scholarly journals The Frontier Fields: Past, Present, and Future

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (A29B) ◽  
pp. 751-754
Author(s):  
Jennifer Lotz ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Hubble Space Telescope ◽  
Clusters Of Galaxies ◽  
High Magnification ◽  
Human Knowledge ◽  
Space Telescope ◽  
Discretionary Time ◽  
James Webb Space Telescope ◽  
Distant Galaxies ◽  
Future Space ◽  
The Universe

AbstractExceptionally deep observations of the distant universe with the Hubble Space Telescope have consistently pushed the frontiers of human knowledge. How deep can we go? What are the faintest and most distant galaxies we can see with the Hubble Space Telescope now, before the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope? This is the challenge taken up by the Frontier Fields, a director's discretionary time campaign with HST and the Spitzer Space Telescope to see deeper into the universe than ever before. The Frontier Fields combines the power of HST with the natural gravitational telescopes of high-magnification clusters of galaxies to produce the deepest observations of clusters and their lensed galaxies ever obtained. I will review the original goals of the Frontier Fields program and its progress over the last several years. In addition to pushing forward the study of the most distant galaxies, the Frontier Fields have been transformative in the study of galaxy clusters and their lensing properties. Finally, I will discuss the prospects for studying galaxies at cosmic dawn with JWST, extremely large ground-based telescopes, and future space missions over the next decade and beyond.

scholarly journals Probing the faintest galaxy population at the epoch of reionization with gravitational lensing

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (S352) ◽  
pp. 26-26
Author(s):  
Hakim Atek
Keyword(s):  
Gravitational Lensing ◽  
Hubble Space Telescope ◽  
Space Telescope ◽  
Systematic Uncertainties ◽  
James Webb Space Telescope ◽  
Exciting Opportunity ◽  
Complete Dataset ◽  
Galaxy Populations ◽  
Galaxy Population ◽  
The Universe

AbstractUltra-deep observations of blank fields with the Hubble Space Telescope have made important inroads in characterizing galaxy populations at redshift z = 6 – 10. Gravitational lensing by massive galaxy clusters offers a new route to identify the faintest sources at the epoch of reionization. In particular, thanks to the Hubble Frontier Fields program, we robustly pushed the detection limit down to MAB = − 15 mag at z ∼ 6. I will present the latest results based on the complete dataset of the HFF clusters and parallel fields, and their implications on the ability of galaxies to reionize the Universe. I will also discuss the results of a comprehensive end-to-end modeling effort towards constraining the systematic uncertainties of the lens models, which are currently the last hurdle before extending the UV LF to fainter luminosities. Finally, I will discuss the great discoveries awaiting combination of such cosmic lenses with the upcoming James Webb Space Telescope and the exciting opportunity to probe the turnover of the UV LF, hence the limit of the star formation process at those early epochs.

scholarly journals Gravitational Microlensing of Giant Luminous Arcs: a Test for Compact Dark Matter in Clusters of Galaxies

2001 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 182-185
Author(s):  
Geraint F. Lewis
Keyword(s):  
Dark Matter ◽  
Gravitational Lensing ◽  
Surface Brightness ◽  
Hubble Space Telescope ◽  
Stellar Mass ◽  
Compact Objects ◽  
Clusters Of Galaxies ◽  
True Nature ◽  
Space Telescope ◽  
The Universe

AbstractThe true nature of dark matter in the universe still eludes us. This paper discusses a new test for the detection of stellar mass compact dark matter in galaxy clusters by observing its gravitational lensing influence on the surface brightness of giant luminous arcs. If dark matter is in the form of stellar mass compact objects, then the extremes of such variability are accessible to a monitoring campaign with the Hubble Space Telescope. With the advent of the Next Generation Space Telescope, cluster dark matter in the form of compact objects will induce a ubiquitous ‘shimmering’ of the giant arcs.

scholarly journals The Hubble PanCET program: Transit and Eclipse Spectroscopy of the Hot-Jupiter WASP-74b

2021 ◽  
Vol 162 (6) ◽  
pp. 271
Author(s):  
Guangwei Fu ◽  
Drake Deming ◽  
Erin May ◽  
Kevin Stevenson ◽  
David K. Sing ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rayleigh Scattering ◽  
Hubble Space Telescope ◽  
Absorption Feature ◽  
Spectral Library ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Space Telescope ◽  
Methane Absorption ◽  
James Webb Space Telescope ◽  
Hot Jupiter

Abstract Planets are like children with each one being unique and special. A better understanding of their collective properties requires a deeper understanding of each planet. Here we add the transit and eclipse spectra of hot-Jupiter WASP-74b into the ever growing data set of exoplanet atmosphere spectral library. With six transits and three eclipses using the Hubble Space Telescope and Spitzer Space Telescope (Spitzer), we present the most complete and precise atmospheric spectra of WASP-74b. We found no evidence for TiO/VO nor super-Rayleigh scattering reported in previous studies. The transit shows a muted water feature with strong Rayleigh scattering extending into the infrared. The eclipse shows a featureless blackbody-like WFC3/G141 spectrum and a weak methane absorption feature in the Spitzer 3.6 μm band. Future James Webb Space Telescope follow-up observations are needed to confirm these results.

9. The next telescopes

2016 ◽  
pp. 122-138
Author(s):  
Geoff Cottrell
Keyword(s):  
Dark Matter ◽  
Dark Energy ◽  
Adaptive Optics ◽  
Hubble Space Telescope ◽  
Scientific Instrument ◽  
Space Telescope ◽  
James Webb Space Telescope ◽  
First Galaxies ◽  
New Generation ◽  
Optical Telescopes

Each question that telescopes have helped answer has led to new questions: what is dark matter and dark energy? How did the first galaxies form? Are there habitable, Earth-like exoplanets? To address these questions, a new generation of telescopes are being built. ‘The next telescopes’ describes some of these, including the three extremely large infrared/optical telescopes, equipped with adaptive optics systems, due to start operating in the next decade. Other new telescopes discussed are the Square Kilometre Array, a radio telescope that will soon be the world’s largest scientific instrument, and the James Webb Space Telescope due to be launched in 2018, which is the 100 times more powerful successor to the Hubble Space Telescope.

scholarly journals Final Mirror Segment Added to Powerful Future Space Observatory

Eos ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Randy Showstack
Keyword(s):  
Space Observatory ◽  
Space Telescope ◽  
James Webb Space Telescope ◽  
Future Space

After years of planning, testing, and assembly, the James Webb Space Telescope, the world's largest infrared, space-based observatory, is taking shape.

scholarly journals Studying the physical properties of tidal features – I. Extracting morphological substructure in CANDELS observations and VELA simulations

2019 ◽  
Vol 486 (2) ◽  
pp. 2643-2659 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kameswara Bharadwaj Mantha ◽  
Daniel H McIntosh ◽  
Cody P Ciaschi ◽  
Rubyet Evan ◽  
Henry C Ferguson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Galaxy Evolution ◽  
Hubble Space Telescope ◽  
High Redshift ◽  
Software Tool ◽  
Space Telescope ◽  
Visual Appearance ◽  
James Webb Space Telescope ◽  
Profile Fitting ◽  
Major Merger ◽  
Merger Rate

Abstract The role of major mergers in galaxy evolution remains a key open question. Existing empirical merger identification methods use non-parametric and subjective visual classifications that can pose systematic challenges to constraining merger histories. As a first step towards overcoming these challenges, we develop and share publicly a new python-based software tool that identifies and extracts the flux-wise and area-wise significant contiguous regions from the model-subtracted residual images produced by popular parametric light-profile fitting tools (e.g. galfit). Using Hubble Space Telescope (HST) H-band single-Sérsic residual images of 17 CANDELS galaxies, we demonstrate the tools ability to measure the surface brightness and improve the qualitative identification of a variety of common residual features (disc structures, spiral substructures, plausible tidal features, and strong gravitational arcs). We test our method on synthetic HST observations of a z ∼ 1.5 major merger from the VELA hydrodynamic simulations. We extract H-band residual features corresponding to the birth, growth, and fading of tidal features during different stages and viewing orientations at CANDELS depths and resolution. We find that the extracted features at shallow depths have noisy visual appearance and are susceptible to viewing angle effects. For a VELA z ∼ 3 major merger, we find that James Webb Space Telescope NIRCam observations can probe high-redshift tidal features with considerable advantage over existing HST capabilities. Further quantitative analysis of plausible tidal features extracted with our new software hold promise for the robust identification of hallmark merger signatures and corresponding improvements to merger rate constraints.

scholarly journals Properties of reionization-era galaxies from JWST luminosity functions and 21-cm interferometry

2019 ◽  
Vol 491 (3) ◽  
pp. 3891-3899 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaehong Park ◽  
Nicolas Gillet ◽  
Andrei Mesinger ◽  
Bradley Greig
Keyword(s):  
Star Formation Rate ◽  
Hubble Space Telescope ◽  
Formation Rate ◽  
Power Spectra ◽  
Mass Relation ◽  
Space Telescope ◽  
James Webb Space Telescope ◽  
Luminosity Functions ◽  
Order Of Magnitude ◽  
Magnitude Improvement

ABSTRACT Upcoming observations will probe the first billion years of our Universe in unprecedented detail. Foremost among these are 21-cm interferometry with the Hydrogen Epoch of Reionization Arrays (HERA) and the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), and high-z galaxy observations with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). Here, we quantify how observations from these instruments can be used to constrain the astrophysics of high-z galaxies. We generate several mock JWST luminosity functions (LFs) and SKA1 21-cm power spectra, which are consistent with current observations, but assume different properties for the unseen, ultrafaint galaxies driving the epoch of reionization (EoR). Using only JWST data, we predict up to a factor of 2–3 improvement (compared with Hubble Space Telescope, HST) in the fractional uncertainty of the star formation rate to halo mass relation and the turnover magnitude. Most parameters regulating the ultraviolet (UV) galaxy properties can be constrained at the level of ∼10 per cent or better, if either (i) we are able to better characterize systematic lensing uncertainties than currently possible; or (ii) the intrinsic LFs peak at magnitudes brighter than MUV ≲ −13. Otherwise, improvement over HST-based inference is modest. When combining with upcoming 21-cm observations, we are able to significantly mitigate degeneracies, and constrain all of our astrophysical parameters, even for our most pessimistic assumptions about upcoming JWST LFs. The 21-cm observations also result in an order of magnitude improvement in constraints on the EoR history.

scholarly journals The Evolution of Neutral Gas in the Universe

2006 ◽  
Vol 2 (S235) ◽  
pp. 440-440
Author(s):  
David Turnshek ◽  
Sandhya Rao ◽  
Eric Monier ◽  
Daniel Nestor ◽  
Anna Quider
Keyword(s):  
Absorption Line ◽  
Hubble Space Telescope ◽  
Reference List ◽  
Space Telescope ◽  
Neutral Gas ◽  
The Universe ◽  
Initial Results ◽  
Gas Component

AbstractWe give references to some of our work on the properties and evolution of the neutral gas component of the Universe (see reference list). The bulk of the observed neutral gas has been detected by identifying intervening damped Lyα (DLA) quasar absorption-line systems with N(H) ≥2 × 1020 atoms cm−2. We also present some initial results from a program to identify DLA absorbers near redshift z = 0.5 using Hubble Space Telescope ACS prism spectra (see Figure 1).

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