HETG

Follow-on Science Instrument

Contract NAS8-01129

 

Monthly Status Report Numbers 015 and 016

May & June 2003

 

Con-X Workshop

 

Prepared in accordance with DR 972MA-002; DPD #972

Prepared for

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Marshall Space Flight Center, Alabama 35812

 

Center for Space Research; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Cambridge, MA 02139

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1.0 Distribution List for Monthly Status Report

 

 

MIT-External Electronic:

FD03/Mike Smith, MSFC                   Carl.M.Smith@msfc.nasa.gov

PS41/Steve Morris, MSFC                 Steven.D.Morris@msfc.nasa.gov

SD50/Martin Weisskopf, MSFC            martin.weisskopf@msfc.nasa.gov

 

MIT-External Hardcopy:

                                    None specified.

 

 

            MIT-Internal Electronic:

                                                Elaine Tirrell                egt@mit.edu

                                                Gail Monahan              gmonahan@mit.edu

 

MIT-Internal Hardcopy:

                                                Claude Canizares         Room 3-234 (via Gail Monahan)

                                                Deepto Chakrabarty     Room 37-501 (via Elaine Tirrell)

                                                Kathryn Flanagan        Room NE80-6103 (via Elaine Tirrell)

                                                File                              (via Elaine Tirrell)

 

 

Please send distribution requests and other comments on this document to dd@mit.edu .

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2.0 Schedule of Past and Future Events Relevant to HETG

 

 

Date	Past Events	Comment
May 4-7	Constellation X Spectroscopy Workshop, Columbia Univ., NY	KAF,DD, MJ-G,SAG,AF
May 23	NERQUAM meeting, Cambridge MA	S. Gallagher
May 25-29	AAS 202nd Meeting, Nashville, TN	L. Lopez, (H. Marshall)
May 31 – June 4	The Riddle of Cooling Flows …	(M. Wise)
June 12-13	Chandra Users Committee meeting at CfA
June 17-20	Multiwavelength Cosmology , Mykonos Island, Greece.	T. Jeltema, C. Canizares
June 24-26	Chandra Peer Review	S. Gallagher,
June 26-28	Advances in Laboratory Astrophysics, U of Georgia	(N. Schulz)
June 26-29	Women in Astronomy Meeting, Pasadena	A. Juette, L. Lopez

 

 

 

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3.0 Instrument Status and Science Support

 

 

3.1 Flight Events and HETG Instrument Status

 

The HETG continues to function with no outstanding issues.

In May and June there were 13 HETG observation intervals for 9 targets. Among them obsid 3504, 4U 1626-67, and obsid 4399, Markarian 290, are part of the HETG GTO program; both data sets look OK at a first look. The Markarian 290 data is 85 ks of a total 250 ks exposure - its remaining observations are being carried out in mid-July. Also of note are the two 100 ks exposures of Eta Carinae (PI Corcoran, obsids 3745, 3748) taken near maximum brightness.

 

3.2 Science Support to CXC, SWG, etc.

 

Supported the Chandra time allocation committee (TAC, aka “peer review”) in June.

 

 

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4.0 GTO Science Program

4.1 Observations and Data status

The final GTO target list for Cycle 5 is set after the peer review accepted our observation of 4U 1957+11; the three HETG GTO targets for Cycle 5 are listed in the table below.

 

There was analysis progress on past GTO observations, briefly summarized here: Carried out image and spectral analysis for NGC 5506 paper, found OVII forbidden and RRC. Started extracting and fitting regions of zeroth-order in N132D and E0102. Start s/w to make 3-D models for SNR, etc. E0102 paper progress: SNR/SNe asymmetry mechanisms discussed. Power ratios and errors determined in over-100 cluster sample. Kerr black hole disk spectral models into ISIS; AGN disk model paper started. Analyzed 3C 279 jet data and compared with radio; SS 433 paper started. Resubmitted paper on the O-edge in the ISM. Recent GTO data from 4U 1626-67 looks interesting at a glance.

 

This summer 6 (maybe more) MIT Undergraduates (“UROP”s) will be participating in Chandra data analysis and related modeling and theory, working under supervision of HETG and CXC/MIT affiliated scientists. These UROPs bring a refreshing energy to the group!

 

 

Cycle 5

Object Science Theme	AO	Obs ID	Seq. No.	Expos. (ks)	Observer / Analyst	Start Date	Comments & Analysis	Talks and Publications
4U 1957+11 XRB	5	TBD	Prop. 05400034	[67]	M. Nowak	[TBD]	Target accepted in peer review.
MCG—6-30-15 AGN	5	TBD	Prop. 05700032	[540]	J. Lee	[TBD]
Orion Nebula Cluster “Hot” Stars	5	TBD	Prop. 05200040	[100.0]	N. Schulz	[TBD]

 

4.2 Science theme progress

 

The HETG GTO science efforts span a range of “science themes” given in the list below. In early May the first Con-X Spectroscopy Workshop was held at Columbia and talks and posters were presented in most of these areas by HETG group members and/or using HETG GTO data sets (some are listed in the Presentations section below.)

 

GTO Science Theme	Abbreviation (for App’ix A)	Researchers (HETG in caps)	Date of last [next] reporting Assembler of theme material
“Cool” Stars	Cool Star	dph,nss,psw,bb	September, 2002. Dave Huenemoerder
“Hot” Stars	Hot Star	nss,dph,psw,bi	October, 2002. Norbert Schulz
X-ray Binaries & Accretion Disks	XRB	MJ-G,AJ,nss,hlm, man, jmm, psw	December, 2002. Norbert Schulz, Mike Nowak
Supernova Remnants	SNR	KAF,DD,JMM, AF,jh,gea,tp	May, 2002. Dan Dewey
Isolated Neutron Stars	iNS	MDS,hlm, nss	January, 2003. Mike Stage, Herman Marshall
Galaxies & Clusters of Galaxies	Gal., Clust.	TJ,mw,jh	August, 2002. Michael Wise, Tesla Jeltema
Active Galactic Nuclei and Jets	AGN, Jet	SG,RG,MJ-G,hlm, man,jl,sm,jg	June, 2002. Herman Marshall
Inter-Stellar Medium	ISM	AJ,nss	February, 2003. Adrienne Juett, Norbert Schulz
Inter-Galactic Medium	IGM	SG,RG,hlm	July, 2002. Taotao Fang

 

4.3 HETG-related Software: Development, Evaluation, and Support

(No update on s/w this reporting period.)

 

4.4 Presentations, etc. (May and June)

 

K.A.Flanagan, “High Resolution Spectroscopy of Supernova Remnants with Chandra, XMM-Newton and Constellation-X”, invited talk at the 1^st Con-X Workshop, Columbia University, NY (2003).

A. Fredericks, et al., “Plasma Diagnostics of Knots and Filaments of SNR N132D”, poster at the 1^st Con-X Workshop, Columbia University, NY (2003).

M. Jimenez-Garate, “X-ray Spectroscopy of Black Hole Accretion Disk Atmospheres”, poster at the 1^st Con-X Workshop, Columbia University, NY (2003).

D. Dewey, “SNR E0102: Measured Velocities and Geometric Musings”, talk at the 1^st Con-X Workshop, Columbia University, NY (2003).

N.Schulz, “X-raying the ISM with Constellation-X” talk at the 1^st Con-X Workshop, Columbia University, NY (2003).

L.A. Lopez, et al., “Diagnostics of the Relativistic Jets in SS 433 using High Resolution X-ray Spectra”, poster at the 202^nd AAS meeting, Nashville TN, 2003.

H.L.Marshall et al., “The Large Scale X-Ray Jet in 3C 279”, poster at the 202^nd AAS meeting, Nashville TN, 2003.

T. Jeltema, “The Evolution of Galaxy Cluster Substructure”, talk at Multi-wavelength Cosmology, Greece (2003).

C. Canizares, chaired session dealing with optical observations clusters, redshift surveys, Lyman break galaxies, etc,.at Multi-wavelength Cosmology, Greece (2003).

N. Schulz, “High Resolution Spectra with Chandra and XMM: Challenges in Atomic Physics”, talk at Advances of Laboratory Astrophysics, University of Georgia, Athens GA (2003).

 

 

4.5 Publications (May and June), see also: http://space.mit.edu/csr_pubs.html

 

P.M. Ogle et al., “Testing the Seyfert unification theory: Chandra HETGS observations of NGC 1068”, A&A v.402, p.849-864 (2003).

N.S. Schulz et al., “X-ray Modeling of Very Young Early Type Stars in the Orion Trapezium: Signatures of Magnetically Confined Plasmas and Evolutionary Implications”, ApJ accepted (2003).

D.P.Huenemoerder et al., “The Coronae of AR Lac”, ApJ accepted (2003).

 

4.6 Student and Postdoc Involvement, June 2002 – May 2003

 

The following information was requested from HETG PI Claude Canizares by the CXC and is listed here for reference. This information was entered into the CXC web system as requested.

 

Theses:

Year   Name,            Type,      Title :

2003 Joshua M. Migliazzo   M.S.              “On Understanding the Lives of Dead Stars: Supernova Remnant N103B, Radio

Pulsar B1951+32, and the Rabbit.”

2003 Michael D. Stage         Ph.D.            “Determinations of the radii, redshifts, and atmospheric compositions of neutron

stars from modeling their Chandra X-ray spectra”

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5.0 Systems and Engineering Support

 

5.1 Documentation and “Design Knowledge Capture” and 5.3 Anomalies, Insert/retract, etc. Support

5.2 Spares Retest and Test Instrumentation

 

No activities in these areas in May and June.

 

6.0 Management

 

6.1 Program Office & NASA Support

 

Thanks to MSFC for timely funding mods.

 

6.2 MIT-internal management activities

 

Made room and computer arrangements for summer UROP students.

 

 

7.0 Open Issues, Problems, etc.

 

There are no open issues or problems regarding the HETG.