23 research outputs found
Data Compression in the Petascale Astronomy Era: a GERLUMPH case study
As the volume of data grows, astronomers are increasingly faced with choices
on what data to keep -- and what to throw away. Recent work evaluating the
JPEG2000 (ISO/IEC 15444) standards as a future data format standard in
astronomy has shown promising results on observational data. However, there is
still a need to evaluate its potential on other type of astronomical data, such
as from numerical simulations. GERLUMPH (the GPU-Enabled High Resolution
cosmological MicroLensing parameter survey) represents an example of a data
intensive project in theoretical astrophysics. In the next phase of processing,
the ~27 terabyte GERLUMPH dataset is set to grow by a factor of 100 -- well
beyond the current storage capabilities of the supercomputing facility on which
it resides. In order to minimise bandwidth usage, file transfer time, and
storage space, this work evaluates several data compression techniques.
Specifically, we investigate off-the-shelf and custom lossless compression
algorithms as well as the lossy JPEG2000 compression format. Results of
lossless compression algorithms on GERLUMPH data products show small
compression ratios (1.35:1 to 4.69:1 of input file size) varying with the
nature of the input data. Our results suggest that JPEG2000 could be suitable
for other numerical datasets stored as gridded data or volumetric data. When
approaching lossy data compression, one should keep in mind the intended
purposes of the data to be compressed, and evaluate the effect of the loss on
future analysis. In our case study, lossy compression and a high compression
ratio do not significantly compromise the intended use of the data for
constraining quasar source profiles from cosmological microlensing.Comment: 15 pages, 9 figures, 5 tables. Published in the Special Issue of
Astronomy & Computing on The future of astronomical data format
New approaches to Volume and Velocity challenges of Modern Astronomy
Fundamental problems facing modern astronomy relate to processing, visualization, analysis, and remote access to data. As the volume and velocity at which data is generated and stored increases, new approaches, methods and analytical tools are required to let us fully explore information hidden within our data. In this talk, I discuss ways to enhance and streamline analysis tasks in surveys by adopting a set of informatics tricks—including concepts like display ecology, visual and immersive analytics, `single instruction, multiple visualizations`, graphics shaders, and data compression—to alleviate a number of bottlenecks and offer a better experience for individuals and research teams
Probing the extragalactic fast transient sky at minute timescales with DECam
Searches for optical transients are usually performed with a cadence of days
to weeks, optimised for supernova discovery. The optical fast transient sky is
still largely unexplored, with only a few surveys to date having placed
meaningful constraints on the detection of extragalactic transients evolving at
sub-hour timescales. Here, we present the results of deep searches for dim,
minute-timescale extragalactic fast transients using the Dark Energy Camera, a
core facility of our all-wavelength and all-messenger Deeper, Wider, Faster
programme. We used continuous 20s exposures to systematically probe timescales
down to 1.17 minutes at magnitude limits (AB), detecting hundreds of
transient and variable sources. Nine candidates passed our strict criteria on
duration and non-stellarity, all of which could be classified as flare stars
based on deep multi-band imaging. Searches for fast radio burst and gamma-ray
counterparts during simultaneous multi-facility observations yielded no
counterparts to the optical transients. Also, no long-term variability was
detected with pre-imaging and follow-up observations using the SkyMapper
optical telescope. We place upper limits for minute-timescale fast optical
transient rates for a range of depths and timescales. Finally, we demonstrate
that optical -band light curve behaviour alone cannot discriminate between
confirmed extragalactic fast transients such as prompt GRB flashes and Galactic
stellar flares.Comment: Published in MNRA
3D-Stereoscopic Immersive Analytics Projects at Monash University and University of Konstanz
Immersive Analytics investigates how novel interaction and display technologies may support analytical reasoning and decision making. The Immersive Analytics initiative of Monash University started early 2014. Over the last few years, a number of projects have been developed or extended in this context to meet the requirements of semi- or full-immersive stereoscopic environments. Different technologies are used for this purpose: CAVE2™ (a 330 degree large-scale visualization environment which can be used for educative and scientific group presentations, analyses and discussions), stereoscopic Powerwalls (miniCAVEs, representing a segment of the CAVE2 and used for development and communication), Fishtanks, and/or HMDs (such as Oculus, VIVE, and mobile HMD approaches). Apart from CAVE2™ all systems are or will be employed on both the Monash University and the University of Konstanz side, especially to investigate collaborative Immersive Analytics. In addition, sensiLab extends most of the previous approaches by involving all senses, 3D visualization is combined with multi-sensory feedback, 3D printing, robotics in a scientific-artistic-creative environment
Seeing the forest and the trees: a radio investigation of the ULIRG Mrk 273
Galaxy mergers have been observed to trigger nuclear activity by feeding gas to the central supermassive black hole. One such class of objects are Ultra Luminous InfraRed Galaxies (ULIRGs), which are mostly late stage major mergers of gas-rich galaxies. Recently, large-scale (∼100 kpc) radio continuum emission has been detected in a select number of ULIRGs, all of which also harbour powerful Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN). This hints at the presence of large-scale radio emission being evidence for nuclear activity. Exploring the origin of this radio emission and its link to nuclear activity requires high sensitivity multi-frequency data. We present such an analysis of the ULIRG Mrk 273. Using the International LOFAR telescope (ILT), we detected spectacular large-scale arcs in this system. This detection includes, for the first time, a giant ∼190 kpc arc in the north. We propose these arcs are fuelled by a low power radio AGN triggered by the merger. We also identified a bright ∼45 kpc radio ridge, which is likely related to the ionised gas nebula in that region. We combined this with high sensitivity data from APERture Tile In Focus (Apertif) and archival data from the Very Large Array (VLA) to explore the spectral properties. The ILT simultaneously allowed us to probe the nucleus at a resolution of ∼0.3″, where we detected three components, and, for the first time, diffuse emission around these components. Combining this with archival high frequency VLA images of the nucleus allowed us to detect absorption in one component, and a steep spectrum radio AGN in another. We then extrapolate from this case study to the importance of investigating the presence of radio emission in more ULIRGs and what it can tell us about the link between mergers and the presence of radio activity