SDSS-V: Pioneering Panoptic Spectroscopy

Multi-Object Spectroscopy: optical & near-IR, all-sky, multi-epoch
Integral Field Spectroscopy: optical, 2500 deg2, ultra wide-field

Image Credit: Juna A. Kollmeier and Hans-Walter Rix

Although SDSS-IV will keep collecting and publishing data through 2020, we are excitedly planning for SDSS-V, a panoptic spectroscopic survey that will continue the SDSS tradition of innovative data and collaboration infrastructure. SDSS-V will be the first facility providing multi-epoch, all-sky, optical & IR spectroscopy, as well as offering contiguous integral-field spectroscopic coverage of the Milky Way and Local Volume galaxies.

Our white paper SDSS-V: Pioneering Panoptic Spectroscopy contains a fuller description of the survey’s ambitious goals and scope.

We submitted two white papers to the Astro2020 Decadal Survey (Blanton et al. 2019 and Kollmeier et al. 2019) which are highlighted on our SDSS and the Astro2020 Decadal Survey page.

SDSS-V will be carried out in both hemispheres, at Apache Point Observatory (APO) in the USA and Las Campanas Observatory (LCO) in Chile. Multi-object fiber spectroscopy will be obtained with two 2.5m telescopes, each feeding a near-infrared APOGEE spectrograph and an optical BOSS spectrograph, for the Milky Way Mapper and Black Hole Mapper programs. The Local Volume Mapper will make use of smaller telescopes to perform its optical integral-field spectroscopy. Image credit: M. Seibert (OCIS) & SDSS-V team.

Overview

SDSS-V is an all-sky, multi-epoch spectroscopic survey that will yield optical and IR spectra of over 6 million objects during its five year lifetime (2020-2025). Using SDSS’s existing and anticipated new facilities at Apache Point and Las Campanas Observatories, SDSS-V will survey the entire sky — mapping the Milky Way using rapid, repeated observations, mapping Local Volume galaxies using wide-angle integral field spectroscopy, and mapping black holes using time domain spectroscopy of quasars and bright X-ray sources. Instead of SDSS’s classic plugplate system, SDSS-V will use a new, custom-built robotic positioning system to allow for rapid configuration of fibers. These fibers will lead to the existing APOGEE and BOSS spectrographs, enabling simultaneous IR and optical observations. In addition, new wide-field integral-field units are being deployed to observe the stars and interstellar medium in the Milky Way, Magellanic Clouds, and local galaxies at unprecedented spatial resolution. More information about SDSS-V and its place in the astronomical landscape during the 2020s can be found in our white paper SDSS-V: Pioneering Panoptic Spectroscopy.

Without federal or other large-scale funding, SDSS-V’s commitment to transformative science and public data release is not possible without membership contributions from institutional partners. SDSS-V is currently under development and actively seeking funding from partners. Institutional partners benefit from early access to data, participation in the development process, and access to our global science collaborative network. See the Collaboration page for more details about this network and information on joining.

Mappers

SDSS-V comprises three key programs, called Mappers:

The Milky Way Mapper (MWM) will target 4-5 million stars across the Milky Way, collecting infrared spectra with an APOGEE spectrograph and/or optical spectra with a BOSS spectrograph. The MWM seeks to understand the evolution of the Milky Way, the physics of its stars and interstellar medium, and the architecture of multiple-star and planetary systems.

The Black Hole Mapper (BHM) will target over 400,000 sources, primarily black holes, with a BOSS optical spectrograph. Many of these will be observed numerous times, with the goal of measuring black hole masses, probing black hole growth across cosmic time, and characterizing the X-ray sky.

The Local Volume Mapper (LVM) will observe the interstellar medium and stellar populations in the Milky Way and several local galaxies, collecting more than 25 million contiguous spectra over 2,500 square degrees on the sky. The LVM will use new integral-field spectrographs to explore the physics of star formation and the interactions between stars and the interstellar medium.

Click on the Mapper buttons below for more details, and see the Science page for an overview of the broad scientific aims.

Milky Way Mapper

A time-domain spectroscopic survey of Milky Way stars of all types.
Image credit: ESA/Gaia/DPAC

Program Head: Jennifer Johnson (The Ohio State University)

Black Hole Mapper

A time-domain spectroscopic survey of quasars and X-ray sources.
Image credit: ESO/M. Kornmesser

Program Head: Scott Anderson (University of Washington)

Local Volume Mapper

An integral-field spectroscopic survey of the Milky Way and its galactic neighbors.
Image credit: NASA, ESA/A. Nota

Program Head: Niv Drory (University of Texas at Austin)

SDSS-V, like previous SDSS surveys, will remain committed to making its data publicly available in a format that is helpful to a broad range of users, from beginner students to both amateur and professional astronomers. However, without federal or other large-scale funding, this commitment is not possible without membership contributions from institutional partners. SDSS-V is currently under development and actively seeking funding from partners. Our institutional partners benefit from early access to data, participation in the survey planning process, and involvement of their faculty, postdocs, and students in the science collaborative network.

Policies for joining the program can be found in the Joining Document. The general policies for SDSS-V are defined in its current Principles of Operation; the member institutions will review these policies prior to the start of SDSS-V operations.

To encourage new institutions interested in SDSS-V to join the SDSS science collaboration now, we are announcing the following opportunity for SDSS-V institutions to also join SDSS-IV for a small additional price. For SDSS-V institutions, each SDSS-IV “slot” will be priced at \$25,000, rather than the original price of \$210,000. The cost will scale with the number of slots for larger memberships, in the ordinary fashion defined in the SDSS-IV Principles of Operation. Institutions can take advantage of this incentive to bring their total number of SDSS-IV slots up to but not exceeding their total number of SDSS-V slots. The SDSS-IV portion of the payments will be due upon signing the SDSS-IV MOU, whereas the SDSS-V portion of the payments will be due on a normal schedule or as negotiated with SDSS-V.

A list of current member institutions (as of October 2019) can be found on the SDSS-V Collaboration page.