DEEP: KMTNet DEep Ecliptic Patrol

For more than a decade, NEA (Near-Earth Asteroid) survey teams equipped with 1 meter-class telescopes discovered thousands of NEAs in the northern sky. As of August 2011, some 8,200 NEAs have been cataloged, yet only five percent of them has been investigated for their physical and chemical properties. In order to improve current situation, we propose a deep ecliptic survey utilizing KMTNet, for detection and characterization of NEAs in the southern sky. Thanks to the wide-field capability (four square degrees) of the telescopes, we will be able to considerably expand the search volume carrying out precision photometry down to 21.5th magnitude. We plan to focus our survey on opposition and two "sweet spots" in the ecliptic belt. Since SDSS colors characterize mineralogical properties of NEAs, g', r', i', z' filters will be employed. Based on the round-the-clock observation, we will study their rotational properties; for multiple systems, mass, density and other physical parameters can be obtained. We plan to maintain a dedicated database of the physical and mineralogical properties of NEAs. With this archive, it is expected that our understanding on the population will see a drastic change. We also plan to participate in the GAIA Follow-Up Network for ground based observation of the Solar System Objects (GAIA-FUN-SSO). The follow- up astrometry will be performed upon alerts issued by the GAIA-FUN-SSO Central Node in France.