UK Involvement in LSST: Phase B (Edinburgh component)

我们建议继续该方案，使英国能够参与大型天文观测望远镜(LSST)，这是下一个十年计划的最雄心勃勃的科学项目之一，也是本世纪20年代天文景观的关键部分。LSST将拥有一个大的收集区域和广泛的视野，使其比任何现有或计划中的设施大一个数量级以上。这将使它能够每隔几天测量整个可见天空，从而实现深度叠加的天空测量，并能够发现移动的、可变的和瞬时的物体。它将在一系列科学领域取得进展，从潜在的危险小行星，到银河系的结构，再到最遥远的类星体，以及暗物质和暗能量的性质--所有这些领域，英国天文学家都准备做出主要贡献。LSST最初是一个美国项目，但现在正在转变为一个国际项目。这主要需要运营支持，而不是基础设施建设，这使得参与LSST非常物有所值。最好的LSST科学将通过在国际团队中有组织、大规模和系统地利用其庞大的数据集来实现，而不是简单地成为老式的天空地图集资源。因此，英国天文学家要想发挥强大的作用，就必须尽早和充分地参与科学工作组的规划，开发专门的分析软件(所谓的“3级”)，并有一个框架来实施和运行3级代码。LSST：UK财团旨在通过一个分四个阶段的计划实现这些目标。作为对我们A阶段提案的回应，STFC承诺了1770万GB，我们现在正在申请B阶段(2019年4月至2023年3月)的资金。整个四阶段方案的生命周期成本有三个要素：1.为实现充分的数据获取，LSST需要对业务作出贡献。这些资金只在以后的阶段需要，但STFC已经代表英国社区签署了一份协议备忘录，所需资金是为了回应我们的A阶段提议而承诺的。2.LSST要求我们为英国社区接入的额外费用做准备。我们的建议是建立一个英国数据访问中心(DAC)，而不是交出更多现金。这将使我们能够立即在科学和技术上与LSST充分接触，将允许英国天文学家进行更多的控制，并具有行业参与的潜力。我们在A阶段一直在制作英国DAC的原型，现在正在为其部署寻求资金，为LSST试运行做好准备。根据科学委员会在我们的A阶段奖项中的建议，这项工作是在UKT0财团计划为STFC科学开发协调计算基础设施的背景下进行的。3.为了最大限度地增加英国的科学回报，我们还与英国发改委密切合作，提出了一个3级算法和数据产品的社区发展计划。B阶段资金将建立在我们A阶段方案的成功基础上，并侧重于通过使用LSST试运行数据进一步开发3级软件工具

We propose a continuation of the programme enabling UK participation in the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), one of the most ambitious science projects planned for the next decade, and a key part of the astronomical landscape in the 2020s. LSST 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.LSST originated as a US project but is now transforming into an international one. This mostly requires operational support rather than capital construction, which makes engagement in LSST tremendous value for money. Rather than simply being an old-fashioned sky-atlas resource, the best LSST science will come through organised, massive, and systematic exploitation of its vast dataset in international teams. For UK astronomers to play a strong role it is therefore crucial to engage early and fully - in science working group planning, in development of specialised analysis software (the so-called "Level 3") and to have a framework to implement and run that Level 3 code. The LSST:UK consortium aims to meet these goals through a four-phase programme. STFC committed £17.7M in response to our Phase A proposal, and we are now requesting funding for Phase B (April 2019 - March 2023). There are three elements to the lifetime costs of the full, four-phase programme: 1. To allow full data access, LSST requires a contribution to operations. These funds will only be required in later phases, but STFC has concluded a Memorandum of Agreement on behalf of the UK community and the required funds were committed in response to our Phase A proposal. 2. LSST requires that we make provision for the added cost of UK community access. Rather than hand over more cash, our proposal is to construct a UK Data Access Centre (DAC). This will enable us to fully engage immediately with LSST both scientifically and technically, will allow much more control for UK astronomers, and has a potential for industry involvement. We have been prototyping the UK DAC during Phase A, and now seek funds for its deployment, in readiness for LSST Commissioning. In accordance with the Science Board recommendation in our Phase A award, this is being conducted within the context of the development on coordinated computing infrastructure for STFC science being planned by the UKT0 consortium. 3. To maximise UK scientific return, we further propose a community development programme for Level 3 algorithms and data products, working closely in conjunction with the UK DAC. Phase B funding will build on the successes of our Phase A programme and on focus on further developing of Level 3 software tools through the use of LSST Commissioning data