Science with the Wide Field Imager
Workshop

Woolley Seminar Room, Mt Stromlo Observatory
Research School of Astronomy & Astrophyics
The Australian National University

October 14 & 15, 1999

Rationale:
The Wide Field Imager (WFI) is a 8K x 8K CCD Mosaic camera which will be commissioned on the ANU 1m telescope at Siding Spring Observatory early in 2000 and on the AAT shortly afterwards. WFI will offer a much larger field of view than is currently available with single CCDs on either telescope. On the ANU 1m the field-of-view will be approximately 52' x 52' at a scale of ~0.4 "/pix. The corresponding numbers for the AAT are 33' x 33' at ~0.23"/pix. These wide fields will permit a whole new class of survey science to be undertaken on both facilities, and it is the exploration of these scientific opportunities that is the aim of this workshop.

Presentations will be made of the capabilities of WFI on both the 1m and on the AAT, and key speakers have been invited to review opportunities in a number of selected scientific areas. These speakers include Dr. Simon Driver (St Andrews) and Dr. Richard McMahon (Cambridge) who will discuss UK Imaging Survey plans. Following this, presentations of specific projects will be made. As a key aim of this meeting is to make plans for possible strategic large-scale surveys, it will be preferable for speakers to present specific project details (i.e. survey areas, locations, passbands, depths, etc) so that overlaps and commonalities can be readily identified. Commonality with surveys involving IRIS2's wide field (7.7'x7.7') JHK capabilities on the AAT will also be explored and there will be ample time for discussion.

A demonstration of the WFI User Interface Software and of the current version of the Data Processing Pipeline tool will also be presented.

Organizers:

List of Participants (non-RSAA only):

UK: Simon Driver (St Andrews), Richard McMahon (Cambridge)

AAO: Russell Cannon, Raylee Stathakis, Chris Tinney

UMelb: Michael Brown, Michael Drinkwater, Rachel Webster

UNSW: Roberto de Propris

USyd: Elaine Sadler, Dick Hunstead

Useful links:

Program:

Thursday Oct 14.

Session 1. Chair: Rachel Webster (UMelb)

1:30pm Welcome to participants from Prof. Jeremy Mould, Head Research School
of Astronomy & Astrophysics, ANU, and Chair, AAT Board

1:35pm The Wide Field Imager and its use on the SSO 1m telescope (30 + 10)
Gary Da Costa (RSAA)

2:15pm The Wide Field Imager, the AAT Prime Focus Upgrade and Synergies with IRIS-2 (35 + 10)
Chris Tinney (AAO)

3:00pm Observing with WFI - Software Demonstration (10 + 30)
Bill Roberts and Emmanuel Vassiliadis (RSAA)
(demonstration discussion to continue through afternoon tea)

3:10pm Afternoon tea

Session 2. Chair: Ken Freeman (RSAA)

3:40pm Experience with Reducing Data from the ESO 8kx8k Camera (15 + 5)
Holly Sims & Griet van de Steene (RSAA)

4:00pm UK Imaging Survey Plans (40 + 10)
Richard McMahon (Cambridge)

4:50pm Deep AAT Surveys with WFI (25 + 10)
Michael Drinkwater (UMelb)

5:25pm Session concludes.

(Plan is to organize dinner at a local restaurant)

Friday Oct 15.

Session 3. Chair: Russell Cannon (AAO)

9:00am The good, the bad and the ugly - replacing photographic data with CCD data (30 + 10)
Simon Driver (St Andrews)

9:40am The Univ. of Tokyo 4k x 4k CCD Camera for the UK Schmidt Telescope (20 + 10)
Bruce Peterson (RSAA)

10:10am Imaging Survey Programs with the MSO 50-inch telescope post-MACHO (20 + 10)
Tim Axelrod (RSAA)

10:40am Morning Tea

Session 4. Chair: Carole Jackson (RSAA)

11:10am Combining deep optical/IR and radio surveys (20 + 10)
Elaine Sadler (USyd)

11:40am Surveys with WFI & 2dF (20 + 10)
Matthew Colless (RSAA)

12:10pm Narrow-band Searches for High Redshift Objects with WFI (10 + 5)
Paul Francis (RSAA + Dept. of Phys & Theoretical Phys, ANU)

12:25pm Lunch (BBQ, Administration building courtyard)

Session 5. Chair: Dick Hunstead (USyd)

1:30pm Type Specific Galaxy Luminosity Functions (10 + 5)
Helmut Jerjen (RSAA)

1:45pm Visible/IR surveys of nearby galaxy clusters & Supermosaics of nearby dwarf galaxies (10 + 5)
Roberto de Propris (UNSW)

2:00pm Extragalactic Planetary Nebulae and WFI on the AAT (10 + 5)
Ken Freeman (RSAA)

2:15pm Searching for Halo White Dwarfs with WFI (10 + 5)
Jeremy Mould (RSAA)

2:30pm Brown Dwarf Wide Field Survey Science (10 + 5)
Chris Tinney (AAO)

2:45pm Comet Searches with WFI (10 + 5)
Michael Brown (UMelb)

3:00pm Afternoon Tea

Session 6.

3:20pm Round Table Discussion - Chair: Michael Drinkwater (UMelb)

5:00pm Workshop concludes.