NSF Support for ZTF
ZTF is a public-private partnership, with equal support from the ZTF Collaboration and from the U.S. National Science Foundation through the Mid-Scale Innovations Program (MSIP). ZTF will provide several community benefits during its MSIP program, which includes two years of development and a three year science survey (2018-2020).
Public Surveys
ZTF will conduct general-purpose surveys intended to enabling a wide variety of community science:
- Northern Sky Survey: a three-day cadence survey of the visible Northern Sky (2.5-3 pi), comparable to the LSST Wide-Fast-Deep Universal Cadence.
- Galactic Plane Survey: a one-day cadence survey of the Northern Galactic Plane (|b| < 7 degrees; dec > -30 degrees).
Both surveys will obtain one g-band and one r-band observation separated by > 30 minutes any night a field is observed.
These surveys will use about half of the time available to the ZTF Collaboration on the P48. We expect to revise these surveys with community input after 18 months of the survey.
Public Data
Rapid public transient alerts will be issued for events discovered in the public surveys beginning in the first survey year after the completion of commissioning and reference image building activities. Photometric data (images, catalogs, and lightcurves) will be released on a periodic basis. All ZTF data will be made public eventually along with the complete PTF and iPTF archives.
Anticipated schedule of ZTF data releases:
| 2014 | First release of PTF data for selected high-cadence fields |
| 2015 | Release of complete PTF archive |
| 2016 | Initial release of iPTF data, including lightcurves through a lightcurve interface. |
| 2017 | ZTF first light; commissioning |
| 2018 | Public Survey begins (March 2018); public transient alerts begin (June 2018) |
| May 2019 | Public Data Release 1 (May 8, 2019) |
| Dec 2019 | Public Data Release 2 (Dec 11, 2019) |
| June 2020 | Public Data Release 3 (Jun 24, 2020) |
| Dec 2020 | Public Data Release 4 (Dec 9, 2020); data releases to continue in 2021. |
Major releases will typically precede the yearly summer school.
Public Summer Schools
To encourage students to use ZTF and other synoptic surveys, we will host yearly Transient Universe summer schools, typically in August. Aimed at the graduate student level, the school will provide an introduction to major topics of current research as well as hands-on instruction in time-domain methods. Students developing skills and science interests in these areas will be well-prepared for the LSST era.
These summer schools will be complemented by an undergraduate summer research program led by ZTF MSIP Co-PI Bryan Penprase. Students will participate in a week-long Observational Astronomy Institute providing instruction in in methods for photometry, spectroscopy, and time-series analysis before beginning mentored research projects, including observing experience using facilities at Pomona College, Table Mountain Observatory, and/or Mt. Palomar Observatory. At the end of the summer, undergraduates will present their research and participate in the Transient Universe summer school.
The ZTF Community Science Advisory Committee
The ZTF CSAC advises the ZTF P.I. in order to maximize the scientific value of ZTF to the U.S. community.
Current members of the CSAC are:
| Steve Ridgway (Chair) | NOAO |
| Marcel Agueros | Columbia |
| Lisa Storrie-Lombardi | LCOGT |
| Juna Kollmeier | Carnegie |
| Marc Pinsonneault | OSU |
| Mukremin Kilic | OU |
| David Sand | UofA |
