Main workshop: 12th-15th March 2024 (exact timings TBC)
Denys Wilkinson Building, University of Oxford, Keble Road, Oxford OX1 3RH
We are grateful for support from the LSST Discovery Alliance (and the assocaited former LSSTC Enabling Science program), Hintze Centre for Astrophysics Surveys, Sub-department of Astrophysics University of Oxford.
Image credit: MACSJ0138.0-2155 ESA/Hubble & NASA, A. Newman, M. Akhshik, K. Whitaker; CC BY 4.0
Programme and Particiapnts list avaialble
All those who paid reg fee before 28 Feb 2024 have a confirmed space at the conference dinner
Instructions for presenters added
As the premier wide field sensitive survey facility, coupled with cadenced observations, the Rubin Observatory will herald a new era in strong lensing science. The goal of the workshop is to bring together, for the first time, all of the Rubin Observatory LSST strong lensing community with their wide ranging scientific interests e.g. dark energy, dark matter, galaxy evolution, AGN, transients and microlensing to prepare for the scale change in strong lens samples. The workshop will also draw on expertise in statistical and machine learning methods relevant to strong lensing science. Drawing participants from a wide range of LSST science collaborations (SCs), we will coordinate and prioritise effort between the SCs and prepare for early operations. Through a mixture of talks and break-out work sessions, we aim to deliver a coordinated strategy for strong lens discovery, varied science analyses and follow-up. This will be coupled with discussions on resources available and needed, infrastructure and analysis efforts to maximise the scientific output from early LSST strong lens samples for a diverse range of science goals.
For more information on topics we will cover see the background page.
We will discuss a broad range of science questions and develop various aspects of LSST strong lens analysis with both science sessions and parallel break-out sessions, to consolidate strategy, develop of LSST specific analysis tools and infrastructure.
Science Drivers
Expanding universe: Cosmological parameters from time delays and compound lenses
Dark matter: Galaxy & cluster masses, density profiles, substructure
Galaxy formation & evolution: Stellar and halo mass functions, IGM, high-z galaxies
Properties of lensed sources & hosts: AGN, SNe, GRBs, gravitational wave sources, planets, stellar-mass black holes and other transients (e.g. RETs, FBOTs...)
Workshop/hack session topics
Simulations (static and transient)
Discovery
Modelling
Environments
Follow-up requirements and strategy
Synergy & coordination with forthcoming surveys delivering complementary large SL samples e.g. Euclid (high resolution) and SKA (SL QSOs)
As the meeting will follow the Royal Society meeting on Multi-messenger Gravitational Lensing the scientific programme will start at 11AM (TBC) on 13th March to allow those attending both meetings to travel to Oxford from Manchester. On 12th March, we will hold preliminary discussion and hack sessions. We plan a late end on Wednesday to allow some overlap with remote participants in other time zones.
Abstract submission for talks and posters are invited. Please register and submit abstracts by the end of 24 January 2024.
The meeting will have a registration fee (TBC, estimated to be no more than £150) to cover catering costs.
We are grateful to the LSST Discovery Alliance for supporting this meeting.
We encourage participation by Early Career Researchers (graduate students and post-docs) and can partially support travel costs through a bursary (by application at the time of registration). Preference will be given to those presenting a contribution, but all are encouraged to apply. Requests must be received by 24 January 2024. Those from UK institutes may request travel support from LSST:UK.
In person attendance is encouraged, however, we appreciate that this will not be possible for some of you, and so the sessions will be run in hybrid mode. Remote participants should still register to receive the connection info.
Aprajita Verma, Chiara Spiniello, Phil Holloway, Leanne O'Donnell (Oxford)
Please contact rubinslens24 [at] googlegroups.com if you require any further information.