2024APASW

Rationale for the workshop: Astronomy is now a mature field. An example of maturity is that leading edge facilities become singular. For example, from the fifties to the seventies every respectable University aimed to have a cyclotron of some sort. However, over time, the world now has only one of each kind (LHC, RHIC, FRIB). Astronomy is now approaching that point (to wit, ALMA at sub-mm; JWST for mid-IR; SKA & NGVLA for for meter through centimeter astronomy).

Physics aims to distill while astronomy aims to explore. So, while particle physics facilities become singular the same is not the case for astronomy. Discoveries can be made and are usually made with smaller facilities (with lots of opportunity for serendipity) while the large facilities are well suited to undertaking well defined and detailed studies. This yin-yang approach is central to astronomy, and we should not place undue importance on the largest telescope. This conclusion is timely since there is lot of angst and anxiety in the US about the fame of TMT and GMT given that E-ELT is expected to see first light in 2028.

This workshop is based on the wholesome idea that astronomy is a broad inquiry of the Universe with specific (expensive) focused cosmological surveys (e.g., EUCLID, DESI) and large telescopes (JWST, E-ELT, ALMA) merely two arrows in our quiver. The workshop invites participants to “think sideways” for which there is plenty of room. Past examples of this sideways exploration is the discovery of pulsars and FRBs (just to name two). An example of the sideways thinking in optical astronomy can be found at

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/elo7jiu0x6hsglxr642pu/Keck_Analysis.pdf?rlkey=5sult22jexuv0wcnbcjzq4hkj&dl=0

Over this two days workshop we expect participants to come up with innovative ideas of using existing facilities in any manner (coordinated; uncoordinated but with lots of AI/ML to extract interesting information from multiple data basis; new technologies that may lead to great progress).