Pith. sign in

REVIEW 7 cited by

Science-Driven Optimization of the LSST Observing Strategy

Not yet reviewed by Pith; the record is open.

This paper has not been read by Pith yet. Machine review is queued; the pith claim, tier, and objections will appear here once it completes.

SPECIMEN: schema-true, not a live event

T0 review · schema-true

One-sentence machine reading of the paper's core claim.

pith:XXXXXXXX · record.json · timestamp

arxiv 1708.04058 v1 pith:T3SUFYGX submitted 2017-08-14 astro-ph.IM astro-ph.COastro-ph.EPastro-ph.GAastro-ph.SR

Science-Driven Optimization of the LSST Observing Strategy

LSST Science Collaborations: Phil Marshall , Timo Anguita , Federica B. Bianco , Eric C. Bellm , Niel Brandt , Will Clarkson , Andy Connolly , Eric Gawiser
show 96 more authors
This is my paper
classification astro-ph.IM astro-ph.COastro-ph.EPastro-ph.GAastro-ph.SR
keywords lsstobservingstrategycadencedifferentsciencesurveywill
verification ladder T0 review T1 audit T2 compute T3 formal T4 reserved
0 comments
read the original abstract

The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope is designed to provide an unprecedented optical imaging dataset that will support investigations of our Solar System, Galaxy and Universe, across half the sky and over ten years of repeated observation. However, exactly how the LSST observations will be taken (the observing strategy or "cadence") is not yet finalized. In this dynamically-evolving community white paper, we explore how the detailed performance of the anticipated science investigations is expected to depend on small changes to the LSST observing strategy. Using realistic simulations of the LSST schedule and observation properties, we design and compute diagnostic metrics and Figures of Merit that provide quantitative evaluations of different observing strategies, analyzing their impact on a wide range of proposed science projects. This is work in progress: we are using this white paper to communicate to each other the relative merits of the observing strategy choices that could be made, in an effort to maximize the scientific value of the survey. The investigation of some science cases leads to suggestions for new strategies that could be simulated and potentially adopted. Notably, we find motivation for exploring departures from a spatially uniform annual tiling of the sky: focusing instead on different parts of the survey area in different years in a "rolling cadence" is likely to have significant benefits for a number of time domain and moving object astronomy projects. The communal assembly of a suite of quantified and homogeneously coded metrics is the vital first step towards an automated, systematic, science-based assessment of any given cadence simulation, that will enable the scheduling of the LSST to be as well-informed as possible.

discussion (0)

Sign in with ORCID, Apple, or X to comment. Anyone can read and Pith papers without signing in.

Forward citations

Cited by 7 Pith papers

Reviewed papers in the Pith corpus that reference this work. Sorted by Pith novelty score.

  1. Observational signatures of thermonuclear electron-capture supernovae -- Ne II line strengthening and color evolution as traces of the explosion mechanism

    astro-ph.SR 2026-06 unverdicted novelty 7.0

    Synthetic observables from tECSN models show slower early red-color decline due to higher Ti/Cr and a late-time 12.8 μm Ne II line that strengthens over time, unlike comparable CO deflagration models.

  2. The Oort Cloud as a Gravitational Detector for Primordial Black Holes

    astro-ph.CO 2026-04 unverdicted novelty 7.0

    Oort cloud scattering by primordial black holes excludes them as all of the dark matter for masses between 100 and 100,000 solar masses and limits them to at most 0.2 percent at 1,000 solar masses.

  3. LSST: from Science Drivers to Reference Design and Anticipated Data Products

    astro-ph 2008-05 accept novelty 6.0

    LSST will image 18,000 square degrees of sky about 800 times across six bands over 10 years to a coadded depth of r~27.5, producing a public database of 40 billion objects and 32 trillion observations.

  4. Testing $\Lambda$CDM versus dynamical dark energy in one year: A DESI spectroscopic follow-up program for Rubin supernovae

    astro-ph.CO 2026-04 unverdicted novelty 5.0

    A coordinated Rubin-DESI supernova survey could distinguish dynamical dark energy from Lambda CDM at over 5 sigma in one year using 2300 spectroscopically confirmed SNe Ia at low redshift.

  5. A Systematic Search for Active Galactic Nucleus Flares in ZTF Data Release 23

    astro-ph.HE 2025-07 unverdicted novelty 5.0

    Systematic search of ZTF DR23 data yields catalogs of 28,504 coarse and 1,984 refined AGN flares with public release.

  6. Multi-year Ground-Based Survey Photometry of Active Comet 103P/Hartley 2 and Centaur (2060) Chiron: A Tale of Two Comets in the Pre-LSST Era

    astro-ph.EP 2026-06 unverdicted novelty 4.0

    Reports asymmetric heliocentric activity slopes for 103P/Hartley 2 and exponential outburst decay plus flattening phase curves for Chiron from ATLAS, ZTF, and LCO photometry.

  7. GraphShed: a parameter-free Graph-based waterShed group finder

    astro-ph.CO 2026-06 unverdicted novelty 4.0

    GraphShed is a parameter-free watershed method on Voronoi graphs that yields galaxy groups with M200 distributions matching Friends-of-Friends but differing in shape, spin, and interaction classification on the Illust...