1,454 research outputs found
Fast Calculation of the Lomb-Scargle Periodogram Using Graphics Processing Units
I introduce a new code for fast calculation of the Lomb-Scargle periodogram,
that leverages the computing power of graphics processing units (GPUs). After
establishing a background to the newly emergent field of GPU computing, I
discuss the code design and narrate key parts of its source. Benchmarking
calculations indicate no significant differences in accuracy compared to an
equivalent CPU-based code. However, the differences in performance are
pronounced; running on a low-end GPU, the code can match 8 CPU cores, and on a
high-end GPU it is faster by a factor approaching thirty. Applications of the
code include analysis of long photometric time series obtained by ongoing
satellite missions and upcoming ground-based monitoring facilities; and
Monte-Carlo simulation of periodogram statistical properties.Comment: Accepted by ApJ. Accompanying program source (updated since
acceptance) can be downloaded from
http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~townsend/resource/download/code/culsp.tar.g
Rubin Observatory LSST Transients and Variable Stars Roadmap
The Vera C. Rubin Legacy Survey of Space and Time holds the potential to revolutionize time domain astrophysics, reaching completely unexplored areas of the Universe and mapping variability time scales from minutes to a decade. To prepare to maximize the potential of the Rubin LSST data for the exploration of the transient and variable Universe, one of the four pillars of Rubin LSST science, the Transient and Variable Stars Science Collaboration, one of the eight Rubin LSST Science Collaborations, has identified research areas of interest and requirements, and paths to enable them. While our roadmap is ever-evolving, this document represents a snapshot of our plans and preparatory work in the final years and months leading up to the survey\u27s first light
3D Reconstruction of the Density Field: An SVD Approach to Weak Lensing Tomography
We present a new method for constructing three-dimensional mass maps from
gravitational lensing shear data. We solve the lensing inversion problem using
truncation of singular values (within the context of generalized least squares
estimation) without a priori assumptions about the statistical nature of the
signal. This singular value framework allows a quantitative comparison between
different filtering methods: we evaluate our method beside the previously
explored Wiener filter approaches. Our method yields near-optimal angular
resolution of the lensing reconstruction and allows cluster sized halos to be
de-blended robustly. It allows for mass reconstructions which are 2-3
orders-of-magnitude faster than the Wiener filter approach; in particular, we
estimate that an all-sky reconstruction with arcminute resolution could be
performed on a time-scale of hours. We find however that linear, non-parametric
reconstructions have a fundamental limitation in the resolution achieved in the
redshift direction.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures. Accepted for publication in Ap
The Gaia-LSST Synergy
We discuss the synergy of Gaia and the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST)
in the context of Milky Way studies. LSST can be thought of as Gaia's deep
complement because the two surveys will deliver trigonometric parallax,
proper-motion, and photometric measurements with similar uncertainties at
Gaia's faint end at , and LSST will extend these measurements to a limit
about five magnitudes fainter. We also point out that users of Gaia data will
have developed data analysis skills required to benefit from LSST data, and
provide detailed information about how international participants can join
LSST.Comment: Presented at "The Milky Way Unravelled by Gaia", Barcelona, Dec 1-5,
2014; 7 pages, 1 color figur
From Data to Software to Science with the Rubin Observatory LSST
The Vera C. Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) dataset
will dramatically alter our understanding of the Universe, from the origins of
the Solar System to the nature of dark matter and dark energy. Much of this
research will depend on the existence of robust, tested, and scalable
algorithms, software, and services. Identifying and developing such tools ahead
of time has the potential to significantly accelerate the delivery of early
science from LSST. Developing these collaboratively, and making them broadly
available, can enable more inclusive and equitable collaboration on LSST
science.
To facilitate such opportunities, a community workshop entitled "From Data to
Software to Science with the Rubin Observatory LSST" was organized by the LSST
Interdisciplinary Network for Collaboration and Computing (LINCC) and partners,
and held at the Flatiron Institute in New York, March 28-30th 2022. The
workshop included over 50 in-person attendees invited from over 300
applications. It identified seven key software areas of need: (i) scalable
cross-matching and distributed joining of catalogs, (ii) robust photometric
redshift determination, (iii) software for determination of selection
functions, (iv) frameworks for scalable time-series analyses, (v) services for
image access and reprocessing at scale, (vi) object image access (cutouts) and
analysis at scale, and (vii) scalable job execution systems.
This white paper summarizes the discussions of this workshop. It considers
the motivating science use cases, identified cross-cutting algorithms,
software, and services, their high-level technical specifications, and the
principles of inclusive collaborations needed to develop them. We provide it as
a useful roadmap of needs, as well as to spur action and collaboration between
groups and individuals looking to develop reusable software for early LSST
science.Comment: White paper from "From Data to Software to Science with the Rubin
Observatory LSST" worksho
Sky Variability in the y Band at the LSST Site
We have measured spatial and temporal variability in the y band sky
brightness over the course of four nights above Cerro Tololo near Cerro Pachon,
Chile, the planned site for the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST). Our
wide-angle camera lens provided a 41 deg field of view and a 145 arcsec pixel
scale. We minimized potential system throughput differences by deploying a deep
depletion CCD and a filter that matches the proposed LSST y_3 band (970 nm-1030
nm). Images of the sky exhibited coherent wave structure, attributable to
atmospheric gravity waves at 90 km altitude, creating 3%-4% rms spatial sky
flux variability on scales of about 2 degrees and larger. Over the course of a
full night the y_3 band additionally showed highly coherent temporal
variability of up to a factor of 2 in flux. We estimate the mean absolute sky
level to be approximately y_3 = 17.8 mag (Vega), or y_3 = 18.3 mag (AB). While
our observations were made through a y_3 filter, the relative sky brightness
variability should hold for all proposed y bands, whereas the absolute levels
should more strongly depend on spectral response. The spatial variability
presents a challenge to wide-field cameras that require illumination correction
strategies that make use of stacked sky flats. The temporal variability may
warrant an adaptive y band imaging strategy for LSST, to take advantage of
times when the sky is darkest.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, accepted to PASP. Minor changes from referee
report and editor's revisions
Probing Dark Energy with the Kunlun Dark Universe Survey Telescope
Dark energy is an important science driver of many upcoming large-scale
surveys. With small, stable seeing and low thermal infrared background, Dome A,
Antarctica, offers a unique opportunity for shedding light on fundamental
questions about the universe. We show that a deep, high-resolution imaging
survey of 10,000 square degrees in \emph{ugrizyJH} bands can provide
competitive constraints on dark energy equation of state parameters using type
Ia supernovae, baryon acoustic oscillations, and weak lensing techniques. Such
a survey may be partially achieved with a coordinated effort of the Kunlun Dark
Universe Survey Telescope (KDUST) in \emph{yJH} bands over 5000--10,000 deg
and the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope in \emph{ugrizy} bands over the same
area. Moreover, the joint survey can take advantage of the high-resolution
imaging at Dome A to further tighten the constraints on dark energy and to
measure dark matter properties with strong lensing as well as galaxy--galaxy
weak lensing.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figure
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