Greedy set cover field selection for multi-object spectroscopy in C++ MPI

Multi-object spectrographs allow efficient observation of clustered targets. Observational programs of many targets not encompassed within a telescope's field of view, however, require multiple pointings. Here, a greedy set cover algorithmic approach to efficient field selection in such a scenario is examined. The goal of this approach is not to minimize the total number of pointings needed to cover a given target set, but rather maximize the observational return for a restricted number of pointings. Telescope field of view and maximum targets per field are input parameters, allowing algorithm application to observation planning for the current range of active multi-object spectrographs (e.g. the 2dF/AAOmega, Fiber Large Array Multi Element Spectrograph, Fiber Multi-Object Spectrograph, Hectochelle, Hectospec and Hydra systems), and for any future systems. A parallel version of the algorithm is implemented with the message passing interface, facilitating execution on both shared and distributed memory systems.