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"SDWFS: The Spitzer Deep, Wide-Field Survey"

Principal Investigator: Daniel Stern (JPL/Caltech)

Total Observatory Time: 201 hours

We propose to remap the 8.5 square degree Bootes field (AKA, the "IRAC Shallow Survey") three times during Cycle 4, effectively quadrupling the total exposure time and doubling its photometric depth. This 201 hr legacy project, the Spitzer Deep, Wide-Field Survey (SDWFS), occupies a unique position in area-depth survey space and will be invaluable for investigations ranging from probing the diffuse infrared background from primordial galaxies to identifying the coldest Galactic brown dwarfs. The combined area and depth will allow us to push galaxy cluster surveys to z~2.5. Shallow surveys such as SWIRE, FLS, and the IRAC Shallow Survey have difficulties probing galaxy evolution beyond z~1.5 while deep surveys such as SCOSMOS, EGS, and GOODS have insufficient volume to identify statistically meaningful samples of rich clusters. The SDWFS proposed 3.6 and 4.5 micron imaging will detect normal galaxies out to z~3, while the proposed 5.8 and 8 micron imaging will enable investigations into the warm dust components and the role of AGN in these galaxies. By cadencing the IRAC observations, SDWFS will also open the largely unexplored territory of mid-infrared variability, a powerful tool for identifying and studying active galaxies. Naturally, a program of this breadth has a wide range of astronomical uses; we highlight the key investigations which our science team will pursue. Undertaking this endeavor in this Cycle will permit identification of rare mid-IR variables which could still be observed during the cryongenic mission.

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This file was last modified on Thu Apr 24 16:46:56 2008.

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