusters, and sequential star formation.
P. Massey (Lowell Obs.),
P. Hodge (UW),
N. King (STScI),
A. Saha (NOAO),
G. Jacoby (NOAO),
K. Olsen (NOAO),
C. Smith (NOAO)
The galaxies of the Local Group serve as our laboratories for understanding
star formation and stellar evolution in differing environments: the
galaxies currently active in star-formation in the Local Group
cover a factor of 10 in metallicity
and span a range of Hubble types from dwarf spheroidal to Irr to Sb and Sc.
We are proposing
a uniform survey (UBVRI, H-alpha, [SII], and [OIII])
of nearby galaxies selected
on the basis of current star formation. In the Local Group, this sample
includes
M31, M33, NGC 6822,
IC 1613, IC 10, WLM, Pegasus, and Phoenix;
we exclude
the Milky Way and Magellanic Clouds, which are being surveyed separately by seve
ral groups. We also include Sextans A and Sextans B, located
just beyond the Local Group (van den Bergh 1999a, 1999b).
Using the new, wide-field Mosaic cameras, we
will produce catalogs of UBVRI
photometry of roughly 100 million stars, using H-alpha, [SII],
and [OIII]
to distinguish bona fide stellar members from compact H II regions.
This on-line catalog will answer a number of scientific questions directly,
but we believe that the real strength of this survey will be in the science
we will enable with 8-10-m class telescopes and the capability of
follow-up spectroscopy. In addition, the calibrated
images will provide a detailed, uniform atlas of both the stellar and
ionized gas components of these galaxies, which will certainly prove useful
for a host of other projects.
G. Meurer (JHU),
H. Ferguson (STScI),
R. Kennicutt (UA),
S. Oey (STScI),
M. Drinkwater (U. Melbourne),
V. Kilborn (U. Melbourne),
S. Staveley-Smith (ATNF),
R. Webster (U. Melbourne),
P. Knezek (STScI),
C. Smith (NOAO),
K. Freeman (ANU),
M. Putman (ANU)
Cosmological evolution is mapped using tracers of star formation.
Usually the selection of tracers is biased by stellar luminosity. We
propose to determine star formation properties of a sample selected free
of the stellar bias: by gas content from the HIPASS survey. Since an
interstellar medium is a prerequisite for star formation, our survey
will uniformly sample all galaxies that could form stars, and hence
provide a fair view of the local star formation demographics. The sample
will consist of the 500 HIPASS galaxies, each of which will be imaged
in H-alpha and the stellar continuum. Integrated, this yields the
local star formation rate density, which will be used as benchmark to
estimate the bias in other H-alpha samples. This survey will also
provide high resolution images of the star formation morphology over a
wide range of galaxies, particularly towards irregular dwarfs which are
often missed in other studies. The HI content of galaxies combined
with the SFR will be used to predict the evolution of the HI mass
function and the epoch when the cosmological gas tank runs dry.
J. A. Smith (U. Michigan) and
D. Tucker (FNAL)
The Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) has been obtaining engineering and
commissioning imaging data for over a year and the survey is expected to get
underway and generate science quality data in early 2000. Though the SDSS is
geared to the northern hemisphere, as the survey photometric system
(u'g'r'i'z') gains acceptance within the astronomical community,
the need for southern standard stars will increase.
To maintain continuity with the SDSS northern and equatorial
standard stars we propose to develop of a series of southern
standards with the u'g'r'i'z' filters for use by the astronomical
community. These southern standards will be developed
using the same observers, reduction software and observing and selection
procedures as the initial SDSS standard system.
Toward a Complete Near-Infrared Spectroscopic and Imaging Survey of
Giant Molecular Clouds
The Resolved Stellar Content of Local Group Galaxies Currently
Forming Stars
Star Formation in H I Selected Galaxies
Southern Standard Stars of the u'g'r'i'z' System
John Bally (University of Colorado), Bo Reipurth (University of Colorado)
We will conduct a complete deep imaging survey of the nearest star forming
regions to assay their content of young stars and stellar outflows, and to
probe the structure of the associated molecular clouds. We will obtain
deep broad band MOSAIC images in B, V, R, and I (or the equivalent Sloan
filters) to characterize the young star population, and Gunn z images to study
the more embedded population. We will use the reddening of background stars
to estimate the line of sight column density of dust and to compare the stellar
and cloud properties with IR and millimeter surveys. Further, we will
obtain narrow band images to identify optical outflows, estimate the area and
volume filling factors of shock heated gas, probe the shock morphology,
provide an archival data base for future proper motion determinations,
and determine proper motions of selected previously observed outflows.
The combination of broad and narrow band images will be used to identify
young stars by their H-alpha emission. The multi-color data will be used
to determine intrinsic stellar colors and to separate young stars from
background stars. Our survey will probe the distributions, multiplicity,
and intrinsic properties of young stars in nearby star forming regions.
The data will also provide an archive for all time dependent behaviors in
star forming regions and will support future multi-spectral studies including
spectroscopy and further imaging at other wavelengths from X-rays to the
radio. These studies will ultimately lead to an improved understanding
of the origins of the Initial Mass Function, the formation history and
evolution of star forming regions, and the star formation process in
the Solar vicinity.
Todd Henry (Georgia State University),
Phil Ianna (U. of Virginia),
Rene Mendez (NOAO)
Maria Teresa Ruiz (U. de Chile),
Pat Seitzer (U. of Michigan)
We are carrying out a three-year program at CTIO to determine
parallaxes for stars in the solar neighborhood. The program, known as
CTIOPI for Cerro Tololo Interamerican Observatory Parallax
Investigation, targets faint, missing members of the nearby star sample
--- primarily white, red and brown dwarfs. As of March 2000, there are
200 stars on the observing list for the 0.9m and 1.5m at CTIO. The
results will allow us to improve the luminosities, colors, and
temperatures for these common Galactic constituents, broaden the
database used to investigate the luminosity function, mass function,
kinematics, and multiplicity of stars in the solar neighborhood,
estimate the age of the Galactic disk via the white dwarf luminosity
function, and provide targets for upcoming extrasolar planetary
searches. For this survey, nearby is defined as being within 25
parsecs, the horizon of NASA's NStars Project, which is a new
initiative to provide high quality data for targets that will be
observed in future space missions.
Further details about the program can be found under the CTIOPI section
at
http://joy.chara.gsu.edu/RECONS/.
Buell T. Jannuzi, Arjun Dey (Co-PI's), and the NOAO Survey Team (NOAO)
The NOAO Deep Wide-Field Survey is a very deep optical and IR
(B_WRIJHK) imaging survey of 18 square degrees of the sky with the
primary goal of studying the evolution of large-scale structure from
z~1-4. In addition, the survey will enable further investigation
of the formation and evolution of the red-envelope galaxy population
and the detection of luminous, very distant (z>4), star-forming
galaxies and quasars. We are mapping an unprecedentedly large area to
very faint flux limits (B_WRI>=26 AB mag. and J,H=21;K=21.5 AB
mag. 5-sigma detection limits in a 2" diameter aperture). This
survey will be valuable in addressing many other problems, and we have
designed its execution and the presentation of the data to the
community in a manner that will maximize the scientific return. Our
first release of calibrated data and object catalogues constructed
from the already completed portions of this survey is scheduled for the
June AAS meeting in Chicago. Additional releases will be made as
significant subsets of the survey are reduced and calibrated. In this
proposal we request the observing time necessary to complete the
optical imaging portion of the survey by the summer of 2000, in time
for the start of science operations of the Gemini North telescope. The
IR imaging will require an additional year to complete.
See also this
article in the NOAO Newsletter.
Tony Tyson (Bell Labs), PI;
Ian Dell'Antonio (KPNO), Co-PI;
David Wittman (Bell Labs), Co-PI;
Andy Becker (U. Washington);
Gary Bernstein (U. Michigan);
Ted Bowell (Lowell);
Alejandro Clocchiatti (U. Catolica);
Judy Cohen (Caltech);
Renyue Cen (Princeton);
Alan Diercks (Caltech);
Anthony Gonzalez (UCSC);
Raja Guhathakurta (UCSC);
Wayne Hu (IAS);
Nick Kaiser (U. Hawaii);
David Kirkman (Bell Labs);
Vera Margoniner (Bell Labs);
Jordi Miralda-Escude (Ohio State);
Rob Pike (Bell Labs);
Bob Schommer (CTIO);
David Spergel (Princeton);
Gordon Squires (Caltech);
Chris Stubbs (U. Washington);
Gillian Wilson (U. Hawaii);
Dennis Zaritsky (U. Arizona)
This Survey will produce the first unbiased maps of the large-scale
structure of the mass distribution beyond the local Universe. We will
obtain very deep multicolor imaging of seven 2 degree fields, which
we will use to measure the shear of distant galaxies induced by the
mass of foreground structures. These weak-lensing observations are
sensitive to all forms of clumped mass and will yield unbiased mass
maps with resolution of 1 arcmin in the plane of the sky (~120
h-1 kpc at z = 0.2), in multiple redshift ranges (with Delta
z = 0.5 z). These maps will measure for the first time the change in
large scale structure from z=1 to the present epoch, and test the
current theories of structure formation, which predict that mass in
the low-redshift Universe has a particular filamentary/sheetlike
structure. These unique observations will constrain the clustering
properties of matter, most notably Omega_matter and
Omega_Lambda, and, when compared with the results from microwave
background anisotropy missions, will test the basic theory of
structure formation via gravitational instability.
In addition, optical transient events (including moving objects)
and supernova candidates are released in REAL TIME.
See also this
article in the NOAO Newsletter.
Mike Hudson (PI, U Waterloo),
Roger Davies (Durham),
John Lucey (Durham),
David Schade (CADC/HIA),
Russell Smith (U Catolica de Chile),
Nick Suntzeff (CTIO),
Gary Wegner (Dartmouth)
(Mike Hudson is now the PI of this Survey Project following
Jeff Willick's tragic death.)
The peculiar velocity field is the only probe of the mass distribution
on large scales (>~ 10 h-1 Mpc) in the nearby Universe. In
particular, the bulk flow of the local volume with respect to the CMB
probes the very largest scales. Some recent bulk flow results are
apparently in conflict, possibly due to the systematics arising from
the wide range of instrumentation used by the different groups.
We propose a deep, homogeneous, all-sky spectroscopic and photometric
study of 100 X-ray selected clusters within 200 h-1 Mpc. Using the
Fundamental Plane distance indicator, we will make an independent
determination of the large-scale flow of clusters of galaxies with
respect to the CMB. With 4000 early-type galaxies (a factor of 5
increase over current FP surveys), we expect combined random and
systematic errors to be <~ 120 km/s for each component of the
bulk flow vector. This goal can only be accomplished by a survey
program which guarantees access to identical instrumentation over the
course of the survey. The resulting photometric and spectroscopic
database will be a unique and valuable resource to the community for
studies of galaxy morphology, stellar populations and galaxy evolution
in the cluster environment.
In Search of Nearby Stars: A Parallax Program at CTIO
The NOAO Deep Wide-Field Survey
Deep Lens Survey
A Fundamental Plane Peculiar Velocity Survey of Rich
Clusters within 200 h-1 Mpc
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NOAO is operated by the
Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA),
Inc. under cooperative agreement with the
National Science Foundation.
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