Paper: astro-ph/0507458
Date: Tue, 19 Jul 2005 20:30:46 GMT (539kb)

Title: Seeing the Nature of the Accelerating Physics: It's a SNAP

Authors: SNAP Collaboration
Comments: 14 pages, 4 figures; White paper to the Dark Energy Task Force
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For true insight into the nature of dark energy, measurements of the
precision and accuracy of the Supernova/Acceleration Probe (SNAP) are required.
Precursor or scaled-down experiments are unavoidably limited, even for
distinguishing the cosmological constant. This white paper presents an overview
of the necessity for SNAP and the role of precursor experiments; accompanying
white papers detail the supernovae and weak lensing parts of the experiment.
\\ ( http://arXiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0507458 , 539kb)
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Paper: astro-ph/0507459
Date: Tue, 19 Jul 2005 21:13:53 GMT (615kb)

Title: Supernova Acceleration Probe: Studying Dark Energy with Type Ia
Supernovae

Authors: SNAP Collaboration
Comments: 12 pages, 4 figures; White paper to the Dark Energy Task Force
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The Supernova Acceleration Probe (SNAP) will use Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia)
as distance indicators to measure the effect of dark energy on the expansion
history of the Universe. (SNAP's weak-lensing program is described in a
companion White Paper.) The experiment exploits supernova distance measurements
up to their fundamental systematic limit; strict requirements on the monitoring
of each supernova's properties lead to the need for a space-based mission.
Results from pre-SNAP experiments, which characterize fundamental SN Ia
properties, will be used to optimize the SNAP observing strategy to yield data,
which minimize both systematic and statistical uncertainties. SNAP has achieved
technological readiness and the collaboration is poised to begin construction.

\\ ( http://arXiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0507459 , 615kb)

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Paper: astro-ph/0507460
Date: Tue, 19 Jul 2005 20:41:07 GMT (511kb)

Title: Probing Dark Energy via Weak Gravitational Lensing with the SuperNova
Acceleration Probe (SNAP)

Authors: SNAP Collaboration
Comments: 17 pages, 6 figures; White paper to the Dark Energy Task Force
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SNAP is a candidate for the Joint Dark Energy Mission (JDEM) that seeks to
place constraints on the dark energy using two distinct methods. The first,
Type Ia SN, is discussed in a companion white paper. The second method is weak
gravitational lensing, which relies on the coherent distortions in the shapes
of background galaxies by foreground mass structures. The excellent spatial
resolution and photometric accuracy afforded by a 2-meter space-based
observatory are crucial for achieving the high surface density of resolved
galaxies, the tight control of systematic errors in the telescope's Point
Spread Function (PSF), and the exquisite redshift accuracy and depth required
by this project. These are achieved by the elimination of atmospheric
distortion and much of the thermal and gravity loads on the telescope. The SN
and WL methods for probing dark energy are highly complementary and the error
contours from the two methods are largely orthogonal.

\\ ( http://arXiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0507460 , 511kb)