From Dark Energy to Exolife: Improving the Digital Information Infrastructure for Astrophysics

Abstract: Some of the most exciting and promising areas of Astronomy research today are found at the boundaries of the discipline: the search for Exoplanets and Multi-Messenger Astronomy. In order to achieve breakthroughs in these research fields over the next decade, innovation and expansion of the digital information infrastructure which supports this research is required. Astronomy has been well-served by the existence of an open, distributed network of data centers and archives. However, institutional barriers and differing research cultures have prevented cross-disciplinary collaborations, creating fragmented knowledge and stove-piped research activities. This must change in order for the broader community of scientists to work together and solve our most ambitious decadal challenges. Interdisciplinary inquiry is best supported by bringing researchers together at the information discovery level. In order to cross the traditional disciplinary silos we must allow scientists both to explore new ideas and to gain access to new data and knowledge. This is best enabled by providing discovery platforms which allow them to explore and connect different research threads in the literature, identify communities of experts, access and analyze the related published datasets, measurements and catalogs.