SHOES-Supernovae, H0, for the Equation of State of Dark energy

The present uncertainty in the value of the Hubble constant {resulting in anuncertainty in Omega_M} and the paucity of Type Ia supernovae at redshiftsexceeding 1 are now the leading obstacles to determining the nature of darkenergy. We propose a single, integrated set of observations for Cycle 15 thatwill provide a 40% improvement in constraints on dark energy. This programwill observe known Cepheids in six reliable hosts of Type Ia supernovae withNICMOS, reducing the uncertainty in H_0 by a factor of two because of thesmaller dispersion along the instability strip, the diminished extinction, andthe weaker metallicity dependence in the infrared. In parallel with ACS, atthe same time the NICMOS observations are underway, we will discover andfollow a sample of Type Ia supernovae at z > 1. Together, these measurements,along with prior constraints from WMAP, will provide a great improvement inHST's ability to distinguish between a static, cosmological constant anddynamical dark energy. The Hubble Space Telescope is the only instrument inthe world that can make these IR measurements of Cepheids beyond the LocalGroup, and it is the only telescope in the world that can be used to find andfollow supernovae at z > 1. Our program exploits both of these uniquecapabilities of HST to learn more about one of the greatest mysteries inscience.