Mapping the Periphery and Variability of the Magellanic Clouds

Abstract

We propose a combination of a modified Wide-Fast-Deep survey, a mini-survey of the South Celestial Pole, and a Deep Drilling-style survey to produce a 3-D map of the Magellanic System and to provide a detailed census of the transient and variable populations in the Clouds. We support modifying the Wide-Fast-Deep survey to cover the declination range $-72.25\hat{A}°<\mathrm{Dec}<12.4\hat{A}°$ and the Galactic latitude range $|b|>15\hat{A}°$, as proposed in a separate white paper. We additionally propose a mini-survey covering the 950$\hat{A}{°}^2$ with $\mathrm{Dec}<-72.25$ in $ugriz$ to the standard LSST single-exposure depth and with 40 visits per filter per field. Finally, we propose a mini-survey covering $\sim 100\hat{A}{°}^2$ of the main bodies of the Clouds with twelve total pointings, 2000 total visits per field, and shorter exposure time.

11 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Call for White Papers on LSST Cadence Optimization