A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
Tuning the Legacy Survey of Space and Time Observing Strategy for Solar System Science: Incremental Templates in Year 1
Authors: Robinson, James E.; Schwamb, Megan E.; Jones, R. Lynne; Juric, Mario; Yoachim, Peter; Bolin, Bryce T.; Chandler, Colin O.; Chesley, Steven R.; Fedorets, Grigori; Fraser, Wesley C.; Greenstreet, Sarah; Hsieh, Henry H.; Mcginley, Lauren J.; Merritt, Stephanie R.; Opitom, Cyrielle; Parejko, John K.
Publisher: American Astronomical Society
Publishing place: BRISTOL
Publication year: 2025
Journal: Astrophysical Journal Supplement
Journal name in source: The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series
Journal acronym: ASTROPHYS J SUPPL S
Article number: 9
Volume: 279
Issue: 1
Number of pages: 25
ISSN: 0067-0049
eISSN: 1538-4365
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4365/adc307
Web address : https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4365/adc307
Self-archived copy’s web address: https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/499181918
The Vera C. Rubin Observatory is due to commence the 10 yr Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) at the end of 2025. To detect transient/variable sources and identify solar system objects (SSOs), the processing pipelines require templates of the static sky to perform difference imaging. During the first year of the LSST, templates must be generated as the survey progresses; otherwise, SSOs cannot be discovered nightly. The incremental template generation strategy has not been finalized; therefore, we use the Metric Analysis Framework (MAF) and a simulation of the survey cadence (one_snap_v4.0_10yrs) to explore template generation in Year 1. We have assessed the effects of generating templates over timescales of days-weeks, when at least four images of sufficient quality are available for >= 90% of the visit. We predict that SSO discoveries will begin similar to 2-3 months after the start of the survey. We find that the ability of the LSST to discover SSOs in real time is reduced in Year 1. This is especially true for detections in areas of the sky that receive fewer visits, such as the North Ecliptic Spur (NES), and in less commonly used filters, such as the u and g bands. The lack of templates in the NES dominates the loss of real-time SSO discoveries; across the whole sky the MAF main-belt asteroid (MBA) discovery metric decreases by up to 63% compared to the baseline observing strategy, whereas the metric decreases by up to 79% for MBAs in the NES alone.
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Funding information in the publication:
This work was supported in part by the LSST Discovery Alliance Enabling Science grants program, the B612 Foundation, the University of Washington's DiRAC (Data-intensive Research in Astrophysics and Cosmology) Institute, the Planetary Society, Karman+, Breakthrough Listen, and the Adler Planetarium through generous support of the LSST Solar System Readiness Sprints. The DiRAC Institute is supported through generous gifts from the Charles and Lisa Simonyi Fund for Arts and Sciences and the Washington Research Foundation. Breakthrough Listen is managed by the Breakthrough Initiatives, sponsored by the Breakthrough Prize Foundation (http://www.breakthroughinitiatives.org). J.E.R. acknowledges support via the Science Technology Facilities Council (STFC) funding for UK participation in LSST, through grant ST/X001334/1, in addition to support from the Royal Society RF\ERE\231044. M.E.S. and S.R.M were supported by the UK STFC grants ST/V000691/1 and ST/X001253/1. M.E.S. also acknowledges the support by a LSST Discovery Alliance LINCC Frameworks Incubator grant [2023-1042SFF-LFI-01-Schwamb]. Support was provided by Schmidt Sciences. M.J. acknowledges the support from the University of Washington College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Astronomy, and the DiRAC Institute, the Washington Research Foundation Data Science Term Chair fund, and the University of Washington Provost's Initiative in Data-Intensive Discovery. C.O.C., S.G, and P.Y. acknowledge support from the DiRAC Institute in the Department of Astronomy at the University of Washington. The work of S.G. is supported by NOIRLab, which is managed by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) under a cooperative agreement with the U.S. National Science Foundation. The work of S.R.C. was carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (#80NM0018D0004).
