Maximizing science return by coordinating the survey strategies of Roman with Rubin, and other major facilities

Street, RA, Gough-Kelly, S, Lam, C, Varela, A, Makler, M, Bachelet, E, Lu, JR, Abrams, N, Pusack, A, Terry, S, Di~Stefano, R, Tsapras, Y, Hundertmark, MPG, Grand, RJJ ORCID: 0000-0001-9667-1340, Daylan, T and Sobeck, J (2023) Maximizing science return by coordinating the survey strategies of Roman with Rubin, and other major facilities. NASA Roman: White Papers.

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Abstract

The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will be one of several flagship survey facilities operating over the next decade starting ∼2025. The deep near-IR imaging that Roman will deliver will be highly complementary to the capabilities of other survey telescopes that will operate contemporaneously, particularly those that can provide data at different wavelengths and messengers, or different time intervals. Combining data from multiple facilities can provide important astrophysical insights, provided the data acquisition is carefully scheduled, and careful plans are made for appropriate joint data analyses. In this White Paper, we discuss the broad range of science that would be enabled by coordinating Roman observations of the Galactic Bulge with those of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory. Specifically, we discuss how Roman’s characterization of lensing events caused by exoplanets, stellar systems and stellar remnants can be enhanced by data from Rubin. The same data will also be highly advantageous for the determination of stellar properties, and for distinguishing exoplanetary transits. It will enable more accurate period-color-luminosity relationships to be measured for RR Lyrae throughout the Milky Way Bulge and Bar, probing galactic structure and dynamics. But we stress that this is only a sample of the full potential and advocate for a more complete study to be made as a joint effort between these major projects. In summary, we recommend: 1. Close coordination between the groups responsible for survey strategy for the Roman Mission and Rubin Observatory to maximize the scientific return of the combined data products. 2. Wherever possible, coordinating the timing of the Roman Bulge observation seasons with the long baseline observations of Rubin. In particular, if Rubin undertakes rolling cadence seasons, these would be most beneficial if they occurred during the gaps in Roman Bulge seasons. We also highlight the value of acquiring contemporaneous observations in constraining the masses of free-floating planet microlensing events. 3. A broader study of the scientific potential of coordinated scheduling and data analysis from major surveys should be funded, including science by all of the Roman Core Surveys, and considering a wide range of complementary facilities and catalogs. 4. The development of metrics designed to evaluate how changes in the strategy of one survey impact the science return of another. These should be used by both surveys. We note that we do not suggest any changes beyond the established Science Requirements for the RGBTDS, in terms of survey footprint or filter selection.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	5101 Astronomical Sciences; 51 Physical Sciences
Subjects:	Q Science > QB Astronomy Q Science > QC Physics
Divisions:	Astrophysics Research Institute
Publisher:	NASA
Date of acceptance:	16 June 2023
Date of first compliant Open Access:	20 January 2026
Date Deposited:	20 Jan 2026 10:26
Last Modified:	20 Jan 2026 10:26
URI:	https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/27818

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