GSMT NSF Science Working Group
Rolf-Peter Kudritzki
NOAO Town Meeting
07 January, 2003
Goals of the SWG
SWG is a community-based group convened to:
• Formulate an inspiring and powerful science case for
federal investment in GSMT
– Identify key science drivers
– Develop clear and compelling arguments for GSMT in the era of
JWST/ALMA
– Discuss realization of key science as a function of design
parameters: aperture, FOV, PSF……
• Generate unified, coherent community support
• Represent the community in facilitating public-privateinternational partnerships
SWG Membership
Rolf Kudritzki, IfA (Chair)
Paul Ho, CfA
Jill Bechtold, UA
Claire Max, LLNL
Michael Bolte, UCSC
Chris McKee, UCB
Ray Carlberg, U Toronto
Jonathan Lunine, LPL
Matthew Colless, ANU
Francois Rigaut, Gemini
Alan Dressler, OCIW
Doug Simons, Gemini
Irene Cruz-Gonzales, UNAM
Steve Strom, NOAO
Betsy Gillespie, UA
Terry Herter, Cornell
SWG Activities to Date
• Kick-off meeting, Tucson, July 29-30, 2002
–
–
–
–
–
Charge to SWG by NSF
Strategic approach and formulation of goals
Expansion of membership
Discussion and selection of key science areas
Formation of task groups to develop science cases
SWG Activities to Date
• Telecon, September 11, 2002
– First review of existing science cases
• GSMT book; CELT book; others
– Assignments to flesh out science cases for:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Extra-solar planets
Solar system science
Star formation and interstellar medium
Stellar seismology
Stellar populations in the local universe
Evolution of glaxies
AGNs and black holes
Cosmology and large-scale structure
– Define needs for
• Extreme and multi-conjugate AO
• AO simulations
• Field of view and supporting simulations
SWG Activities to Date
• Meeting at UH IfA on Dec 4-5, 2002
– Involved SWG and representatives from NSF
– Review of science cases
– Definition of key science areas for further, detailed study
– Initial discussion of AO simulations
– Presentation of UH High Dynamic Range Telescope concept & related
science
Planned Meetings
• Early March (Los Angeles)
• Late April (Honolulu)
• Goals:
– Finalize science cases
– Refine AO simulations
•
•
•
•
Crowded field MCAO photometry
Extreme AO
Astrometric performance of GSMT AO
Ground-layer-compensated AO and delivered field of view
• Performance estimates of MCAO vs. aperture
• Presentations by other ELT groups (CELT; TMT)
– Key science
– Relationship between design concept and delivered ‘science value’
• Discuss key science as a function of design parameters:
– Aperture; FOV; PSF vs FOV; emissivity; wavelength range
Key Science Cases Under Study
• Exploring other planetary systems
–
–
–
–
Direct detection
Physical characterization
Habitable zones; life on planets
Solar system analogues
• The birth of stars and planets
–
–
–
–
Formation of stars and protoplanetary disks
Evolution of disks
Kuiper Belts around the sun and other stars
Protostellar clouds
• Birth and evolution of massive black holes
– Galactic center black hole
– Nearby massive black holes
– Black hole demographics; growth of black holes
Key Science Cases Under Study
• Birth of galaxies
– Characterizing galactic building blocks
• Kinematics; star-formation rates; chemical composition
– Studies of assembling galaxies
– Studies of component stellar populations in nearby galaxies
• Understand merger history
• Cosmology and large-scale structure
– 3-dimensional baryon map at high redshift from absorption line studies
Next Steps
• Develop and vet key science cases
– GSMT SWG + interaction with/contributions from the community
• Provide input to NSF prior to June, 2003
– Compelling presentation of key science cases
• Understable by & exciting to a broad audience of scientists and policy makers
– Define complementarity to ALMA; JWST; other major facilities as well as
the unique role of GSMT
– Define technology challenges (e.g. AO)
• Work with NSF to enable substantial funding of GSMT
engineering studies (possibly in private/public partnerships)
A very personal view
• GSMT provides
– outstanding science opportunities for the next generation of astronomers
– a tool for addressing key questions of modern science
However……..
• GSMT brings projects of ground-based astronomy into a financial domain
comparable to accelerators in particle physics
A very personal view
• In order to obtain federal funding of such substantial amounts, the
community must be
– well organized
– demonstrate clear consensus
• This does not appear a strength of the US O/IR community, at least at present
• SWG hopes to contribute to the process of consensus building as a first step
toward evoking federal support for GSMT
Learning about and interacting with the SWG
• SWG documents and member e-mail addresses are available at
http://www.aura-nio.noao.edu/science/SWG.html