arXiv subjects

G. Tarle

Publications and source records attributed to G. Tarle.

At least 181 records · Page 10Linked to original sources

arXiv2020

The Dark Energy Survey Supernova Program: Modelling selection efficiency and observed core collapse supernova contamination

The analysis of current and future cosmological surveys of type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) at high-redshift depends on the accurate photometric classification of the SN events detected. Generating realistic simulations of photometric SN surveys constitutes an essential step for training and testing photometric classification algorithms, and for correcting biases introduced by selection effects and contamination arising from core collapse SNe in the photometric SN Ia samples. We use published SN time-series spectrophotometric templates, rates, luminosity functions and empirical relationships between SNe and their host galaxies to construct a framework for simulating photometric SN surveys. We present this framework in the context of the Dark Energy Survey (DES) 5-year photometric SN sample, comparing our simulations of DES with the observed DES transient populations. We demonstrate excellent agreement in many distributions, including Hubble residuals, between our simulations and data. We estimate the core collapse fraction expected in the DES SN sample after selection requirements are applied and before photometric classification. After testing different modelling choices and astrophysical assumptions underlying our simulation, we find that the predicted contamination varies from 5.8 to 9.3 per cent, with an average of 7.0 per cent and r.m.s. of 1.1 per cent. Our simulations are the first to reproduce the observed photometric SN and host galaxy properties in high-redshift surveys without fine-tuning the input parameters. The simulation methods presented here will be a critical component of the cosmology analysis of the DES photometric SN Ia sample: correcting for biases arising from contamination, and evaluating the associated systematic uncertainty.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2020

Machine Learning for Searching the Dark Energy Survey for Trans-Neptunian Objects

In this paper we investigate how implementing machine learning could improve the efficiency of the search for Trans-Neptunian Objects (TNOs) within Dark Energy Survey (DES) data when used alongside orbit fitting. The discovery of multiple TNOs that appear to show a similarity in their orbital parameters has led to the suggestion that one or more undetected planets, an as yet undiscovered "Planet 9", may be present in the outer Solar System. DES is well placed to detect such a planet and has already been used to discover many other TNOs. Here, we perform tests on eight different supervised machine learning algorithms, using a dataset consisting of simulated TNOs buried within real DES noise data. We found that the best performing classifier was the Random Forest which, when optimised, performed well at detecting the rare objects. We achieve an area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, (AUC) $= 0.996 \pm 0.001$. After optimizing the decision threshold of the Random Forest, we achieve a recall of 0.96 while maintaining a precision of 0.80. Finally, by using the optimized classifier to pre-select objects, we are able to run the orbit-fitting stage of our detection pipeline five times faster.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2020

Increasing the census of L and T dwarfs in wide binary and multiple systems using Dark Energy Survey DR1 and Gaia DR2 data

We present the discovery of 255 binary and six multiple system candidates with wide > 5" separation composed by ultracool dwarfs companions to stars, plus nine double ultracool dwarf systems. These systems were selected based on common distance criteria. About 90% of the total sample has proper motions available and 73% of the systems also satisfy a common proper motion criterion. The sample of ultracool candidates was taken from the Dark Energy Survey (DES) and the candidate stellar primaries are from Gaia DR2 and DES data. We compute chance alignment probabilities in order to assess the physical nature of each pair. We find that 174 candidate pairs with Gaia DR2 primaries and 81 pairs with a DES star as a primary have chance alignment probabilities < 5%. Only nine candidate systems composed of two ultracool dwarfs were identified. The sample of candidate multiple systems is made up of five triple systems and one quadruple system. The majority of the ultracool dwarfs found in binaries and multiples are of early L type and the typical wide binary fraction over the L spectral types is 2-4%. Our sample of candidate wide binaries with ultracool dwarfs as secondaries constitutes a substantial increase over the known number of such systems, which are very useful to constrain the formation and evolution of ultracool dwarfs.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2020

Dark Energy Survey Year 1 Results: the lensing imprint of cosmic voids on the Cosmic Microwave Background

Cosmic voids gravitationally lens the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation, resulting in a distinct imprint on degree scales. We use the simulated CMB lensing convergence map from the MICE N-body simulation to calibrate our detection strategy for a given void definition and galaxy tracer density. We then identify cosmic voids in DES Year 1 data and stack the Planck 2015 lensing convergence map on their locations, probing the consistency of simulated and observed void lensing signals. When fixing the shape of the stacked convergence profile to that calibrated from simulations, we find imprints at the $3σ$ significance level for various analysis choices. The best measurement strategies based on the MICE calibration process yield $S/N \sim 4$ for DES Y1, and the best-fit amplitude recovered from the data is consistent with expectations from MICE ($A \sim 1$). Given these results as well as the agreement between them and N-body simulations, we conclude that the previously reported excess integrated Sachs-Wolfe (ISW) signal associated with cosmic voids in DES Y1 has no counterpart in the Planck CMB lensing map.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2020

Reducing ground-based astrometric errors with Gaia and Gaussian processes

Stochastic field distortions caused by atmospheric turbulence are a fundamental limitation to the astrometric accuracy of ground-based imaging. This distortion field is measurable at the locations of stars with accurate positions provided by the Gaia DR2 catalog; we develop the use of Gaussian process regression (GPR) to interpolate the distortion field to arbitrary locations in each exposure. We introduce an extension to standard GPR techniques that exploits the knowledge that the 2-dimensional distortion field is curl-free. Applied to several hundred 90-second exposures from the Dark Energy Survey as a testbed, we find that the GPR correction reduces the variance of the turbulent distortions $\approx12\times$, on average, with better performance in denser regions of the Gaia catalog. The RMS per-coordinate distortion in the $riz$ bands is typically $\approx7$ mas before any correction, and $\approx2$ mas after application of the GPR model. The GPR astrometric corrections are validated by the observation that their use reduces, from 10 to 5 mas RMS, the residuals to an orbit fit to $riz$-band observations over 5 years of the $r=18.5$ trans-Neptunian object Eris. We also propose a GPR method, not yet implemented, for simultaneously estimating the turbulence fields and the 5-dimensional stellar solutions in a stack of overlapping exposures, which should yield further turbulence reductions in future deep surveys.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2020

Optical follow-up of gravitational wave triggers with DECam during the first two LIGO/VIRGO observing runs

Gravitational wave (GW) events detectable by LIGO and Virgo have several possible progenitors, including black hole mergers, neutron star mergers, black hole--neutron star mergers, supernovae, and cosmic string cusps. A subset of GW events are expected to produce electromagnetic (EM) emission that, once detected, will provide complementary information about their astrophysical context. To that end, the LIGO--Virgo Collaboration (LVC) sends GW candidate alerts to the astronomical community so that searches for their EM counterparts can be pursued. The DESGW group, consisting of members of the Dark Energy Survey (DES), the LVC, and other members of the astronomical community, uses the Dark Energy Camera (DECam) to perform a search and discovery program for optical signatures of LVC GW events. DESGW aims to use a sample of GW events as standard sirens for cosmology. Due to the short decay timescale of the expected EM counterparts and the need to quickly eliminate survey areas with no counterpart candidates, it is critical to complete the initial analysis of each night's images as quickly as possible. We discuss our search area determination, imaging pipeline, and candidate selection processes. We review results from the DESGW program during the first two LIGO--Virgo observing campaigns and introduce other science applications that our pipeline enables.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2020

Is every strong lens model unhappy in its own way? Uniform modelling of a sample of 13 quadruply+ imaged quasars

Strong-gravitational lens systems with quadruply-imaged quasars (quads) are unique probes to address several fundamental problems in cosmology and astrophysics. Although they are intrinsically very rare, ongoing and planned wide-field deep-sky surveys are set to discover thousands of such systems in the next decade. It is thus paramount to devise a general framework to model strong-lens systems to cope with this large influx without being limited by expert investigator time. We propose such a general modelling framework (implemented with the publicly available software Lenstronomy) and apply it to uniformly model three-band Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3 images of 13 quads. This is the largest uniformly modelled sample of quads to date and paves the way for a variety of studies. To illustrate the scientific content of the sample, we investigate the alignment between the mass and light distribution in the deflectors. The position angles of these distributions are well-aligned, except when there is strong external shear. However, we find no correlation between the ellipticity of the light and mass distributions. We also show that the observed flux-ratios between the images depart significantly from the predictions of simple smooth models. The departures are strongest in the bluest band, consistent with microlensing being the dominant cause in addition to millilensing. Future papers will exploit this rich dataset in combination with ground based spectroscopy and time delays to determine quantities such as the Hubble constant, the free streaming length of dark matter, and the normalization of the initial stellar mass function.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2020

Perturbation theory for modeling galaxy bias: validation with simulations of the Dark Energy Survey

We describe perturbation theory (PT) models of galaxy bias for applications to photometric galaxy surveys. We model the galaxy-galaxy and galaxy-matter correlation functions in configuration space and validate against measurements from mock catalogs designed for the Dark Energy Survey (DES). We find that an effective PT model with five galaxy bias parameters provides a good description of the 3D correlation functions above scales of 4 Mpc/$h$ and $z < 1$. Our tests show that at the projected precision of the DES-Year 3 analysis, two of the non-linear bias parameters can be fixed to their co-evolution values, and a third (the $k^2$ term for higher derivative bias) set to zero. The agreement is typically at the 2 percent level over scales of interest, which is the statistical uncertainty of our simulation measurements. To achieve this level of agreement, our {\it fiducial} model requires using the full non-linear matter power spectrum (rather than the 1-loop PT one). We also measure the relationship between the non-linear and linear bias parameters and compare them to their expected co-evolution values. We use these tests to motivate the galaxy bias model and scale cuts for the cosmological analysis of the Dark Energy Survey; our conclusions are generally applicable to all photometric surveys.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2020

The impact of spectroscopic incompleteness in direct calibration of redshift distributions for weak lensing surveys

Obtaining accurate distributions of galaxy redshifts is a critical aspect of weak lensing cosmology experiments. One of the methods used to estimate and validate redshift distributions is apply weights to a spectroscopic sample so that their weighted photometry distribution matches the target sample. In this work we estimate the \textit{selection bias} in redshift that is introduced in this procedure. We do so by simulating the process of assembling a spectroscopic sample (including observer-assigned confidence flags) and highlight the impacts of spectroscopic target selection and redshift failures. We use the first year (Y1) weak lensing analysis in DES as an example data set but the implications generalise to all similar weak lensing surveys. We find that using colour cuts that are not available to the weak lensing galaxies can introduce biases of $Δ~z\sim0.015$ in the weighted mean redshift of different redshift intervals. To assess the impact of incompleteness in spectroscopic samples, we select only objects with high observer-defined confidence flags and compare the weighted mean redshift with the true mean. We find that the mean redshift of the DES Y1 weak lensing sample is typically biased at the $Δ~z=0.005-0.05$ level after the weighting is applied. The bias we uncover can have either sign, depending on the samples and redshift interval considered. For the highest redshift bin, the bias is larger than the uncertainties in the other DES Y1 redshift calibration methods, justifying the decision of not using this method for the redshift estimations. We discuss several methods to mitigate this bias.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2020

Weak Lensing of Type Ia Supernovae from the Dark Energy Survey

We consider the effects of weak gravitational lensing on observations of 196 spectroscopically confirmed Type Ia Supernovae (SNe Ia) from years 1 to 3 of the Dark Energy Survey (DES). We simultaneously measure both the angular correlation function and the non-Gaussian skewness caused by weak lensing. This approach has the advantage of being insensitive to the intrinsic dispersion of SNe Ia magnitudes. We model the amplitude of both effects as a function of $σ_8$, and find $σ_8 = 1.2^{+0.9}_{-0.8}$. We also apply our method to a subsample of 488 SNe from the Joint Light-curve Analysis (JLA) (chosen to match the redshift range we use for this work), and find $σ_8 = 0.8^{+1.1}_{-0.7}$. The comparable uncertainty in $σ_8$ between DES-SN and the larger number of SNe from JLA highlights the benefits of homogeneity of the DES-SN sample, and improvements in the calibration and data analysis.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2020

A DESGW Search for the Electromagnetic Counterpart to the LIGO/Virgo Gravitational Wave Binary Neutron Star Merger Candidate S190510g

We present the results from a search for the electromagnetic counterpart of the LIGO/Virgo event S190510g using the Dark Energy Camera (DECam). S190510g is a binary neutron star (BNS) merger candidate of moderate significance detected at a distance of 227$\pm$92 Mpc and localized within an area of 31 (1166) square degrees at 50\% (90\%) confidence. While this event was later classified as likely non-astrophysical in nature within 30 hours of the event, our short latency search and discovery pipeline identified 11 counterpart candidates, all of which appear consistent with supernovae following offline analysis and spectroscopy by other instruments. Later reprocessing of the images enabled the recovery of 6 more candidates. Additionally, we implement our candidate selection procedure on simulated kilonovae and supernovae under DECam observing conditions (e.g., seeing, exposure time) with the intent of quantifying our search efficiency and making informed decisions on observing strategy for future similar events. This is the first BNS counterpart search to employ a comprehensive simulation-based efficiency study. We find that using the current follow-up strategy, there would need to be 19 events similar to S190510g for us to have a 99\% chance of detecting an optical counterpart, assuming a GW170817-like kilonova. We further conclude that optimization of observing plans, which should include preference for deeper images over multiple color information, could result in up to a factor of 1.5 reduction in the total number of followups needed for discovery.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2020

$μ_{\star}$ Masses: Weak Lensing Calibration of the Dark Energy Survey Year 1 redMaPPer Clusters using Stellar Masses

We present the weak lensing mass calibration of the stellar mass based $μ_{\star}$ mass proxy for redMaPPer galaxy clusters in the Dark Energy Survey Year 1. For the first time we are able to perform a calibration of $μ_{\star}$ at high redshifts, $z>0.33$. In a blinded analysis, we use $\sim 6,000$ clusters split into 12 subsets spanning the ranges $0.1 \leqslant z<0.65$ and $μ_{\star}$ up to $\sim 5.5 \times 10^{13} M_{\odot}$, and infer the average masses of these subsets through modelling of their stacked weak lensing signal. In our model we account for the following sources of systematic uncertainty: shear measurement and photometric redshift errors, miscentring, cluster-member contamination of the source sample, deviations from the NFW halo profile, halo triaxiality and projection effects. We use the inferred masses to estimate the joint mass--$μ_{\star}$--$z$ scaling relation given by $\langle M_{200c} | μ_{\star},z \rangle = M_0 (μ_{\star}/5.16\times 10^{12} \mathrm{M_{\odot}})^{F_{μ_{\star}}} ((1+z)/1.35)^{G_z}$. We find $M_0= (1.14 \pm 0.07) \times 10^{14} \mathrm{M_{\odot}}$ with $F_{μ_{\star}}= 0.76 \pm 0.06$ and $G_z= -1.14 \pm 0.37$. We discuss the use of $μ_{\star}$ as a complementary mass proxy to the well-studied richness $λ$ for: $i)$ exploring the regimes of low $z$, $λ<20$ and high $λ$, $z \sim 1$; $ii)$ testing systematics such as projection effects for applications in cluster cosmology.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2020

OzDES multi-object fibre spectroscopy for the Dark Energy Survey: Results and second data release

We present a description of the Australian Dark Energy Survey (OzDES) and summarise the results from its six years of operations. Using the 2dF fibre positioner and AAOmega spectrograph on the 3.9-metre Anglo-Australian Telescope, OzDES has monitored 771 AGN, classified hundreds of supernovae, and obtained redshifts for thousands of galaxies that hosted a transient within the 10 deep fields of the Dark Energy Survey. We also present the second OzDES data release, containing the redshifts of almost 30,000 sources, some as faint as $r_{\mathrm AB}=24$ mag, and 375,000 individual spectra. These data, in combination with the time-series photometry from the Dark Energy Survey, will be used to measure the expansion history of the Universe out to $z\sim1.2$ and the masses of hundreds of black holes out to $z\sim4$. OzDES is a template for future surveys that combine simultaneous monitoring of targets with wide-field imaging cameras and wide-field multi-object spectrographs.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2020

DES16C3cje: A low-luminosity, long-lived supernova

We present DES16C3cje, a low-luminosity, long-lived type II supernova (SN II) at redshift 0.0618, detected by the Dark Energy Survey (DES). DES16C3cje is a unique SN. The spectra are characterized by extremely narrow photospheric lines corresponding to very low expansion velocities of $\lesssim1500$ km s$^{-1}$, and the light curve shows an initial peak that fades after 50 days before slowly rebrightening over a further 100 days to reach an absolute brightness of M$_r\sim -15.5$ mag. The decline rate of the late-time light curve is then slower than that expected from the powering by radioactive decay of $^{56}$Co but is comparable to that expected from accretion power. Comparing the bolometric light curve with hydrodynamical models, we find that DES16C3cje can be explained by either i) a low explosion energy (0.11 foe) and relatively large $^{56}$Ni production of 0.075 M$_{\odot}$ from a $\sim15$ M$_{\odot}$ red supergiant progenitor typical of other SNe II, or ii) a relatively compact $\sim40$ M$_{\odot}$ star, explosion energy of 1 foe, and 0.08 M$_{\odot}$ of $^{56}$Ni. Both scenarios require additional energy input to explain the late-time light curve, which is consistent with fallback accretion at a rate of $\sim0.5\times{10^{-8}}$ M$_{\odot}$ s$^{-1}$.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2020

Chemical Analysis of the Ultra-Faint Dwarf Galaxy Grus~II. Signature of high-mass stellar nucleosynthesis

We present a detailed abundance analysis of the three brightest member stars at the top of the giant branch of the ultra-faint dwarf galaxy Grus~II. All stars exhibit a higher than expected $\mathrm{[Mg/Ca]}$ ratio compared to metal-poor stars in other ultra-faint dwarf galaxies and in the Milky Way halo. Nucleosynthesis in high mass ($\geqslant 20$M$_\odot$) core-collapse supernovae has been shown to create this signature. The abundances of this small sample (3) stars suggest the chemical enrichment of Grus~II could have occurred through substantial high-mass stellar evolution and is consistent with the framework of a top-heavy initial mass function. However, with only three stars it can not be ruled out that the abundance pattern is the result of a stochastic chemical enrichment at early times in the galaxy. The most metal-rich of the three stars also possesses a small enhancement in rapid neutron-capture ($r$-process) elements. The abundance pattern of the $r$-process elements in this star matches the scaled $r$-process pattern of the solar system and $r$-process enhanced stars in other dwarf galaxies and in the Milky Way halo, hinting at a common origin for these elements across a range of environments. All current proposed astrophysical sites of $r$-process element production are associated with high-mass stars, thus the possible top-heavy initial mass function of Grus~II would increase the likelihood of any of these events occurring. The time delay between the $α$ and $r$-process element enrichment of the galaxy favors a neutron star merger as the origin of the $r$-process elements in Grus~II.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2020

Studying Type II supernovae as cosmological standard candles using the Dark Energy Survey

Despite vast improvements in the measurement of the cosmological parameters, the nature of dark energy and an accurate value of the Hubble constant (H$_0$) in the Hubble-Lemaître law remain unknown. To break the current impasse, it is necessary to develop as many independent techniques as possible, such as the use of Type II supernovae (SNe II). The goal of this paper is to demonstrate the utility of SNe II for deriving accurate extragalactic distances, which will be an asset for the next generation of telescopes where more-distant SNe II will be discovered. More specifically, we present a sample from the Dark Energy Survey Supernova Program (DES-SN) consisting of 15 SNe II with photometric and spectroscopic information spanning a redshift range up to 0.35. Combining our DES SNe with publicly available samples, and using the standard candle method (SCM), we construct the largest available Hubble diagram with SNe II in the Hubble flow (70 SNe II) and find an observed dispersion of 0.27 mag. We demonstrate that adding a colour term to the SN II standardisation does not reduce the scatter in the Hubble diagram. Although SNe II are viable as distance indicators, this work points out important issues for improving their utility as independent extragalactic beacons: find new correlations, define a more standard subclass of SNe II, construct new SN II templates, and dedicate more observing time to high-redshift SNe II. Finally, for the first time, we perform simulations to estimate the redshift-dependent distance-modulus bias due to selection effects.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2020

The Host Galaxies of Rapidly Evolving Transients in the Dark Energy Survey

Rapidly evolving transients (RETs), also termed fast blue optical transients (FBOTs), are a distinct class of astrophysical event. They are characterised by lightcurves that decline much faster than common classes supernovae (SNe), span vast ranges in peak luminosity and can be seen to redshifts greater than 1. Their evolution on fast timescales has hindered high quality follow-up observations, and thus their origin and explosion/emission mechanism remains unexplained. In this paper we define the largest sample of RETs to date, comprising 106 objects from the Dark Energy Survey, and perform the most comprehensive analysis of RET host galaxies. Using deep-stacked photometry and emission-lines from OzDES spectroscopy, we derive stellar masses and star-formation rates (SFRs) for 49 host galaxies, and metallicities for 37. We find that RETs explode exclusively in star-forming galaxies and are thus likely associated with massive stars. Comparing RET hosts to samples of host galaxies of other explosive transients as well as field galaxies, we find that RETs prefer galaxies with high specific SFRs, indicating a link to young stellar populations, similar to stripped-envelope SNe. RET hosts appear to show a lack of chemical enrichment, their metallicities akin to long duration gamma-ray bursts and superluminous SN host galaxies. There are no clear relationships between properties of the host galaxies and the peak magnitudes or decline rates of the transients themselves.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2020

Blinding multi-probe cosmological experiments

The goal of blinding is to hide an experiment's critical results -- here the inferred cosmological parameters -- until all decisions affecting its analysis have been finalised. This is especially important in the current era of precision cosmology, when the results of any new experiment are closely scrutinised for consistency or tension with previous results. In analyses that combine multiple observational probes, like the combination of galaxy clustering and weak lensing in the Dark Energy Survey (DES), it is challenging to blind the results while retaining the ability to check for (in)consistency between different parts of the data. We propose a simple new blinding transformation that works by modifying the summary statistics that are input to parameter estimation, such as two-point correlation functions. The transformation shifts the measured statistics to new values that are consistent with (blindly) shifted cosmological parameters, while preserving internal (in)consistency. We apply the blinding transformation to simulated data for the projected DES Year 3 galaxy clustering and weak lensing analysis, demonstrating that practical blinding is achieved without significant perturbation of internal-consistency checks, as measured here by degradation of the $χ^2$ between data and best-fitting model. Our blinding method conserves $χ^2$ more precisely as experiments evolve to higher precision.

astro-ph.CO↗