LSST Survey Strategy in the Galactic Plane and Magellanic Clouds

R. A. Street; X. Li; S. Khakpash; E. Bellm; L. Girardi; L. Jones; N. S. Abrams; Y. Tsapras; M. P. G. Hundertmark; E. Bachelet; P. Gandhi; P. Szkody; W. I. Clarkson; R. Szabó; L. Prisinzano; R. Bonito; D. A. H. Buckley; J. P. Marais; R. Di Stefano

doi:10.3847/1538-4365/acd6f4

The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series (Jan 2023)

LSST Survey Strategy in the Galactic Plane and Magellanic Clouds

R. A. Street,
X. Li,
S. Khakpash,
E. Bellm,
L. Girardi,
L. Jones,
N. S. Abrams,
Y. Tsapras,
M. P. G. Hundertmark,
E. Bachelet,
P. Gandhi,
P. Szkody,
W. I. Clarkson,
R. Szabó,
L. Prisinzano,
R. Bonito,
D. A. H. Buckley,
J. P. Marais,
R. Di Stefano

Affiliations

R. A. Street: ORCiD; Las Cumbres Observatory, 6740 Cortona Drive, Suite 102, Goleta, CA 93117, USA
X. Li: ORCiD; Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of Delaware , 217 Sharp Lab, Newark, DE 19716, USA
S. Khakpash: ORCiD; Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of Delaware , 217 Sharp Lab, Newark, DE 19716, USA; Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , Department of Physics & Astronomy, 136 Frelinghuysen Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA
E. Bellm: ORCiD; DiRAC Institute, Department of Astronomy, University of Washington , 3910 15th Avenue NE, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
L. Girardi: ORCiD; Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova, INAF, Vicolo dell’Osservatorio 5, I-35122 Padova, Italy
L. Jones: ORCiD; DiRAC Institute, Department of Astronomy, University of Washington , 3910 15th Avenue NE, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
N. S. Abrams: ORCiD; Department of Astronomy, 501 Campbell Hall #3411, University of California at Berkeley , Berkeley, CA 94720-3411, USA
Y. Tsapras: ORCiD; Astronomisches Rechen-Institut, Mönchhofstr. 12-14, D-69120 Heidelberg, Germany
M. P. G. Hundertmark: Astronomisches Rechen-Institut, Mönchhofstr. 12-14, D-69120 Heidelberg, Germany
E. Bachelet: ORCiD; IPAC, Mail Code 100-22, Caltech, 1200 E. California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
P. Gandhi: ORCiD; University of Southampton , B46, West Highfield Campus, University Road, Southampton, SO17 1BJ, UK
P. Szkody: ORCiD; Department of Astronomy, University of Washington , Box 351580, Seattle, WA 98195-1700, USA
W. I. Clarkson: ORCiD; Department of Natural Sciences, University of Michigan−Dearborn , 4901 Evergreen Road, Dearborn, MI 48128, USA
R. Szabó: ORCiD; Konkoly Observatory, CSFK, MTA Centre of Excellence, Budapest, Konkoly Thege Miklós út 15-17, H-1121 Hungary; MTA CSFK Lendület Near-Field Cosmology Research Group, H-1121 Budapest, Konkoly Thege Miklós út 15-17, Hungary; ELTE Eötvös Loránd University , Institute of Physics, 1117, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/A, Budapest, Hungary
L. Prisinzano: ORCiD; INAF—Osservatorio Astronomico di Palermo, Piazza del Parlamento 1, I-90134 Palermo, Italy
R. Bonito: ORCiD; INAF—Osservatorio Astronomico di Palermo, Piazza del Parlamento 1, I-90134 Palermo, Italy
D. A. H. Buckley: South African Astronomical Observatory, P.O. Box 9, Observatory Road, 7935 Observatory, Cape Town, South Africa; Department of Astronomy, University of Cape Town , Private Bag X3, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa; Department of Physics, University of the Free State , P.O. Box 339, Bloemfontein 9300, South Africa
J. P. Marais: Department of Physics, University of the Free State , P.O. Box 339, Bloemfontein 9300, South Africa
R. Di Stefano: ORCiD; Harvard−Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Office P-227, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4365/acd6f4
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 267, no. 1
p. 15

Abstract

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Galactic science encompasses a wide range of subjects in the study of the Milky Way and Magellanic Clouds, from young stellar objects to X-ray binaries. Mapping these populations, and exploring transient phenomena within them, are among the primary science goals of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory’s Legacy Survey of Space and Time. While early versions of the survey strategy dedicated relatively few visits to the Galactic Plane region, more recent strategies under consideration envision a higher cadence within selected regions of high scientific interest. The range of galactic science presents a challenge in evaluating which strategies deliver the highest scientific returns. Here we present metrics designed to evaluate Rubin survey strategy simulations, based on the cadence of observations they deliver within regions of interest to different topics in galactic science, using variability categories defined by timescale. We also compare the fractions of exposures obtained in each filter with those recommended for the different science goals. We find that the baseline _ v2.x simulations deliver observations of the high-priority regions at sufficiently high cadence to reliably detect variability on timescales >10 days or more. Follow-up observations may be necessary to properly characterize variability, especially transients, on shorter timescales. Combining the regions of interest for all the science cases considered, we identify those areas of the Galactic Plane and Magellanic Clouds of highest priority. We recommend that these refined survey footprints be used in future simulations to explore rolling cadence scenarios, and to optimize the sequence of observations in different bandpasses.

Published in The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series

ISSN: 0067-0049 (Print); 1538-4365 (Online)
Publisher: IOP Publishing
Country of publisher: United Kingdom
LCC subjects: Science: Astronomy: Astrophysics
Website: https://iopscience.iop.org/journal/0067-0049

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