The Synoptic All-Sky Infrared (SASIR) Survey
Abstract
We are proposing to conduct a multicolor, synoptic infrared (IR) imaging survey of the Northern sky with a new, dedicated 6.5-meter telescope at San Pedro M\'artir (SPM) Observatory. This initiative is being developed in partnership with astronomy institutions in Mexico and the University of California. The 4-year, dedicated survey, planned to begin in 2017, will reach more than 100 times deeper than 2MASS. The Synoptic All-Sky Infrared (SASIR) Survey will reveal the missing sample of faint red dwarf stars in the local solar neighborhood, and the unprecedented sensitivity over such a wide field will result in the discovery of thousands of z ~ 7 quasars (and reaching to z > 10), allowing detailed study (in concert with JWST and Giant Segmented Mirror Telescopes) of the timing and the origin(s) of reionization. As a time-domain survey, SASIR will reveal the dynamic infrared universe, opening new phase space for discovery. Synoptic observations of over 10^6 supernovae and variable stars will provide better distance measures than optical studies alone. SASIR also provides significant synergy with other major Astro2010 facilities, improving the overall scientific return of community investments. Compared to optical-only measurements, IR colors vastly improve photometric redshifts to z ~ 4, enhancing dark energy and dark matter surveys based on weak lensing and baryon oscillations. The wide field and ToO capabilities will enable a connection of the gravitational wave and neutrino universe - with events otherwise poorly localized on the sky - to transient electromagnetic phenomena.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.0905.1965,
title = {The Synoptic All-Sky Infrared (SASIR) Survey},
author = {Joshua S. Bloom and J. Xavier Prochaska and William Lee and J. Jesús González and Enrico Ramírez-Ruiz and Michael Bolte and José Franco and José Guichard and Alberto Carramiñana and Peter Strittmatter and Vladimir Avila-Reese and Rebecca Bernstein and Bruce Bigelow and Mark Brodwin and Adam Burgasser and Nat Butler and Miguel Chávez and Bethany Cobb and Kem Cook and Irene Cruz-González and José Antonio de Diego and Alejandro Farah and Leonid Georgiev and Julien Girard and Hector Hernández-Toledo and Elena Jiménez-Bailón and Yair Krongold and Divakara Mayya and Juan Meza and Takamitsu Miyaji and Raúl Mújica and Peter Nugent and Alicia Porras and Dovi Poznanski and Alejandro Raga and Michael Richer and Lino Rodríguez and Daniel Rosa and Adam Stanford and Andrew Szentgyorgyi and Guillermo Tenorio-Tagle and Rollin Thomas and Octavio Valenzuela and Alan M. Watson and Peter Wehinger},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:0905.1965},
year = {2009}
}
Comments
Revised version of submitted whitepaper to the "Optical and IR Astronomy from the Ground" Program Prioritization Panel of the Astro2010 Decadal Survey; 23 pages