Optimizing the U.S. Ground-Based Optical and Infrared Astronomy System (2015) / Chapter Skim
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5 Realizing the Full Science Potential of LSST
5 Realizing the Full Science Potential of LSST
Pages 66-79
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From page 66... ...
The scope of the LSST survey, the volume and rate of the data, will require additional capabilities for the community to maximize the science from LSST. While a great amount of research can be pursued with LSST data alone, the availability of other instrumentation, specific precursor studies,1 and development of new software systems will result in a huge increase in the quantity and quality of science results from LSST.
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From page 67... ...
A primary systematic error for extragalactic and cosmological studies with LSST will be uncertainty in photometric redshift estimates (based on colors and fluxes) .4 Deep, wide redshift surveys that substantially overlap LSST are needed to both train and calibrate photometric redshift estimates.
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From page 68... ...
RECOMMENDATION: The National Science Foundation should support the development of a wide-field, highly multiplexed spectroscopic capability on a medium- or large-aperture telescope in the Southern Hemisphere to enable a wide variety of science, including follow-up spectroscopy of Large Synoptic Survey Telescope targets. Examples of enabled science are studies of cosmology, galaxy evolution, quasars, and the Milky Way.
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From page 69... ...
DESI on the KPNO 4-meter, HETDEX on HET, and the PFS on Subaru will carry out such surveys in the north; they overlap about half of the LSST extragalactic survey area. A complementary capability in the Southern Hemisphere would significantly extend this synergy.8 Such a large, deep spectroscopic survey would also reduce systematic errors associated with weak lensing intrinsic alignments in LSST.
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From page 70... ...
students. 11 The white paper submitted to the committee by McConnachie notes that at Maunakea about 1,500 square degrees of the nightly sky covered by LSST is instantaneously available; about 50% of LSST's total 20,000 square degrees sky coverage is accessible at Maunakea (McConnachie et al., 2014, "The Maunakea Spectroscopic Explorer (MSE)
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From page 71... ...
5.2 Coordinating Transient Observations in the LSST Era The time domain, that is, the detection and study of variable sources, is a strong theme in New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics12 (NWNH) and an extremely important driver for LSST.
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From page 72... ...
This is a complex task that has required many person-years to construct in relatively 13 T Tyson, Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, "LSST Time Domain Data Products," Transient P henomena in Astronomy and Astrophysics Workshop, October 2014, http://www.gmtconference.
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From page 73... ...
The LSST project expects to use 14 See the following white papers submitted to the committee: T Matheson, S
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From page 74... ...
Event brokers must aggregate diverse information for each transient detection, allowing the filtering of the huge LSST alert stream into many manageable streams, one for each science project, and generate requests for follow-up observations. Writing and operating such an event broker is a huge task that must be done to make maximum utility of LSST.
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From page 75... ...
are already forcing new approaches to many of these problems, and new software tools and policy changes are allowing research groups to enhance coordination between discoveries and follow-up. Coordination is required to maximize the science in the LSST era.16 It will not happen without early and intense support.
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From page 76... ...
Although the focus here is on the southern facilities due to their proximity to LSST, facilities in the Northern Hemisphere, including Gemini North, will cover 30-50 percent of the sky that will be surveyed by LSST, and hence will also have a potential role in LSST follow-up. Events that pass the LSST event broker system may be relatively rare and thus single objects not requiring a highly multiplexed instrument.
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From page 77... ...
19 See the following white papers submitted to the committee: S Heathcote, 2014, "Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in the LSST Era"; J.M.
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From page 78... ...
For objects in the equatorial swath, the complementary instrument suites in the two Gemini telescopes may be a positive aspect in the follow-up campaigns. CONCLUSION: Gemini South, with its 8-meter aperture, Southern Hemi sphere location, flexible scheduling, and near-IR capability, has the capability to carry out rapid spectroscopic follow-up of a broad array of faint transient events that LSST will detect.
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From page 79... ...
RECOMMENDATION: The National Science Foundation should direct its managing organizations to enhance coordination among the federal compo nents of medium- to large-aperture telescopes in the Southern Hemisphere, including Gemini South, Blanco, the Southern Astrophysical Research (SOAR) telescope, and the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST)
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