The Roman eXtreme Deep Field (RXDF)
Abstract
The Roman eXtreme Deep Field (RXDF) program is one of the five General Astrophysics Survey (GAS) programs approved for observing time with the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope in Cycles 1 and 2. It has been allocated 386.41 hours to carry out an imaging survey to AB = 30 mag (5-sigma) over ~140x larger area than the Hubble eXtreme Deep Field (HXDF) full-depth area (ACS+WFC3/IR). The RXDF will cover the full Roman wavelength range with 7 bands, reaching AB = 30 mag in RZYJH, 29 mag in F, and 28 mag in K, over a full-depth area of 678.75 arcmin^2 embedded in a total area of 1,243 arcmin^2, and far exceeding the depths of the Roman Core Community Surveys (CCS). The RXDF is within the Euclid Ultra Deep Field (EUDF) near the North Ecliptic Pole (NEP), a strategic long-term field for generational space facilities, with a wealth of multi-wavelength data including extensive coverage from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) NEXUS Treasury program. The observations will cover 3 epochs at a 1-year cadence, each epoch divided into 3 sub-epochs ~10 days apart, enabling time-domain studies on time baselines from ~10 days to over ~2 years. The RXDF is uniquely positioned to address critical questions in reionization, large scale structure (LSS), growth of supermassive black holes (SMBHs), little red dots (LRDs), and high-z supernovae (SNe); the volumes probed by HST+JWST are too small at these extreme depths, and even the deepest CCS tiers are too shallow. In addition to our key objectives, a wealth of additional science will be enabled by engaging the community with our rapidly released datasets, revolutionizing a wide range of science for a lasting legacy. This short document, which is converted from the approved RXDF proposal, aims to provide the community with a summary of the program.
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BibTeX
@misc{yan2026roman,
title = {{The Roman eXtreme Deep Field (RXDF)}},
author = {Haojing Yan and Anton M. Koekemoer and Yue Shen and Bangzheng Sun and Norman A. Grogin and Zihao Wu and Christian Kragh Jespersen and Rachel Somerville and Kyoung-Soo Lee and Dale D. Kocevski and Adam J. Burgasser and Pedro H. Bernardinelli and Yicheng Guo and Charles Steinhardt and Xiaohui Fan and Duncan Farrah and Gisella De Rosa and Feige Wang and Jinyi Yang and Lifan Wang and Fengwu Sun and Christopher N. A. Willmer and John David Silverman and Steven L. Finkelstein and Seth H. Cohen and Rolf A. Jansen and Rogier A. Windhorst and Brent M. Smith and Stefano Casertano and Anthony H. Gonzalez and Michael A. Strauss and Ray A. Lucas and Katherine E. Whitaker and Mingyang Zhuang and Rodrigo Angulo and Chloe Aurin and Micaela Bagley and Franz E. Bauer and Jessica M. Berkheimer and Rachel Bezanson and Alejandro S. Borlaff and Rebecca A. A. Bowler and Larry D. Bradley and W. N. Brandt and Denis Burgarella and Timothy Carleton and Delondrae D. Carter and Caitlin M. Casey and Christopher J. Conselice and Kyle W. Cook and Jeff Cooke and David A. Coulter and Tyler Desjardins and Tim Dewachter and Nicole E. Drakos and Simon P. Driver and Qiao Duan and Eiichi Egami and Andreas Faisst and Travis C. Fischer},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.08145},
eprint = {2609.08145},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.08145},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - The Roman eXtreme Deep Field (RXDF)
AU - Haojing Yan
AU - Anton M. Koekemoer
AU - Yue Shen
AU - Bangzheng Sun
AU - Norman A. Grogin
AU - Zihao Wu
AU - Christian Kragh Jespersen
AU - Rachel Somerville
AU - Kyoung-Soo Lee
AU - Dale D. Kocevski
AU - Adam J. Burgasser
AU - Pedro H. Bernardinelli
AU - Yicheng Guo
AU - Charles Steinhardt
AU - Xiaohui Fan
AU - Duncan Farrah
AU - Gisella De Rosa
AU - Feige Wang
AU - Jinyi Yang
AU - Lifan Wang
AU - Fengwu Sun
AU - Christopher N. A. Willmer
AU - John David Silverman
AU - Steven L. Finkelstein
AU - Seth H. Cohen
AU - Rolf A. Jansen
AU - Rogier A. Windhorst
AU - Brent M. Smith
AU - Stefano Casertano
AU - Anthony H. Gonzalez
AU - Michael A. Strauss
AU - Ray A. Lucas
AU - Katherine E. Whitaker
AU - Mingyang Zhuang
AU - Rodrigo Angulo
AU - Chloe Aurin
AU - Micaela Bagley
AU - Franz E. Bauer
AU - Jessica M. Berkheimer
AU - Rachel Bezanson
AU - Alejandro S. Borlaff
AU - Rebecca A. A. Bowler
AU - Larry D. Bradley
AU - W. N. Brandt
AU - Denis Burgarella
AU - Timothy Carleton
AU - Delondrae D. Carter
AU - Caitlin M. Casey
AU - Christopher J. Conselice
AU - Kyle W. Cook
AU - Jeff Cooke
AU - David A. Coulter
AU - Tyler Desjardins
AU - Tim Dewachter
AU - Nicole E. Drakos
AU - Simon P. Driver
AU - Qiao Duan
AU - Eiichi Egami
AU - Andreas Faisst
AU - Travis C. Fischer
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/08
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.08145
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.08145
AB - The Roman eXtreme Deep Field (RXDF) program is one of the five General Astrophysics Survey (GAS) programs approved for observing time with the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope in Cycles 1 and 2. It has been allocated 386.41 hours to carry out an imaging survey to AB = 30 mag (5-sigma) over ~140x larger area than the Hubble eXtreme Deep Field (HXDF) full-depth area (ACS+WFC3/IR). The RXDF will cover the full Roman wavelength range with 7 bands, reaching AB = 30 mag in RZYJH, 29 mag in F, and 28 mag in K, over a full-depth area of 678.75 arcmin^2 embedded in a total area of 1,243 arcmin^2, and far exceeding the depths of the Roman Core Community Surveys (CCS). The RXDF is within the Euclid Ultra Deep Field (EUDF) near the North Ecliptic Pole (NEP), a strategic long-term field for generational space facilities, with a wealth of multi-wavelength data including extensive coverage from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) NEXUS Treasury program. The observations will cover 3 epochs at a 1-year cadence, each epoch divided into 3 sub-epochs ~10 days apart, enabling time-domain studies on time baselines from ~10 days to over ~2 years. The RXDF is uniquely positioned to address critical questions in reionization, large scale structure (LSS), growth of supermassive black holes (SMBHs), little red dots (LRDs), and high-z supernovae (SNe); the volumes probed by HST+JWST are too small at these extreme depths, and even the deepest CCS tiers are too shallow. In addition to our key objectives, a wealth of additional science will be enabled by engaging the community with our rapidly released datasets, revolutionizing a wide range of science for a lasting legacy. This short document, which is converted from the approved RXDF proposal, aims to provide the community with a summary of the program.
ER -