# High-fidelity Simulations of the Near-Earth Object Search Performance of the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope

## TL;DR

This study uses high-fidelity simulations to evaluate the LSST's effectiveness in detecting Near-Earth Objects larger than 140 meters over a 10-year period, considering various observational factors.

## Contribution

It provides a detailed simulation framework for NEO detection with LSST, including modeling uncertainties and estimating population completeness.

## Key findings

- Overall NEO detection completeness is estimated at 55% for objects brighter than magnitude 22.
- Including ongoing surveys, the total completeness could reach approximately 77%.
- The simulation accounts for factors like magnitude loss, asteroid rotation, and survey patterns.

## Abstract

We perform high fidelity simulations of a wide-field telescopic survey searching for Near-Earth Objects (NEO) larger than 140\,m, focusing on the observational and detection model, detection efficiency and accuracy. As a test survey we select the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope. We use its proposed pointings for a 10-year mission and model the detection of near-Earth objects in the fields. We discuss individual model parameters for magnitude losses, vignetting, fading, asteroid rotation and colors, fill factor, limiting magnitude, rate of motion, field shape and rotation and survey patterns and we assess results in terms of the cumulative completeness of the detected population as a function of size and time. Additionally, we examine the sources of modeling uncertainty and derive the overall NEO population completeness for the baseline LSST survey to be $55\pm5$% for NEOs with absolute magnitude brighter than 22. Including already discovered objects and ongoing surveys, the population completeness at the end of the LSST baseline survey should reach $\sim 77\%$.