WE PROPOSE HIGH-CADENCE XRT AND UVOT MONITORING OBSERVATIONS (2KSX8 VISITS PER DAY FOR 3 DAYS) OF ROSETTA STONE TIDAL DISRUPTION FLARE (TDF) ASASSN-14LI AT LATE TIMES. OUR MAIN GOALS ARE (1) SEARCH FOR A CORRELATION BETWEEN THE X-RAY AND UV LIGHT CURVES AND (2) DETECT AN X-RAY-UV TIME LAG/LEAD IN THE RANGE OF A FEW HOURS TO TENS OF HOURS. ANY DETECTED LAG WILL NOT ONLY ESTABLISH UNAMBIGUOUSLY THE PRESENCE OF AN ACCRETION DISK IN A TDF FOR THE FIRST TIME BUT WILL ALSO DIRECTLY GIVE US THE MINIMUM SIZE OF THE PUTATIVE DISK. ASASSN-14LI IS CURRENTLY THE ONLY TDF WHERE SUCH MEASUREMENTS CAN BE MADE. SWIFT WITH ITS EXCELLENT X-RAY SENSITIVITY AND UV CAPABILITY COMBINED WITH FAST MANEUVERING ABILITY IS CURRENTLY THE ONLY OBSERVATORY THAT CAN PERFORM SIMULTANEOUS X-RAY AND UV OBSERVATIONS.
$38,641FY2020National Aeronautics and Space AdministrationNASA
Massachusetts Institute Of Technology, Cambridge MA