Mathematics – Logic
Scientific paper
Jul 1995
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1995hst..prop.6342f&link_type=abstract
HST Proposal ID #6342
Mathematics
Logic
Hst Proposal Id #6342 Galaxies &Amp, Clusters
Scientific paper
The integrated optical flux from the diffuse extragalactic background light {EBL} is a unique cosmological signature of the Universe. It is a volume integral of energy that has been continuously generated from the first epoch of star formation to the present day. As such it is a fundamental physical quantity, unique to this Universe and profound in its role in ultimately constraining galaxy evolution, star formation and chemical enrichment models of the Universe. The numerical value of this quantity is still unknown; however, HST is now capable of measuring it. Proposal 5968 gives a detailed description of an experiment to measure EBL in a field which is part of an ongoing ground-based program. The criteria used to select the Hubble Deep Field are very similar to the those we used to select the field for 5968, making it another ideal field in which to measure the EBL. We propose observations with the FOS to execute in parallel with the main, WFPC2 HDF observations, which will allow to measure the EBL in the HDF field using the same experiment proposed in 5968. Ground-based attempts to measure the EBL have been frustrated by the Earth's atmosphere, by opacity in the UV and by intense line emission {airglow} in the optical and near infrared. With HST this obstacle is avoided: we can access the ultraviolet and near-infrared portions of the spectrum for the first time, and at optical wavelengths, the foreground contamination is reduced by as much as an order of magnitude. The remaining foreground is dominated by zodiacal light and galactic contamination. The careful field selection of the Hubble Deep Field minimizes the galactic contamination and leaves only zodiacal light to be addressed as a significant foreground contaminant to measuring the EBL. As outlined in proposal 5968, spectra taken in parallel with the main HDF observations will allow us to identify and measure the zodiacal light contribution in the Deep Field.
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