Accepted Cycle 15 Large / X-ray Visionary Proposals

Proposal Number	Subject Category	PI Name	Type	Time (ks)	Title
15200565	STARS AND WD	Brickhouse	LP	600	Accretion-Driven Physics on the Young Star BP Tauri
15400412	BH AND NS BINARIES	Cackett	LP	300	A Definitive Test of Relativistic Disk Lines in Neutron Stars
15620853	NORMAL GALAXIES: X-RAY POPULATIONS	Haggard	LP	420	Monitoring the Tidal Disruption of the Gas Cloud G2 As It Encounters Sgr A*
15700397	ACTIVE GALAXIES AND QUASARS	Tombesi	LP	500	Unifying X-ray winds in radio galaxies with Chandra HETG
15800474	CLUSTERS OF GALAXIES	Sanders	LP	500	Deep imaging and spectroscopy of the Centaurus cluster: metals and filaments
15800657	CLUSTERS OF GALAXIES	Hughes	LP	498	Chandra Observations of a Complete Sample of SZE Clusters from ACT
15800706	CLUSTERS OF GALAXIES	Kraft	LP	500	Hydrodynamics of merging and stripping in the Fornax Cluster: A Deep Chandra observation of NGC 1404
15800858	CLUSTERS OF GALAXIES	Jones	LP	520	Clusters, Galaxies, and AGN in HST Frontier Fields
15900132	EXTRAGALACTIC DIFFUSE EMISSION AND SURVEYS	Brandt	XVP	3000	The Chandra Deep Field-South: A Peerless Ultradeep Survey for Exploring the Distant X-ray Universe
15900142	EXTRAGALACTIC DIFFUSE EMISSION AND SURVEYS	Townsley	XVP	2000	The Tarantula -- Revealed by X-rays (T-ReX): A Definitive Chandra Investigation of 30 Doradus

Subject Category: STARS AND WD

Proposal Number: 15200565

Title: Accretion-Driven Physics on the Young Star BP Tauri

Type: LP Total Time (ks): 600

PI Name: Nancy Brickhouse

We propose 600 ks with LETG/ACIS-S on the accreting young star BP Tau to study its X-ray emission physics. Our Chandra Large Program on TW Hya has resulted in definitive evidence for accretion, a puzzle over the soft X-ray emission producing O VII emission, and correlations between X-ray and optical signatures related to accretion. Spectral diagnostics from He-like Ne IX constrain all the properties of a simple accretion model, which incorporates the geometrical constraints provided by line-based absorption diagnostics. This deep Chandra spectrum is needed to determine the impact of accretion on a more typical accreting system with different orientation. We will also conduct a campaign to obtain optical photometry, spectroscopy, and spectropolarimetry (for magnetic topology maps).

R.A.	Dec.	Target Name	Det.	Grating	Exp.Time (ks)
04:19:15.80	+29:06:26.90	BP Tau	ACIS-S	LETG	600

Subject Category: BH AND NS BINARIES

Proposal Number: 15400412

Title: A Definitive Test of Relativistic Disk Lines in Neutron Stars

Type: LP Total Time (ks): 300

PI Name: Edward Cackett

Accretion disks around neutron stars must be truncated at the stellar surface. If neutron star spectra contain relativistic lines from the inner disk, these lines could then give constraints on stellar radii and the neutron star equation of state. Such lines have recently been claimed in many sources. However, other work has brought the nature of these lines into question, largely owing to instrumental effects such as photon pile-up. The resolution of the HETG is ideally suited to testing the nature of such lines, and it is uniquely resistant to photon pile-up when the ACIS array is run in 'CC' mode. As a unified group of six teams, we request a 300 ksec observation of Serpens X-1 to definitively resolve the nature of iron lines in neutron star low-mass X-ray binaries.

R.A.	Dec.	Target Name	Det.	Grating	Exp.Time (ks)
18:39:57.60	+05:02:09.60	Serpens X-1	ACIS-S	HETG	300

Subject Category: NORMAL GALAXIES: X-RAY POPULATIONS

Proposal Number: 15620853

Title: Monitoring the Tidal Disruption of the Gas Cloud G2 As It Encounters Sgr A*

Type: LP Total Time (ks): 420

PI Name: Daryl Haggard

A dense, cold cloud (G2) is on a collision course with Sgr A*, the radio source at our Galactic Center. G2 is on an eccentric orbit and shows signs of tidal disruption by the black hole. High-energy emission from the Sgr A*/G2 encounter will likely peak at pericenter and continue over the next several years as the material circularizes. We propose 9 ACIS-S monitoring observations (5 simultaneous with VLA) to study the radiation properties of Sgr A* as G2 breaks up and feeds the accretion flow, to constrain the rates and emission mechanisms of faint X-ray flares, and to detect G2 itself as it is shocked and heated. Multiwavelength observations of this encounter will have a profound impact on our understanding of inefficient accretion flows into, and outflow from, massive black holes.

R.A.	Dec.	Target Name	Det.	Grating	Exp.Time (ks)
17:45:40.00	-29:00:28.10	Sgr A*	ACIS-S	NONE	50
17:45:40.00	-29:00:28.10	Sgr A*	ACIS-S	NONE	50
17:45:40.00	-29:00:28.10	Sgr A*	ACIS-S	NONE	50
17:45:40.00	-29:00:28.10	Sgr A*	ACIS-S	NONE	50
17:45:40.00	-29:00:28.10	Sgr A*	ACIS-S	NONE	50
17:45:40.00	-29:00:28.10	Sgr A*	ACIS-S	NONE	40
17:45:40.00	-29:00:28.10	Sgr A*	ACIS-S	NONE	40
17:45:40.00	-29:00:28.10	Sgr A*	ACIS-S	NONE	40
17:45:40.00	-29:00:28.10	Sgr A*	ACIS-S	NONE	50

Subject Category: ACTIVE GALAXIES AND QUASARS

Proposal Number: 15700397

Title: Unifying X-ray winds in radio galaxies with Chandra HETG

Type: LP Total Time (ks): 500

PI Name: Francesco Tombesi

X-ray winds are routinely observed in the spectra of Seyfert galaxies. They can be classified as warm absorbers (WAs), with v~100-1,000km/s, and ultra-fast outflows (UFOs), with v>10,000km/s. In stark contrast, the lack of sensitive enough observations allowed the detection of WAs or UFOs only in very few radio galaxies. Therefore, we propose to observe a small sample of three radio galaxies with the Chandra HETG - 3C111 for 150ks, 3C390.3 for 150ks and 3C120 for 200ks - to detect and study in detail their WAs. We will quantify the importance of mechanical feedback from winds in radio galaxies and compare them to the radio jet power. We will also test whether WAs and UFOs can be unified in a single, multi-phase and multi-scale outflow, as recently reported for Seyferts.

R.A.	Dec.	Target Name	Det.	Grating	Exp.Time (ks)
04:18:21.30	+38:01:35.80	3C 111	ACIS-S	HETG	150
18:42:09.00	+79:46:17.10	3C 390.3	ACIS-S	HETG	150
04:33:11.10	+05:21:15.60	3C 120	ACIS-S	HETG	200

Subject Category: CLUSTERS OF GALAXIES

Proposal Number: 15800474

Title: Deep imaging and spectroscopy of the Centaurus cluster: metals and filaments

Type: LP Total Time (ks): 500

PI Name: Jeremy Sanders

The Centaurus cluster is nearby, bright and has a metallicity three times that of other nearby clusters. It is one of the best targets in which to study ICM metal physics. We will probe metallicity structure to sub-kpc scales, matching AGN feedback scales. The central drop in metallicity implies metals are locked in dust associated with filaments. We will examine Ar/Ne which are not, testing this hypothesis. The spectrum of metallicity fluctuations will probe diffusion and turbulence. Additional science goals will be to examine Type Ia/II enrichement, the pressure variations caused by radio bubbles to study feedback, the magnetic field structure and the soft X-ray connection to the optical filaments.

R.A.	Dec.	Target Name	Det.	Grating	Exp.Time (ks)
12:48:48.90	-41:18:43.80	Centaurus cluster	ACIS-S	NONE	500

Subject Category: CLUSTERS OF GALAXIES

Proposal Number: 15800657

Title: Chandra Observations of a Complete Sample of SZE Clusters from ACT

Type: LP Total Time (ks): 498

PI Name: John Hughes

We propose to continue our program with Chandra to observe a complete sample of galaxy clusters detected by the Atacama Cosmology Telescope using the Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect (SZE). The proposed ACIS-I observations of 10 massive, newly-discovered SZE clusters will provide a precision calibration of the SZE signal versus mass scaling law out to redshifts of 1. This effort is part of an intensive multi-wavelength campaign to produce an unbiased, well-observed sample of massive galaxy clusters out to high redshifts for cosmological investigations.

R.A.	Dec.	Target Name	Det.	Grating	Exp.Time (ks)
00:22:13.00	-00:36:33.80	ACT-CL J0022-0036	ACIS-I	NONE	72
00:59:08.50	-00:50:05.80	ACT-CL_J0059-0049	ACIS-I	NONE	40
00:14:54.10	-00:57:08.50	ACT-CL_J0014-0056	ACIS-I	NONE	30
02:06:13.40	-01:14:17.00	ACT-CL_J0206-0114	ACIS-I	NONE	30
21:54:32.40	-00:49:00.40	ACT-CL_J2154-0049	ACIS-I	NONE	65

Subject Category: CLUSTERS OF GALAXIES

Proposal Number: 15800706

Title: Hydrodynamics of merging and stripping in the Fornax Cluster: A Deep Chandra observation of NGC 1404

Type: LP Total Time (ks): 500

PI Name: Ralph Kraft

Early-type galaxies falling into clusters provide an excellent probe for ICM properties as they are stripped due to their motion through the cluster gas. They form a tail of gas attached to the remnant merger core (RMC). Both the upstream and side edge of the RMC and the tail are sites where the cool galaxy gas and the hot ambient ICM could mix, unless prevented by ICM viscosity or magnetic fields. The RMC of NGC 1404 in the Fornax cluster is the best target to observe the absence or presence of this mixing. We propose 500 ks Chandra/ACIS-S observations of NGC 1404 to make a direct measurement of gas mixing and viscosity in the ICM with a sensitivity that cannot be reached in any other target. We support the interpretation of our data by specifically tailored hydro simulations.

R.A.	Dec.	Target Name	Det.	Grating	Exp.Time (ks)
03:38:51.90	-35:35:40.00	NGC 1404	ACIS-S	NONE	400
03:39:16.40	-35:39:40.20	NGC 1404 tail	ACIS-S	NONE	100

Subject Category: CLUSTERS OF GALAXIES

Proposal Number: 15800858

Title: Clusters, Galaxies, and AGN in HST Frontier Fields

Type: LP Total Time (ks): 520

PI Name: Christine Jones

We propose deep Chandra ACIS-I observations for three HST Frontier Field clusters to obtain 80k source counts for each cluster. The Frontier cluster A2744 already has 80k counts. We also propose JVLA observations for two Frontier clusters and have approved JVLA observations for a third. We will combine the HST cluster lensing mass maps with deep Chandra, HST, and Spitzer imaging, radio and SZ maps, extensive optical spectroscopy, and numerical simulations to understand the physics of the mergers, the transformations of cluster galaxies, and the generation of radio halos and relics in all four HST Frontier clusters that will be observed in HST Cycles 21/22. The combination of Chandra and HST imaging in the parallel fields will test if galaxy mergers play a dominant role in triggering AGN.

R.A.	Dec.	Target Name	Det.	Grating	Exp.Time (ks)
07:17:32.00	+37:45:32.50	MACSJ0717.5+3745	ACIS-I	NONE	71
04:16:08.60	-24:04:40.60	MACSJ0416.1-2403	ACIS-I	NONE	217
11:49:35.10	+22:24:18.40	MACSJ1149.5+2223	ACIS-I	NONE	232

Subject Category: EXTRAGALACTIC DIFFUSE EMISSION AND SURVEYS

Proposal Number: 15900132

Title: The Chandra Deep Field-South: A Peerless Ultradeep Survey for Exploring the Distant X-ray Universe

Type: XVP Total Time (ks): 4000

PI Name: William Brandt

We propose to push the CDF-S exposure to 8 Ms to create a peerless ultradeep survey for exploring the distant X-ray universe. The powerful combination of improved sensitivity and improved photon statistics will (1) determine how obscured SMBHs grow and co-evolve with galaxies through the z ~ 1-4 era of massive galaxy assembly; (2) constrain the majority AGN population in the first galaxies at z ~ 4-8; and (3) clarify the evolution of X-ray binary populations in high-redshift starburst and normal galaxies. The proposed observations target parameter space that has never been probed by X-ray surveys and will be unequaled for decades. They will also be critical for complementing future ultradeep surveys with, e.g., ALMA, JWST, and ELTs.

R.A.	Dec.	Target Name	Det.	Grating	Exp.Time (ks)
03:32:28.10	-27:48:26.40	Chandra Deep Field-South	ACIS-I	NONE	3000

Subject Category: EXTRAGALACTIC DIFFUSE EMISSION AND SURVEYS

Proposal Number: 15900142

Title: The Tarantula -- Revealed by X-rays (T-ReX): A Definitive Chandra Investigation of 30 Doradus

Type: XVP Total Time (ks): 2000

PI Name: Leisa Townsley

30 Doradus is the most important star-forming complex in the Local Group, offering a microscope on starburst astrophysics. At its heart is R136, the most massive resolved stellar cluster, containing the most massive stars known. Across 30 Dor's 250-pc extent, stellar winds and supernovae have carved its ISM into an amazing display of arcs, pillars, and bubbles. So far, Chandra has devoted only 114 ks to this iconic target, limiting our studies just to the most massive stars and large-scale diffuse phenomena. This deep observation will finally exploit Chandra's fine spatial resolution to study ISM interfaces on 1--10 pc scales, the full complement of massive stars, and the brightest pre-main sequence stars that trace 25 Myrs of star formation in this incomparable nearby starburst.

R.A.	Dec.	Target Name	Det.	Grating	Exp.Time (ks)
05:38:42.40	-69:06:02.90	30 Doradus	ACIS-I	NONE	2000

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