Astro2020 Science White Papers

This is an incomplete list of white papers submitted to the 2020 Astronomy and Astrophysics Decadal Survey (Astro2020) that discuss science for which Extremely Large Telescopes are particularly relevant. If you wrote a white paper that you feel is relevant here, or if you know of such white papers, please write to useltp@noirlab.edu.

Science white papers that arose from efforts associated with US ELT Key Science Program (KSP) development are indicated in the right-most column.

See also Astro2020 APC white papers.

Title Lead author Institution KSP-related?
Mapping Ultracool Atmospheres: Time-domain Observations of Brown Dwarfs and Exoplanets Apai, Daniel University of Arizona  
Planetary Habitability Informed by Planet Formation and Exoplanet Demographics Apai, Daniel University of Arizona  
Measuring the Hubble Constant Near and Far in the Era of ELT's Beaton, Rachael L Princeton University KSP
Empirically Constraining Galaxy Evolution Behroozi, Peter University of Arizona  
Masses and Distances of Planetary Microlens Systems with High Angular Resolution Imaging Bhattacharya, Aparna University of Maryland, College Park  
The Demographics and Atmospheres of Giant Planets with the ELTs Bowler, Brendan The University of Texas at Austin KSP
Spectroscopic Probes of Galaxies at the Epoch of Reionization Bradac, Marusa UC Davis  
Fundamental Stellar Physics throughout the Galaxy Buzasi, Derek Florida Gulf Coast University KSP
How Do Stars Form? Open Questions on the Stellar Initial Mass Function Calzetti, Daniela University of Massachusetts, Amherst  
Triggered High-Priority Observations of Dynamic Solar System Phenomena Chanover, Nancy New Mexico State University KSP
Multi-Messenger Astronomy with Extremely Large Telescopes Chornock, Ryan Ohio University KSP
Toward Finding Earth 2.0: Masses and Orbits of Small Planets with Extreme Radial Velocity Precision Ciardi, David Caltech/IPAC-NExScI KSP
Unveiling Cosmic Dawn: the synergetic role of space and ground-based telescopes Cuby, Jean-Gabriel University of Aix-Marseille  
The Critical Strategic Importance of Adaptive Optics-Assisted Ground-Based Telescopes for the Success of Future NASA Exoplanet Direct Imaging Missions Currie, Thayne NASA-Ames Research Center  
Envisioning the next decade of Galactic Center science: a laboratory for the study of the physics and astrophysics of supermassive black holes Do, Tuan UCLA KSP
Characterizing the Atmospheres of Irradiated Exoplanets at High Spectral Resolution Dragomir, Diana MIT KSP
Ground-Based Radial Velocity as Critical Support for Future NASA Earth-Finding Missions Dressing, Courtney University of California, Berkeley  
Establishing an Empirical Substellar Sequence to Planetary Masses Dupuy, Trent Gemini Observatory, Northern Operations  
The First Luminous Quasars and Their Host Galaxies Fan, Xiaohui University of Arizona  
Unveiling the Phase Transition of the Universe During the Reionization Epoch with Lyman-alpha Finkelstein, Steven The University of Texas at Austin KSP
Gravity and Light: Combining Gravitational Wave and Electromagnetic Observations in the 2020s Foley, Ryan UC Santa Cruz  
Discovery Frontiers of Explosive Transients: An ELT and LSST Perspective Graham, Melissa University of Washington  
The Local Relics of of Supermassive Black Hole Seeds Greene, Jenny Princeton University KSP
Black Holes Across Cosmic Time Gultekin, Kayhan University of Michigan KSP
Star Formation in Different Environments: The Initial Mass Function Hosek, Matthew UCLA  
Protoplanetary Disk Science Enabled by Extremely Large Telescopes Jang-Condell, Hannah University of Wyoming KSP
Local Dwarf Galaxy Archaeology Ji, Alexander Carnegie Observatories  
Tracing the Origins and Evolution of Small Planets using Their Orbital Obliquities Johnson, Marshall The Ohio State University KSP
Assembly of the Most Massive Clusters at Cosmic Noon Kartaltepe, Jeyhan Rochester Institute of Technology KSP
Black Hole Growth in Mergers and Dual AGN Koss, Michael Eureka Scientific  
Mapping Gas Phase Abundances and Enrichment Patterns Across Galaxy Disks Kreckel, Kathryn Max Planck Institute for Astronomy  
Identification and characterization of the host stars in planetary microlensing with ELTs Lee, Chien-Hsiu National Optical Astronomy Observatory KSP
The Evolution of the Tully-Fisher Relation: Characterizing the Assembly of Rotation-Dominated Disk Galaxies over cosmic time Lemoine-Busserolle, Marie Gemini Observatory  
Detecting Earth-like Biosignatures on Rocky Exoplanets around Nearby Stars with Ground-based Extremely Large Telescopes Lopez-Morales, Mercedes Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian KSP
Tracing the feeding and feedback of active galaxies Lopez-Rodriguez, Enrique SOFIA Science Center / NASA AMES Center KSP
From Stars to Compact Objects: The Initial-Final Mass Relation Lu, Jessica UC Berkeley  
Directly Imaging Rocky Planets from the Ground Mazin, Ben University of California, Santa Barbara  
Dynamical Processes in the Planet-Forming Environment McGehee, Peregrine College of the Canyons  
Achieving Transformative Understanding of Extreme Stellar Explosions with ELT-enabled Late-time Spectroscopy Milisavljevic, Dan Purdue University KSP
Resolving Galaxy Formation at Cosmic Noon Newman, Andrew Carnegie Institution for Science KSP
Deep Multi-object Spectroscopy to Enhance Dark Energy Science from LSST Newman, Jeffrey University of Pittsburgh and PITT PACC  
Tracing the formation history of galaxy clusters into the epoch of reionization Overzier, Roderik Observatório Nacional / Institute of Astronomy, Geophysics and Atmospheric Sciences, University of São Paulo  
UV Diagnostics of Galaxies from the Peak of Star-Formation to the Epoch of Reionization Papovich, Casey Texas A&M University  
Transverse Extragalactic Motions: a New Method for Constraining Cosmological Parameters Pierce, Michael University of Wyoming  
Characterizing the Assembly of Galaxy Cluster Populations Over Cosmic time Pierce, Michael University of Wyoming  
Constraining Stellar Photospheres as an Essential Step for Transmission Spectroscopy of Small Exoplanets Rackham, Benjamin University of Arizona  
Spatially-resolved studies of star-forming galaxies in the reionization epoch Ravindranath, Swara Space Telescope Science Institute KSP
Are Supernovae the Dust Producer in the Early Universe? Rho, Jeonghee SETI Institute  
The production and escape of ionizing photons from galaxies over cosmic time Rigby, Jane NASA Goddard Space Flight Center  
The First Stars and the Origin of the Elements Roederer, Ian University of Michigan KSP
Observing Galaxies and Dissecting their Baryon Cycle at Cosmic Noon Rudie, Gwen C. Carnegie Institution for Science  
Imaging Giant Protoplanets with the ELTs Sallum, Steph University of California, Santa Cruz KSP
Multimessenger Universe with Gravitational Waves from Binary Systems Sathyaprakash, Bangalore The Pennsylvania State University  
Dynamical Masses for a Complete Census of Local Dwarf Galaxies Simon, Joshua Carnegie Observatories
Testing the Nature of Dark Matter with Extremely Large Telescopes Simon, Joshua Carnegie Observatories KSP
Radial Metallicity Gradients in Star-Forming Galaxies Stanghellini, Letizia National Optical Astronomy Observatory  
Origins Survey of Primordial Relics: ELTs Reveal Compositional Variation across the Solar System Trilling, David Northern Arizona University KSP
The L/T Transition Vos, Johanna American Museum of Natural History  
New Frontiers for Terrestrial-sized to Neptune-sized Exoplanets In the Era of Extremely Large Telescopes Wang, Ji The Ohio State University KSP
Near-Field Cosmology with the Lowest-Mass Galaxies Weisz, Daniel University of California, Berkeley  
ELT Contributions to Tidal Disruption Events Wheeler, J. Craig The University of Texas at Austin  
ELT Contributions to The First Explosions Wheeler, J. Craig The University of Texas at Austin  
Solar system Deep Time-Surveys of atmospheres, surfaces, and rings Wong, Michael H. UC Berkeley KSP
Emission Line Mapping of the Circumgalactic Medium of Nearby Galaxies Zaritsky, Dennis University of Arizona  

Updated: 25 March 2021

Updated on December 13, 2022, 1:11 pm