LSST Observing Strategy White Paper: LSST Observations of WFIRST Deep Fields

Journal Article · Tue Oct 30 00:00:00 EDT 2018 · arXiv.org Repository

OSTI ID:1582031

Foley, RJ; Koekemoer, AM; Spergel, DN; Bianco, FB; Capak, P; Dai, L; Dore, O; Fazio, GG; Ferguson, H; Filippenko, AV; Frye, B; Galbany, L; Gawiser, E; Gronwall, C; Hathi, NP; Hirata, C; Hounsell, R; Jha, SW; Kim, AG; Kelly, PL ; Kruk, JW; Malhotra, S; Mandel, KS; Margutti, R; Marrone, D; McQuinn, KBW; Melchior, P; Moustakas, L; Newman, JA; Peek, JEG; Perlmutter, S; Rhodes, JD; Robertson, B; Rubin, D; Scolnic, D; Somerville, R; Street, R; Wang, Y; Whalen, DJ; Windhorst, RA; Wollack, EJ

The Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) is expected to launch in the mid-2020s. With its wide-field near-infrared (NIR) camera, it will survey the sky to unprecedented detail. As part of normal operations and as the result of multiple expected dedicated surveys, WFIRST will produce several relatively wide-field (tens of square degrees) deep (limiting magnitude of 28 or fainter) fields. In particular, a planned supernova survey is expected to image 3 deep fields in the LSST footprint roughly every 5 days over 2 years. Stacking all data, this survey will produce, over all WFIRST supernova fields in the LSST footprint, ~12-25 deg² and ~5-15 deg² regions to depths of ~28 mag and ~29 mag, respectively. We suggest LSST undertake mini-surveys that will match the WFIRST cadence and simultaneously observe the supernova survey fields during the 2-year WFIRST supernova survey, achieving a stacked depth similar to that of the WFIRST data. We also suggest additional observations of these same regions throughout the LSST survey to get deep images earlier, have long-term monitoring in the fields, and produce deeper images overall. These fields will provide a legacy for cosmology, extragalactic, and transient/variable science.

• Research Organization: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Science (SC)
• Contributing Organization: The WFIRST Deep Field Working Group, WFIRST Science Investigation Team Members, and Community Members
• DOE Contract Number: AC02-05CH11231
• OSTI ID: 1582031
• Journal Information: arXiv.org Repository, Vol. 2018; ISSN 9999-0017
• Publisher: Cornell University
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English