arXiv subjects

George F. Hartig

Publications and source records attributed to George F. Hartig.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2023

The James Webb Space Telescope Mission: Optical Telescope Element Design, Development, and Performance

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is a large, infrared space telescope that has recently started its science program which will enable breakthroughs in astrophysics and planetary science. Notably, JWST will provide the very first observations of the earliest luminous objects in the Universe and start a new era of exoplanet atmospheric characterization. This transformative science is enabled by a 6.6 m telescope that is passively cooled with a 5-layer sunshield. The primary mirror is comprised of 18 controllable, low areal density hexagonal segments, that were aligned and phased relative to each other in orbit using innovative image-based wavefront sensing and control algorithms. This revolutionary telescope took more than two decades to develop with a widely distributed team across engineering disciplines. We present an overview of the telescope requirements, architecture, development, superb on-orbit performance, and lessons learned. JWST successfully demonstrates a segmented aperture space telescope and establishes a path to building even larger space telescopes.

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arXiv2004

The Nature of Blue Cores in Spheroids: a Possible Connection with AGN and Star Formation

We investigate the physical nature of blue cores in early-type galaxies through the first multi-wavelength analysis of a serendipitously discovered field blue-nucleated spheroid in the background of the deep ACS/WFC griz multicolor observations of the cluster Abell 1689. The resolved g-r, r-i and i-z color maps reveal a prominent blue core identifying this galaxy as a ``typical'' case study, exhibiting variations of 0.5-1.0 mag in color between the center and the outer regions, opposite to the expectations of reddened metallicity induced gradients in passively evolved ellipticals. From a Magellan-Clay spectrum we secure the galaxy redshift at $z=0.624$. We find a strong X-ray source coincident with the spheroid galaxy. Spectral features and a high X-ray luminosity indicate the presence of an AGN in the galaxy. However, a comparison of the X-ray luminosity to a sample derived from the Chandra Deep Field South displays Lx to be comparable to Type I/QSO galaxies while the optical flux is consistent with a normal star-forming galaxy. We conclude that the galaxy's non-thermal component dominates at high-energy wavelengths while we associate the spheroid blue light with the stellar spectrum of normal star-forming galaxies. We argue about a probable association between the presence of blue cores in spheroids and AGN activity.

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arXiv1998

The Hubble Space Telescope Quasar Absorption Line Key Project XIII. A Census of Absorption Line Systems at Low Redshift

We present a catalogue of absorption lines obtained from the analysis of the ultra-violet spectra of 66 quasars. The data were acquired with the Faint Object Spectrograph of the HST as part of the Quasar Absorption Line Survey, a Key Project for the first four cycles of HST observations. This is the third of a series of catalogues of absorption lines produced from the survey and increases the number of quasars whose higher resolution (R=1300) spectra we have published from 17 to 83. The general properties and execution of the survey are reviewed, including descriptions of the final sample of observed objects and the algorithmic processes used to construct the catalogue. The detection of a single damped Ly-a system in a path length of Delta_z=49 yields an observed number of damped systems per unit redshift of (dN/dz)_{damp}(z=0.58)=0.020 with 95% confidence boundaries of 0.001 to 0.096 systems per unit redshift. We include notes on our analysis of each of the observed quasars and the absorption systems detected in each spectrum. Some especially interesting systems include low redshift Ly-a absorbers suitable for extensive follow-up observations (in the spectra of TON28 and PG1216+069), possibly physically associated pairs of extensive metal line absorption systems (e.g., in the spectrum of PG0117+213), and systems known to be associated with galaxies (e.g., in the spectrum of 3C232).

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arXiv1998

The HST Quasar Absorption Line Key Project. XIV. The Evolution of Ly-alpha Absorption Lines in the Redshift Interval 0 to 1.5

We present an analysis of the evolution of the Ly alpha absorption lines in the redshift interval 0.0 to \sim 1.5 based upon a sample of 987 lines identified in the spectra of 63 QSOs obtained with the Faint Object Spectrograph on the Hubble Space Telescope. Fits to the number of absorbers per unit redshift dN/dz = A \times (1+z)^γyield values of γin the range 0.1 to 0.3, decidedly flatter than results from groundbased data pertaining to the redshift range z > 1.7. The combination of the space and groundbased data suggest a marked transition in the rate of evolution of the Ly alpha lines at a redshift of about 1.7. The distribution in redshift is well represented by a power law and the distribution of equivalent widths above a rest equivalent width of 0.1 Åis fit well by an exponential. The sample of Ly alpha systems which has ions from heavy elements has a much larger value of γthan a sample of lines of comparable strength without heavy elements. We argue that this is not likely due to either line misidentification or incomplete spectral coverage and suggest that it is due to rapid evolution of the very highest column density systems, rather than differences in metallicity. We also find evidence that the rate of evolution increases with increasing equivalent width. We compare our results for the variation of line density with redshift to recent numerical simulations of Ly alpha absorbers, and find fairly good agreement. Our results for the stronger Ly alpha lines in our sample are compatible with the recent analysis of the absorber--galaxy correlation by Chen et al. 1998 but for the weaker lines our results suggest that the association between absorbers and galaxies is different from that for the stronger lines.

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arXiv1997

M87: A Misaligned BL LAC?

The nuclear region of M87 was observed with the Faint Object Spectrograph (FOS) on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) at 6 epochs, spanning 18 months, after the HST image quality was improved with the deployment of the corrective optics (COSTAR) in December 1993. From the FOS target acquisition data, we have established that the flux from the optical nucleus of M87 varies by a factor ~2 on time scales of ~2.5 months and by as much as 25% over 3 weeks, and remains unchanged (<= 2.5%) on time scales of ~1 day. The changes occur in an unresolved central region <= 5 pc in diameter, with the physical size of the emitting region limited by the observed time scales to a few hundred gravitational radii. The featureless continuum spectrum becomes bluer as it brightens while emission lines remain unchanged. This variability combined with the observations of the continuum spectral shape, strong relativistic boosting and the detection of significant superluminal motions in the jet, strongly suggest that M87 belongs to the class of BL Lac objects but is viewed at an angle too large to reveal the classical BL Lac properties.

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arXiv1993

The Ultraviolet Emission Properties of Five Low-Redshift Active Galactic Nuclei at High Signal to Noise and Spectral Resolution

We analyze the ultraviolet (UV) emission line and continuum properties of five low-redshift active galactic nuclei (four luminous quasars: PKS~0405$-$123, H1821+643, PG~0953+414, and 3C273, and one bright Seyfert 1 galaxy: Mrk~205). The HST spectra have higher signal-to-noise ratios (typically $\sim 60$ per resolution element) and spectral resolution ($R = 1300$) than all previously- published UV spectra used to study the emission characteristics of active galactic nuclei. We include in the analysis ground-based optical spectra covering \hb\ and the narrow [O III] $λλ$4959,5007 doublet. The following new results are obtained: \lyb/\lya=0.03$-$0.12 for the four quasars, which is the first accurate measurement of the long-predicted \lyb\ intensity in QSOs. The cores of \lya\ and C~IV are symmetric to an accuracy of better than 2.5% within about 2000 km s$^{-1}$ of the line peak. This high degree of symmetry of \lya\ argues against models in which the broad line cloud velocity field has a significant radial component. The observed smoothness of the \lya\ and C~IV line profiles requires at least $\sim 10^4$ individual clouds if bulk velocity is the only line-broadening mechanism. The overall similarity of the \lya\ and C IV $λ$1549 profiles rules out models for the broad line region (BLR) with a radial distribution of virialized....

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