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arXiv · 2610.28482

The "Rubin 2036: Opportunities for Discovery" Workshop: A Community Roadmap for the Future of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory After the LSST

Andrés Alejandro Plazas Malagón·Steve Allen·Shreya Anand·Muhammad Awais·Simon Birrer·Lindsey Bleem·Robert Blum·Adam S. Bolton·Rosaria Bonito·Alex Broughton·Jeffrey L. Carlin·Francisco Castander·Rebecca C. Chen·Anirudh Chiti·Lyla Choi·Chuck Claver·Suber Corley·John Franklin Crenshaw·Arjun Dey·Seth Digel·Holger Drass·Alex Drlica-Wagner·Haruki Ebina·Lukas Eisert·Anthony Englert·Kevin Fanning·Josh Frieman·Shenming Fu·Nandini Hazra·Carrie E. Holt·Minhee Hyun·Hafiz Inam Ullah·Saurabh Jha·J. Bryce Kalmbach·Yijung Kang·Kshitija Kelkar·Sthabile Kolwa·Andjelka Kovačević·Kenneth W. Lin·Meng-Xiang Lin·Becky Long·Sean MacBride·Alex I. Malz·Steve Margheim·Nigel J. Mason·Guillem Megias Homar·Simona Mei·Hironao Miyatake·Maia Moore·Justin Myles·Jeffrey A. Newman·Anh Nguyen·Yasna Ordenes-Briceño·Antonella Palmese·Swayamtrupta Panda·Claire Poppett·Francisco Pozo Nuñez·Anand Raichoor·Andrew Rasmussen·Maya Redden·Steve Ritz·Aaron Roodman·Leonid Sajkov·Ben Sherwin·Brian Stalder·Chris Stubbs·John Suárez-Pérez·Sandrine Thomas·Chun-Hao To·Alessandro S. Tramuto·Yousuke Utsumi·Laura Venuti·Hai-Feng Wang·Risa Wechsler·Christina C. Williams·W. Michael Wood-Vasey·Prince Yadav·Masaya Yamamoto
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Abstract

The NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory will complete its ten-year Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) in the mid-2030s. Its 8.4 m aperture and 9.6 square degree field of view give it an étendue unmatched by any facility planned for that era. The Rubin 2036: Opportunities for Discovery workshop (KIPAC/SLAC, 3-5 August 2026) brought together approximately 100 participants to discuss Rubin's future after LSST. This paper summarizes the workshop's structure and discussions across five working groups. The continued-surveying group explored a machine-learning foundation model pretrained on Rubin imaging for detection, deblending, and classification. The cadence group considered allocating post-LSST observing time and strategies for transiting exoplanets, Type Ia supernova cosmology, time-delay cosmography, and second-scale transients. The filter group explored broadband, medium-band, and narrowband filters for photometric redshifts, high-redshift large-scale structure, AGN reverberation mapping, Galactic archaeology, and emission-line imaging. The multi-messenger group explored follow-up of next-generation gravitational-wave and neutrino sources, including standard sirens, kilonovae, and Galactic supernovae. The technology group organized options by cost and lead time, including fast readout, new filters, a faster shutter, and summit edge computing. Cross-cutting topics included AI/ML, Chilean and Latin-American co-leadership, satellite megaconstellations, and weather and climate trends at Cerro Pachón. White papers and workshop talks are available through https://zenodo.org/communities/rubin2036workshop/ and https://rubin-observatory.github.io/Rubin-Beyond-LSST/pages/Rubin2036proceedings/.

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Andrés Alejandro Plazas Malagón, Steve Allen, Shreya Anand, Muhammad Awais, Simon Birrer, Lindsey Bleem, Robert Blum, Adam S. Bolton, Rosaria Bonito, Alex Broughton, Jeffrey L. Carlin, Francisco Castander, Rebecca C. Chen, Anirudh Chiti, Lyla Choi, Chuck Claver, Suber Corley, John Franklin Crenshaw, Arjun Dey, Seth Digel, Holger Drass, Alex Drlica-Wagner, Haruki Ebina, Lukas Eisert, Anthony Englert, Kevin Fanning, Josh Frieman, Shenming Fu, Nandini Hazra, Carrie E. Holt, Minhee Hyun, Hafiz Inam Ullah, Saurabh Jha, J. Bryce Kalmbach, Yijung Kang, Kshitija Kelkar, Sthabile Kolwa, Andjelka Kovačević, Kenneth W. Lin, Meng-Xiang Lin, Becky Long, Sean MacBride, Alex I. Malz, Steve Margheim, Nigel J. Mason, Guillem Megias Homar, Simona Mei, Hironao Miyatake, Maia Moore, Justin Myles, Jeffrey A. Newman, Anh Nguyen, Yasna Ordenes-Briceño, Antonella Palmese, Swayamtrupta Panda, Claire Poppett, Francisco Pozo Nuñez, Anand Raichoor, Andrew Rasmussen, Maya Redden, Steve Ritz, Aaron Roodman, Leonid Sajkov, Ben Sherwin, Brian Stalder, Chris Stubbs, John Suárez-Pérez, Sandrine Thomas, Chun-Hao To, Alessandro S. Tramuto, Yousuke Utsumi, Laura Venuti, Hai-Feng Wang, Risa Wechsler, Christina C. Williams, W. Michael Wood-Vasey, Prince Yadav, Masaya Yamamoto. 2026-10-20. The "Rubin 2036: Opportunities for Discovery" Workshop: A Community Roadmap for the Future of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory After the LSST. https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.28482

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