arXiv subjects

Daniel Perrefort

Publications and source records attributed to Daniel Perrefort.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2021

The Dependence of the Type Ia Supernova Host Bias on Observation or Fitting Technique

More luminous Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) prefer less massive hosts and regions of higher star formation. This correlation is inverted during width-color-luminosity light curve standardization resulting in step-like biases of distance measurements with respect to host properties. Using the PISCO supernova host sample and SDSS, GALEX, and 2MASS photometry, we compare host stellar mass and specific star formation rate (sSFR) from different observation methods, including local vs. global, and fitting techniques to measure their impact on the host step biases. Mass step measurements for all our mass samples are consistent within a 1$σ$ significance from -0.03$\pm$0.02 mag to -0.04$\pm$0.02 mag. Including or excluding UV information had no effect on measured mass step size or location. Specific SFR (sSFR) step sizes are more significant than mass step measurements and varied from $0.05\pm0.03$ mag (H$α$) and $0.06\pm0.02$ mag (UV) for a 51 host sample. The sSFR step location is influenced by mass sample used to normalize star formation and by sSFR tracer choice. The step size is reduced to 0.04$\pm$0.03 mag when using all available 73 hosts with H$α$ measurements. This 73 PISCO host subsample overall lacked a clear step signal, but here we are searching for whether different choices of mass or sSFR estimation can create a step signal. We find no evidence that different observation or fitting techniques choice can create a distance measurement step in either mass or sSFR.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2021

The LSST DESC DC2 Simulated Sky Survey

We describe the simulated sky survey underlying the second data challenge (DC2) carried out in preparation for analysis of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) by the LSST Dark Energy Science Collaboration (LSST DESC). Significant connections across multiple science domains will be a hallmark of LSST; the DC2 program represents a unique modeling effort that stresses this interconnectivity in a way that has not been attempted before. This effort encompasses a full end-to-end approach: starting from a large N-body simulation, through setting up LSST-like observations including realistic cadences, through image simulations, and finally processing with Rubin's LSST Science Pipelines. This last step ensures that we generate data products resembling those to be delivered by the Rubin Observatory as closely as is currently possible. The simulated DC2 sky survey covers six optical bands in a wide-fast-deep (WFD) area of approximately 300 deg^2 as well as a deep drilling field (DDF) of approximately 1 deg^2. We simulate 5 years of the planned 10-year survey. The DC2 sky survey has multiple purposes. First, the LSST DESC working groups can use the dataset to develop a range of DESC analysis pipelines to prepare for the advent of actual data. Second, it serves as a realistic testbed for the image processing software under development for LSST by the Rubin Observatory. In particular, simulated data provide a controlled way to investigate certain image-level systematic effects. Finally, the DC2 sky survey enables the exploration of new scientific ideas in both static and time-domain cosmology.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2021

DESC DC2 Data Release Note

In preparation for cosmological analyses of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST), the LSST Dark Energy Science Collaboration (LSST DESC) has created a 300 deg$^2$ simulated survey as part of an effort called Data Challenge 2 (DC2). The DC2 simulated sky survey, in six optical bands with observations following a reference LSST observing cadence, was processed with the LSST Science Pipelines (19.0.0). In this Note, we describe the public data release of the resulting object catalogs for the coadded images of five years of simulated observations along with associated truth catalogs. We include a brief description of the major features of the available data sets. To enable convenient access to the data products, we have developed a web portal connected to Globus data services. We describe how to access the data and provide example Jupyter Notebooks in Python to aid first interactions with the data. We welcome feedback and questions about the data release via a GitHub repository.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2020

GPS Measurements of Precipitable Water Vapor Can Improve Survey Calibration: A Demonstration from KPNO and the Mayall z-band Legacy Survey

We here show that dual-band GPS measurements of precipitable water vapor (PWV) at KPNO predict the overall per-image sensitivity of the Mayall z-band Legacy Survey (MzLS). The per-image variation in the brightness of individual stars is strongly correlated with the measured PWV and the color of the star. We use synthetic stellar spectra and TAPAS transmission models to predict the expected PWV-induced photometric errors and find good agreement with the observations. We also find that PWV absorption can be well-approximated by a linear relationship with PWV_eff and present an update on the traditional treatment in the literature. Within the range of reasonable observing conditions, the MzLS zero point varies with a standard deviation of 127 mmag. This variation is dominated by a gray secular trend with time, consistent with a gradual accumulation of contamination on optical surfaces that accounts for ~114 mmag of variation. Correcting for PWV based on a suite of stellar spectra and detailed PWV absorption models accounts for another 47 mmag of zero-point variation. The MzLS per-image sensitivity is decreased by ~40 mmag per effective mm of PWV. The difference between blue (r-z < 0.5 mag) and red (1.2 mag < r-z) stars increases by 3.25 mmag per effective mm of PWV. These results show the need for high-precision photometric surveys to simultaneously monitor PWV. We find that this GPS system provides more precise PWV measurements than using differential measurements of stars of different colors and recommend that observatories install dual-band GPS as a low-maintenance, relatively low cost, auxiliary calibration system. We extend our results of the need for well-calibrated PWV measurements by presenting calculations of the PWV photometric impact on three science cases of interest: stellar photometry, supernova cosmology, and quasar identification and variability.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2020

A Template-Based Approach to the Photometric Classification of SN 1991bg-like Supernovae in the SDSS-II Supernova Survey

The use of Type Ia Supernovae (SNe Ia) to measure cosmological parameters has grown significantly over the past two decades. However, there exists a significant diversity in the SN Ia population that is not well understood. Over-luminous SN 1991T-like and sub-luminous SN 1991bg-like objects are two characteristic examples of peculiar SNe. The identification and classification of such objects is an important step in studying what makes them unique from the remaining SN population. With the upcoming Vera C. Rubin Observatory promising on the order of a million new SNe over a ten-year survey, spectroscopic classifications will be possible for only a small subset of observed targets. As such, photometric classification has become an increasingly important concern in preparing for the next generation of astronomical surveys. Using observations from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey II (SDSS-II) SN Survey, we apply here an empirically based classification technique targeted at the identification of SN 1991bg-like SNe in photometric data sets. By performing dedicated fits to photometric data in the rest-frame redder and bluer bandpasses, we classify 16 previously unidentified 91bg-like SNe. Using SDSS-II host-galaxy measurements, we find that these SNe are preferentially found in host galaxies having an older average stellar age than the hosts of normal SNe Ia. We also find that these SNe are found at a further physical distance from the center of their host galaxies. We find no statistically significant bias in host galaxy mass or specific star formation rate for these targets.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2018

pwv_kpno: A Python Package for Modeling the Atmospheric Transmission Function due to Precipitable Water Vapor

We present a Python package, pwv_kpno, that provides models for the atmospheric transmission due to precipitable water vapor (PWV) at user specified sites. Using the package, ground-based photometric observations taken between $3,000$ and $12,000$ $Å$ can be corrected for atmospheric effects due to PWV. Atmospheric transmission in the optical and near-infrared is highly dependent on the PWV column density along the line of sight. By measuring the delay of dual-band GPS signals through the atmosphere, the SuomiNet project provides accurate PWV measurements for hundreds of locations around the world. The pwv_kpno package uses published SuomiNet data in conjunction with MODTRAN models to determine the modeled, time-dependent atmospheric transmission. A dual-band GPS system was installed at Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO) in the spring of 2015. Using measurements from this receiver we demonstrate that we can successfully predict the PWV at KPNO from nearby dual-band GPS stations on the surrounding desert floor. The pwv_kpno package can thus provide atmospheric transmission functions for observations taken before the KPNO receiver was installed. Using PWV measurements from the desert floor, we correctly model PWV absorption features present in spectra taken at KPNO. We also demonstrate how to configure the package for use at other observatories.

astro-ph.IM↗