This report describes the 2014 study by the Science Definition Team (SDT) of
the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) mission. It is a space
observatory that will address the most compelling scientific problems in dark
energy, exoplanets and general astrophysics using a 2.4-m telescope with a
wide-field infrared instrument and an optical coronagraph. The Astro2010
Decadal Survey recommended a Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope as its top
priority for a new large space mission. As conceived by the decadal survey,
WFIRST would carry out a dark energy science program, a microlensing program to
determine the demographics of exoplanets, and a general observing program
utilizing its ultra wide field. In October 2012, NASA chartered a Science
Definition Team (SDT) to produce, in collaboration with the WFIRST Study Office
at GSFC and the Program Office at JPL, a Design Reference Mission (DRM) for an
implementation of WFIRST using one of the 2.4-m, Hubble-quality telescope
assemblies recently made available to NASA. This DRM builds on the work of the
earlier WFIRST SDT, reported by Green et al. (2012) and the previous WFIRST-2.4
DRM, reported by Spergel et. (2013). The 2.4-m primary mirror enables a mission
with greater sensitivity and higher angular resolution than the 1.3-m and 1.1-m
designs considered previously, increasing both the science return of the
primary surveys and the capabilities of WFIRST as a Guest Observer facility.
The addition of an on-axis coronagraphic instrument to the baseline design
enables imaging and spectroscopic studies of planets around nearby stars.Comment: This report describes the 2014 study by the Science Definition Team
of the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope mission. 319 pages; corrected a
misspelled name in the authors list and a typo in the abstrac