A single Cambridge-based unit processes the torrent of data from the UK’s most powerful survey telescopes, turning raw pixels into usable catalogues for hundreds of astronomers. This matters because modern telescopes produce more data than any single research group can handle. The cameras on VISTA, WFCAM, and the VST generate petabyte-scale datasets that require specialised pipelines to calibrate, clean, and extract meaningful measurements. Without the Cambridge Astronomical Survey Unit (CASU), most UK astronomers would lack the tools to analyse these surveys at all. The unit’s work fills the gap between building a telescope and actually doing science with it. The impact is primarily on fundamental astronomy. CASU’s pipelines have enabled world-class research across almost every UK astrophysics institute, from mapping the Milky Way’s structure to studying distant galaxies. The same processing techniques are now being adapted for next-generation facilities such as the Extremely Large Telescope and the Square Kilometre Array. This is curiosity-driven infrastructure work—it does not produce a consumer product, but it makes the science possible. Past investments in similar survey pipelines have led to unexpected discoveries, including new classes of stars and the most detailed maps of dark matter distribution.
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Observational astronomy in the UK has experienced a golden period over the last decade with the successful introduction and science exploitation of the pioneering large scale near-infrared (NIR) survey facilities of VISTA and WFCAM and the heavy involvement of UK astronomers in the VST optical survey facility. Results from these imaging surveys alone have enabled UK astronomers to carry out world-class science but they have also enabled successful exploitation of the detailed followup opportunities provided by membership of ESO. Significant advances in astronomy continue to rely heavily on technology-enabled surveys of the sky from radio, through optical to X-ray wavelengths. The current era of deep NIR and optical surveys is the latest stage in this progression. It is also an area where the UK has had both a substantial lead and the requisite expertise in the Cambridge Astronomical Survey Unit (CASU) to exploit this advance in wide field astronomy. Members of CASU and its predecessor (the APM facility) have been at the forefront of survey astronomy, not only in pioneering techniques to optimally extract knowledge from survey data, but also in taking a proactive role in exploiting this information to produce world-leading research. This synergy and feedback between data processing and science delivery has been repeatedly demonstrated to be essential in ensuring delivery of the best possible science data products for exploitation by the widest community of UK and European astronomers. In the modern era CASU generated science data products from VISTA, WFCAM and the VST have supported world-class research programmes across almost every UK institute involved in astrophysics. Wide-field digital imaging survey cameras, and highly multiplexed multi-fibre-fed spectrographs, produce enor- mous volumes of rich and complex data that demand sophisticated data analysis approaches beyond the resource capacity, knowledge and analysis skills of non-specialist astronomers. Delivery of a systematic end-to-end pipeline processing system, which includes optimal extraction, full calibration and quality control and legacy curation are a fundamental requirement of an fully integrated observing strategy and a crucial element for full and efficient science exploitation. The CASU facility has been developed to allow the evolution of an optimal ergonomic solution to this avalanche of data, through access to Petabyte scale data storage systems and expert pipeline processing systems. Con- tinued development,maintenance and operation of the CASU processing and analysis pipelines will not only benefit the UK astronomy community now, but will also be relevant in developing the infrastructure to analyse the data from near-future facilities such as WEAVE and MOONS and also in the upcoming era of Extremely Large Telescopes and the radio Square Kilometer Array. This grant proposal builds on the tremendous advances already made by CASU and requests funding for the period 2016-2019 for key activities: - further development, maintenance, operation and user support of the science and analysis pipelines for the UK-led VISTA large scale surveys - continuing development of the processing, analysis and data management system for the VLT Gaia-ESO very large spectroscopic survey - design and development of the data management and analysis systems for the next generation of ESO/ING wide field massively multiplexed optical spectrographs; - operational support, pipeline processing and further development of the science and analysis pipelines for the UK-led ESO VST public surveys - support for operation of analysis and data releases of WFCAM surveys, and maintenance of the Data Archives for a number of high value collections (including ING, AAO, UKIRT).
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