1. Spectroscopic Needs for Training of LSST Photometric Redshifts
- Author
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Abate, Alexandra, Newman, Jeffrey A., Schmidt, Samuel J., and team, the Spectroscopic Needs White Paper
- Subjects
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics (astro-ph.CO) ,Astrophysics::Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics ,FOS: Physical sciences ,Astrophysics::Solar and Stellar Astrophysics ,Astrophysics::Earth and Planetary Astrophysics ,Astrophysics::Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics ,Astrophysics - Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics ,Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics (astro-ph.IM) ,Astrophysics::Galaxy Astrophysics ,Astrophysics - Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics - Abstract
This white paper summarizes those conclusions of the Snowmass White Paper "Spectroscopic Needs for Imaging Dark Energy Experiments" (arXiv:1309.5384) which are relevant to the training of LSST photometric redshifts; i.e., the use of spectroscopic redshifts to improve algorithms and reduce photo-z errors. The larger and more complete the available training set is, the smaller the RMS error in photo-z estimates should be, increasing LSST's constraining power. Among the better US-based options for this work are the proposed MANIFEST fiber feed for the Giant Magellan Telescope or (with lower survey speed) the WFOS spectrograph on the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT). Due to its larger field of view and higher multiplexing, the PFS spectrograph on Subaru would be able to obtain a baseline training sample faster than TMT; comparable performance could be achieved with a highly-multiplexed spectrograph on Gemini with at least a 20 arcmin diameter field of view., White paper submitted to the National Research Council Committee on a Strategy Optimize the U.S. O/IR System in the Era of the LSST, 5 pages