Roman Space Telescope Observing Time Allocation Principles Report Series—Committee on Astronomy and Astrophysics (2022) / Chapter Skim
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Chapter 2 Findings and Conclusions
Chapter 2 Findings and Conclusions
Pages 4-10
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From page 4... ...
Astro2010 considered "the general investigator program to be an essential element of the mission" and said it would consist of "both key projects and archival studies to address a broad range of astrophysical research topics." The 2015 Science and Technology Definition Team report lists tens of GA science programs that are uniquely enabled by Roman, and the white papers submitted to Astro2020 further underscore Roman's broad science reach. Astro2020 notes that "although the most obvious advances will be in cosmology and exoplanets, Roman's immense discovery potential beyond those areas almost 4
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From page 5... ...
the data from the CCS can be used for GA science objectives; (2) the CCS can be augmented to enable broader science objectives by, for example, adding filters, modifying observing times or changing scan strategies; and (3)
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From page 6... ...
The reference surveys outlined in the DRM are a demonstration that Roman can achieve the science goals set by SDT-15 with the 75/25 time split. Many community members in the survey teams contributed substantially to forming the current surveys, and significant progress has been made in quantifying the detailed trade-offs in their design.
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From page 7... ...
As noted earlier, little competition has been introduced so far either among the CCS or between any of the CCS and the potential GA science that can be done with Roman. Recognizing that the refined quantitative studies necessary to define the CCS flight surveys are likely to identify both observing time savings and opportunities to address GA objectives, the question is how to optimize overall time allocation across diverse science objectives.
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From page 8... ...
6. As noted earlier, the CAA has identified areas in which CCS might need significantly less time than planned in the current reference surveys to achieve their science goals, and the committee advocated that each CCS submit several survey options, some of which could include GA science objectives.
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From page 9... ...
To maximize Roman's science return, the CAA suggests that the competitive process described above would also consider a broad spectrum of sizes for GA surveys, from small to very large. To optimize observing efficiency, the Roman project may consider implementing a two-step proposal process, with the first phase providing opportunities to find observing synergies and to consolidate overlapping observational programs.
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From page 10... ...
Conclusion: Roman's science output may benefit from increasing the number of GA competed programs above 30. The final number of programs may be best determined by the STAC, or subsequent regular TAC reviews, so as to maximize the scientific return consistent with programmatic constraints at the time of the review.
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