Reevaluating LSST’s Capability for Time Delay Measurements in Quasar Accretion Disks

Abstract

The Legacy Survey of Space and Time at the Vera C. Rubin Observatory is poised to observe thousands of quasars using the Deep Drilling Fields (DDF) across six broadband filters over a decade. Understanding quasar accretion disk (AD) time delays is pivotal for probing the physics of these distant objects. Pozo Nuñez et al. has recently demonstrated the feasibility of recovering AD time delays with accuracies ranging from 5% to 20%, depending on the quasar’s redshift and time sampling intervals. Here we reassess the potential for measuring AD time delays under the current DDF observing cadence, which is placeholder until a final cadence is decided. We find that contrary to prior expectations, achieving reliable AD time delay measurements for quasars is significantly more challenging, if not unfeasible, due to the limitations imposed by the current observational strategies.