UK Involvement in LSST: Phase C (Edinburgh component)

我们建议继续执行该方案，使联合王国能够参加Vera C。鲁宾天文台的时空遗产巡天（LSST）是未来十年计划中最雄心勃勃的科学项目之一，也是本世纪20年代和30年代天文学景观的关键部分。鲁宾天文台的西蒙尼巡天望远镜将拥有大的收集面积和宽的视场，使其光学扩展量比任何现有或计划中的设施都大一个数量级以上。这将使它能够每隔几天就对整个可见天空进行一次调查，从而实现深度叠加的天空调查，并能够找到移动，可变和短暂的物体。它将在广泛的科学领域取得进展，从潜在危险的小行星，通过银河系的结构，到最遥远的类星体，以及暗物质和暗能量的性质-所有英国天文学家都准备做出领先贡献的领域。LSST科学的广度导致了2014年LSST：UK联盟的形成，该联盟包括英国的所有天文学团体。联合会为LSST确定了一个四阶段计划：英国科学中心（LUSC），该中心将为英国社区对LSST数据的科学利用做准备并随后提供支持。STFC为该方案的前两个阶段提供了资金，目前的提案寻求为第三阶段（C阶段）提供资金。美国机构正在资助鲁宾天文台的建设和鲁宾运营的大部分成本，国际合作伙伴通过对鲁宾运营的实物捐助获得数据权，LUSC C阶段计划的大部分内容现在包括英国实物包的组成部分。这个包包括三个主要的工作：1.承担每年数据发布处理工作量的25%;2.经营资料查阅中心;及开发软件以生成衍生数据产品，供国际LSST科学合作使用。这三个重要的工作链，加上一些较小的活动，构成了对鲁宾运营的重大贡献，我们希望这将确保整个英国社区的LSST数据权利，并为英国赢得鲁宾运营联盟中的国际附属合作伙伴的地位。

We propose a continuation of the programme enabling UK participation in the Vera C. Rubin Observatory's Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST), one of the most ambitious science projects planned for the next decade, and a key part of the astronomical landscape in the 2020s and 2030s. The Rubin Observatory's Simonyi Survey Telescope will have both a large collecting area and a wide field of view, giving it an etendue more than an order of magnitude larger than any current or planned facility. This will enable it to survey the whole visible sky every few days, leading to both a stacked sky survey of great depth, and the ability to find moving, variable, and transient objects. It will make advances over a large range of science, from Potentially Hazardous Asteroids, through the structure of the Milky Way, to the most distant quasars, and the nature of dark matter and dark energy - all areas where UK astronomers stand poised to make leading contributions.The breadth of LSST science led to the formation, in 2014, of the LSST:UK Consortium, which comprises every astronomy group in the UK. The Consortium defined a four-phase programme for the LSST:UK Science Centre (LUSC), which would prepare for, and, subsequently, support scientific exploitation of LSST data by the UK community. STFC has funded the first two phases of this programme, and the current proposal seeks funding for the third (Phase C). US agencies are funding the construction of the Rubin Observatory and the bulk of the cost of Rubin operations, with international partners earning data rights through in-kind contributions to Rubin operations and most of the LUSC Phase C programme now comprises components of the UK's in-kind package. This package consists of three main strands of work:1. Taking a 25% share of the annual Data Release Processing workload;2. Operating a Data Access Centre; and3. Developing software to generate derived data products for use by the international LSST Science Collaborations.These three significant strands of work, together with a few smaller activities, comprise a substantial contribution to Rubin operations, which we hope will secure LSST data rights for the whole UK community and earn the UK a place as an International Affiliate Partner in the Rubin operations consortium.