Findings of the Joint Dark Energy Mission Figure of Merit Science Working Group

TL;DR

This paper discusses the planning and expected performance of the Joint Dark Energy Mission, focusing on how to quantify its ability to explore dark energy properties by 2016.

Contribution

It introduces the framework for evaluating the mission's effectiveness using the Figure of Merit and discusses planning considerations.

Findings

Proposed a Figure of Merit to quantify dark energy exploration capabilities.

Outlined mission planning strategies for the 2016 launch.

Discussed methods to assess dark energy knowledge by 2016.

Abstract

These are the findings of the Joint Dark Energy Mission (JDEM) Figure of Merit (FoM) Science Working Group (SWG), the FoMSWG. JDEM is a space mission planned by NASA and the DOE for launch in the 2016 time frame. The primary mission is to explore the nature of dark energy. In planning such a mission, it is necessary to have some idea of knowledge of dark energy in 2016, and a way to quantify the performance of the mission. In this paper we discuss these issues.