arXiv subjects

P. Irawati

Publications and source records attributed to P. Irawati.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

GOTO identification and broadband modelling of the counterpart to the SVOM GRB 250818B

Rapid localisation and follow-up of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) increasingly rely on low-latency triggers from new missions coupled to wide-field robotic optical facilities. We present the discovery and multi-wavelength follow-up of GRB 250818B, detected by the Space Variable Objects Monitor (SVOM) and localised optically by the Gravitational-wave Optical Transient Observer (GOTO). We compile and homogenise X-ray, optical/NIR, and radio data to build broadband light curves and spectral energy distributions. The afterglow is unusually luminous for a nominal short GRB, lying on the bright end of the short-GRB population in X-rays and optical and among the most luminous high-redshift short-GRB afterglows in the radio. MeerKAT detects the source at 3.1 GHz, while ALMA provides deep higher-frequency limits. Keck/LRIS spectroscopy shows continuum and metal absorption (Fe II, Mg II, Mg I), giving $z=1.216$. Synchrotron forward-shock modelling favours a constant-density medium and strongly prefers refreshed (energy-injection) emission, well described by a two-component jet with $E_{K,iso} \sim 4\times10^{52}$ erg, $n_0 \sim 3.6$ cm$^{-3}$, $\theta_j \simeq 0.10$ rad ($\sim 5.7$ deg), and $p \simeq 1.64$. The host association is ambiguous: the nearest LS DR10 galaxy candidate ($r_{AB} \sim 24.7$) is offset by $\sim 4$ arcsec ($\sim 34$ kpc) with chance-alignment probability $P_{cc} \sim 0.2$, and current imaging does not exclude a fainter, near-coincident host. SED fitting of the candidate host suggests a low-mass galaxy. GRB 250818B highlights the power of rapid wide-field counterpart identification in the SVOM era, while host-association uncertainty can still limit offset-based interpretation.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2024

$\textit{Kilonova Seekers}$: the GOTO project for real-time citizen science in time-domain astrophysics

Time-domain astrophysics continues to grow rapidly, with the inception of new surveys drastically increasing data volumes. Democratised, distributed approaches to training sets for machine learning classifiers are crucial to make the most of this torrent of discovery -- with citizen science approaches proving effective at meeting these requirements. In this paper, we describe the creation of and the initial results from the $\textit{Kilonova Seekers}$ citizen science project, built to find transient phenomena from the GOTO telescopes in near real-time. $\textit{Kilonova Seekers}$ launched in July 2023 and received over 600,000 classifications from approximately 2,000 volunteers over the course of the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA O4a observing run. During this time, the project has yielded 20 discoveries, generated a `gold-standard' training set of 17,682 detections for augmenting deep-learned classifiers, and measured the performance and biases of Zooniverse volunteers on real-bogus classification. This project will continue throughout the lifetime of GOTO, pushing candidates at ever-greater cadence, and directly facilitate the next-generation classification algorithms currently in development.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2022

Self-Supervised Clustering on Image-Subtracted Data with Deep-Embedded Self-Organizing Map

Developing an effective automatic classifier to separate genuine sources from artifacts is essential for transient follow-ups in wide-field optical surveys. The identification of transient detections from the subtraction artifacts after the image differencing process is a key step in such classifiers, known as real-bogus classification problem. We apply a self-supervised machine learning model, the deep-embedded self-organizing map (DESOM) to this "real-bogus" classification problem. DESOM combines an autoencoder and a self-organizing map to perform clustering in order to distinguish between real and bogus detections, based on their dimensionality-reduced representations. We use 32x32 normalized detection thumbnails as the input of DESOM. We demonstrate different model training approaches, and find that our best DESOM classifier shows a missed detection rate of 6.6% with a false positive rate of 1.5%. DESOM offers a more nuanced way to fine-tune the decision boundary identifying likely real detections when used in combination with other types of classifiers, for example built on neural networks or decision trees. We also discuss other potential usages of DESOM and its limitations.

cs.CV↗

arXiv2021

A Comprehensive Study of the Young Cluster IRAS 05100+3723: Properties, Surrounding Interstellar Matter, and Associated Star Formation

We present a comprehensive multiwavelength investigation of a likely massive young cluster `IRAS 05100+3723' and its environment with the aim to understand its formation history and feedback effects. We find that IRAS 05100+3723 is a distant ($\sim$3.2 kpc), moderate mass ($\sim$500 \msun), young ($\sim$3 Myr) cluster with its most massive star being an O8.5V-type. From spectral modeling, we estimate the effective temperature and log $g$ of the star as $\sim$33,000 K and $\sim$3.8, respectively. Our radio continuum observations reveal that the star has ionized its environment forming an HII region of size $\sim$2.7 pc, temperature $\sim$5,700 K, and electron density $\sim$165 cm$^{-3}$. However, our large-scale dust maps reveal that it has heated the dust up to several parsecs ($\sim$10 pc) in the range 17$-$28 K and the morphology of warm dust emission resembles a bipolar HII region. From dust and $^{13}$CO gas analyses, we find evidences that the formation of the HII region has occurred at the very end of a long filamentary cloud around 3 Myr ago, likely due to edge collapse of the filament. We show that the HII region is currently compressing a clump of mass $\sim$2700 \msun at its western outskirts, at the junction of the HII region and filament. We observe several 70 $\mu$m point sources of intermediate-mass and class 0 nature within the clump. We attribute these sources as the second generation stars of the complex. We propose that the star formation in the clump is either induced or being facilitated by the compression of the expanding HII region onto the inflowing filamentary material.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2021

The Gravitational-wave Optical Transient Observer (GOTO): prototype performance and prospects for transient science

The Gravitational-wave Optical Transient Observer (GOTO) is an array of wide-field optical telescopes, designed to exploit new discoveries from the next generation of gravitational wave detectors (LIGO, Virgo, KAGRA), study rapidly evolving transients, and exploit multi-messenger opportunities arising from neutrino and very high energy gamma-ray triggers. In addition to a rapid response mode, the array will also perform a sensitive, all-sky transient survey with few day cadence. The facility features a novel, modular design with multiple 40-cm wide-field reflectors on a single mount. In June 2017 the GOTO collaboration deployed the initial project prototype, with 4 telescope units, at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory (ORM), La Palma, Canary Islands. Here we describe the deployment, commissioning, and performance of the prototype hardware, and discuss the impact of these findings on the final GOTO design. We also offer an initial assessment of the science prospects for the full GOTO facility that employs 32 telescope units across two sites.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2021

Searching For Fermi GRB Optical Counterparts With The Prototype Gravitational-Wave Optical Transient Observer (GOTO)

The typical detection rate of $\sim1$ gamma-ray burst (GRB) per day by the \emph{Fermi} Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM) provides a valuable opportunity to further our understanding of GRB physics. However, the large uncertainty of the \emph{Fermi} localization typically prevents rapid identification of multi-wavelength counterparts. We report the follow-up of 93 \emph{Fermi} GRBs with the Gravitational-wave Optical Transient Observer (GOTO) prototype on La Palma. We selected 53 events (based on favourable observing conditions) for detailed analysis, and to demonstrate our strategy of searching for optical counterparts. We apply a filtering process consisting of both automated and manual steps to 60\,085 candidates initially, rejecting all but 29, arising from 15 events. With $\approx3$ GRB afterglows expected to be detectable with GOTO from our sample, most of the candidates are unlikely to be related to the GRBs. Since we did not have multiple observations for those candidates, we cannot confidently confirm the association between the transients and the GRBs. Our results show that GOTO can effectively search for GRB optical counterparts thanks to its large field of view of $\approx40$ square degrees and its depth of $\approx20$ mag. We also detail several methods to improve our overall performance for future follow-up programs of \emph{Fermi} GRBs.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2021

Light curve classification with recurrent neural networks for GOTO: dealing with imbalanced data

The advent of wide-field sky surveys has led to the growth of transient and variable source discoveries. The data deluge produced by these surveys has necessitated the use of machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL) algorithms to sift through the vast incoming data stream. A problem that arises in real-world applications of learning algorithms for classification is imbalanced data, where a class of objects within the data is underrepresented, leading to a bias for over-represented classes in the ML and DL classifiers. We present a recurrent neural network (RNN) classifier that takes in photometric time-series data and additional contextual information (such as distance to nearby galaxies and on-sky position) to produce real-time classification of objects observed by the Gravitational-wave Optical Transient Observer (GOTO), and use an algorithm-level approach for handling imbalance with a focal loss function. The classifier is able to achieve an Area Under the Curve (AUC) score of 0.972 when using all available photometric observations to classify variable stars, supernovae, and active galactic nuclei. The RNN architecture allows us to classify incomplete light curves, and measure how performance improves as more observations are included. We also investigate the role that contextual information plays in producing reliable object classification.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2021

Processing GOTO data with the Rubin Observatory LSST Science Pipelines II: Forced Photometry and light curves

We have adapted the Vera C. Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) Science Pipelines to process data from the Gravitational-Wave Optical Transient Observer (GOTO) prototype. In this paper, we describe how we used the Rubin Observatory LSST Science Pipelines to conduct forced photometry measurements on nightly GOTO data. By comparing the photometry measurements of sources taken on multiple nights, we find that the precision of our photometry is typically better than 20~mmag for sources brighter than 16 mag. We also compare our photometry measurements against colour-corrected PanSTARRS photometry, and find that the two agree to within 10~mmag (1$\sigma$) for bright (i.e., $\sim14^{\rm th}$~mag) sources to 200~mmag for faint (i.e., $\sim18^{\rm th}$~mag) sources. Additionally, we compare our results to those obtained by GOTO's own in-house pipeline, {\sc gotophoto}, and obtain similar results. Based on repeatability measurements, we measure a $5\sigma$ L-band survey depth of between 19 and 20 magnitudes, depending on observing conditions. We assess, using repeated observations of non-varying standard SDSS stars, the accuracy of our uncertainties, which we find are typically overestimated by roughly a factor of two for bright sources (i.e., $<15^{\rm th}$~mag), but slightly underestimated (by roughly a factor of 1.25) for fainter sources ($>17^{\rm th}$~mag). Finally, we present lightcurves for a selection of variable sources, and compare them to those obtained with the Zwicky Transient Factory and GAIA. Despite the Rubin Observatory LSST Science Pipelines still undergoing active development, our results show that they are already delivering robust forced photometry measurements from GOTO data.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2021

Transient-optimised real-bogus classification with Bayesian Convolutional Neural Networks -- sifting the GOTO candidate stream

Large-scale sky surveys have played a transformative role in our understanding of astrophysical transients, only made possible by increasingly powerful machine learning-based filtering to accurately sift through the vast quantities of incoming data generated. In this paper, we present a new real-bogus classifier based on a Bayesian convolutional neural network that provides nuanced, uncertainty-aware classification of transient candidates in difference imaging, and demonstrate its application to the datastream from the GOTO wide-field optical survey. Not only are candidates assigned a well-calibrated probability of being real, but also an associated confidence that can be used to prioritise human vetting efforts and inform future model optimisation via active learning. To fully realise the potential of this architecture, we present a fully-automated training set generation method which requires no human labelling, incorporating a novel data-driven augmentation method to significantly improve the recovery of faint and nuclear transient sources. We achieve competitive classification accuracy (FPR and FNR both below 1%) compared against classifiers trained with fully human-labelled datasets, whilst being significantly quicker and less labour-intensive to build. This data-driven approach is uniquely scalable to the upcoming challenges and data needs of next-generation transient surveys. We make our data generation and model training codes available to the community.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2020

The White Dwarf Binary Pathways Survey IV: Three close white dwarf binaries with G-type secondary stars

Constraints from surveys of post common envelope binaries (PCEBs) consisting of a white dwarf plus an M-dwarf companion have led to significant progress in our understanding of the formation of close white dwarf binary stars with low-mass companions. The white dwarf binary pathways project aims at extending these previous surveys to larger secondary masses, i.e. secondary stars of spectral type AFGK. Here we present the discovery and observational characterization of three PCEBs with G-type secondary stars and orbital periods between 1.2 and 2.5 days. Using our own tools as well as MESA we estimate the evolutionary history of the binary stars and predict their future. We find a large range of possible evolutionary histories for all three systems and identify no indications for differences in common envelope evolution compared to PCEBs with lower mass secondary stars. Despite their similarities in orbital period and secondary spectral type, we estimate that the future of the three systems are very different: TYC 4962-1205-1 is a progenitor of a cataclysmic variable system with an evolved donor star, TYC 4700-815-1 will run into dynamically unstable mass transfer that will cause the two stars to merge, and TYC 1380-957-1 may appear as super soft source before becoming a rather typical cataclysmic variable star.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2020

Processing GOTO data with the Rubin Observatory LSST Science Pipelines I : Production of coadded frames

The past few decades have seen the burgeoning of wide field, high cadence surveys, the most formidable of which will be the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) to be conducted by the Vera C. Rubin Observatory. So new is the field of systematic time-domain survey astronomy, however, that major scientific insights will continue to be obtained using smaller, more flexible systems than the LSST. One such example is the Gravitational-wave Optical Transient Observer (GOTO), whose primary science objective is the optical follow-up of Gravitational Wave events. The amount and rate of data production by GOTO and other wide-area, high-cadence surveys presents a significant challenge to data processing pipelines which need to operate in near real-time to fully exploit the time-domain. In this study, we adapt the Rubin Observatory LSST Science Pipelines to process GOTO data, thereby exploring the feasibility of using this "off-the-shelf" pipeline to process data from other wide-area, high-cadence surveys. In this paper, we describe how we use the LSST Science Pipelines to process raw GOTO frames to ultimately produce calibrated coadded images and photometric source catalogues. After comparing the measured astrometry and photometry to those of matched sources from PanSTARRS DR1, we find that measured source positions are typically accurate to sub-pixel levels, and that measured L-band photometries are accurate to $\sim50$ mmag at $m_L\sim16$ and $\sim200$ mmag at $m_L\sim18$. These values compare favourably to those obtained using GOTO's primary, in-house pipeline, GOTOPHOTO, in spite of both pipelines having undergone further development and improvement beyond the implementations used in this study. Finally, we release a generic "obs package" that others can build-upon should they wish to use the LSST Science Pipelines to process data from other facilities.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2020

The white dwarf binary pathways survey V. The Gaia white dwarf plus AFGK binary sample and the identification of 23 close binaries

Close white dwarf binaries consisting of a white dwarf and an A, F, G or K type main sequence star, henceforth close WD+AFGK binaries, are ideal systems to understand the nature of type Ia supernovae progenitors and to test binary evolution models. In this work we identify 775 WD+AFGK candidates from TGAS (The Tycho-Gaia Astrometric Solution) and Gaia Data Release 2 (DR2), a well-defined sample of stars with available parallaxes, and we measure radial velocities (RVs) for 275 of them with the aim of identifying close binaries. The RVs have been measured from high resolution spectra obtained at the Xinglong 2.16m Telescope and the San Pedro M\'artir 2.12m Telescope and/or from available LAMOST DR6 (low-resolution) and RAVE DR5 (medium-resolution) spectra. We identify 23 WD+AFGK systems displaying more than 3$\sigma$ RV variation among 151 systems for which the measured values are obtained from different nights. Our WD+AFGK binary sample contains both AFGK dwarfs and giants, with a giant fraction $\sim$43%. The close binary fractions we determine for the WD+AFGK dwarf and giant samples are $\simeq$24% and $\simeq$15%, respectively. We also determine the stellar parameters (i.e. effective temperature, surface gravity, metallicity, mass and radius) of the AFGK companions with available high resolution spectra. The stellar parameter distributions of the AFGK companions that are members of close and wide binary candidates do not show statistically significant differences.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2020

Searching for Electromagnetic Counterparts to Gravitational-wave Merger Events with the Prototype Gravitational-wave Optical Transient Observer (GOTO-4)

We report the results of optical follow-up observations of 29 gravitational-wave triggers during the first half of the LIGO-Virgo Collaboration (LVC) O3 run with the Gravitational-wave Optical Transient Observer (GOTO) in its prototype 4-telescope configuration (GOTO-4). While no viable electromagnetic counterpart candidate was identified, we estimate our 3D (volumetric) coverage using test light curves of on- and off-axis gamma-ray bursts and kilonovae. In cases where the source region was observable immediately, GOTO-4 was able to respond to a GW alert in less than a minute. The average time of first observation was $8.79$ hours after receiving an alert ($9.90$ hours after trigger). A mean of $732.3$ square degrees were tiled per event, representing on average $45.3$ per cent of the LVC probability map, or $70.3$ per cent of the observable probability. This coverage will further improve as the facility scales up alongside the localisation performance of the evolving gravitational-wave detector network. Even in its 4-telescope prototype configuration, GOTO is capable of detecting AT2017gfo-like kilonovae beyond 200~Mpc in favourable observing conditions. We cannot currently place meaningful electromagnetic limits on the population of distant ($\hat{D}_L = 1.3$~Gpc) binary black hole mergers because our test models are too faint to recover at this distance. However, as GOTO is upgraded towards its full 32-telescope, 2 node (La Palma \& Australia) configuration, it is expected to be sufficiently sensitive to cover the predicted O4 binary neutron star merger volume, and will be able to respond to both northern and southern triggers.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2019

The evolutionary status of Cataclysmic Variables: Eclipse modelling of 15 systems

We present measurements of the component masses in 15 Cataclysmic Variables (CVs) - 6 new estimates and 9 improved estimates. We provide new calibrations of the relationship between superhump period excess and mass ratio, and use this relation to estimate donor star masses for 225 superhumping CVs. With an increased sample of donor masses we revisit the implications for CV evolution. We confirm the high mass of white dwarfs in CVs, but find no trend in white dwarf mass with orbital period. We argue for a revision in the location of the orbital period minimum of CVs to $79.6 \pm 0.2$ min, significantly shorter than previous estimates. We find that CV donors below the gap have an intrinsic scatter of only 0.005 R$_{\odot}$ around a common evolutionary track, implying a correspondingly small variation in angular momentum loss rates. In contrast to prior studies, we find that standard CV evolutionary tracks - without additional angular momentum loss - are a reasonable fit to the donor masses just below the period gap, but that they do not reproduce the observed period minimum, or fit the donor radii below 0.1 M$_{\odot}$.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2018

The scatter of the M dwarf mass-radius relationship

M dwarfs are prime targets in the hunt for habitable worlds around other stars. This is due to their abundance as well as their small radii and low masses and temperatures, which facilitate the detection of temperate, rocky planets in orbit around them. However, the fundamental properties of M dwarfs are difficult to constrain, often limiting our ability to characterise the planets they host. Here we test several theoretical relationships for M dwarfs by measuring 23 high precision, model-independent masses and radii for M dwarfs in binaries with white dwarfs. We find a large scatter in the radii of these low-mass stars, with 25 per cent having radii consistent with theoretical models while the rest are up to 12 per cent over-inflated. This scatter is seen in both partially- and fully-convective M dwarfs. No clear trend is seen between the over-inflation and age or metallicity, but there are indications that the radii of slowly rotating M dwarfs are more consistent with predictions, albeit with a similar amount of scatter in the measurements compared to more rapidly rotating M dwarfs. The sample of M dwarfs in close binaries with white dwarfs appears indistinguishable from other M dwarf samples, implying that common envelope evolution has a negligible impact on their structure. We conclude that theoretical and empirical mass-radius relationships lack the precision and accuracy required to measure the fundamental parameters of M dwarfs well enough to determine the internal structure and bulk composition of the planets they host.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2017

The structure of Chariklo's rings from stellar occultations

Two narrow and dense rings (called C1R and C2R) were discovered around the Centaur object (10199) Chariklo during a stellar occultation observed on 2013 June 3. Following this discovery, we planned observations of several occultations by Chariklo's system in order to better characterize the physical properties of the ring and main body. Here, we use 12 successful occulations by Chariklo observed between 2014 and 2016. They provide ring profiles (physical width, opacity, edge structure) and constraints on the radii and pole position. Our new observations are currently consistent with the circular ring solution and pole position, to within the $\pm 3.3$ km formal uncertainty for the ring radii derived by Braga-Ribas et al. The six resolved C1R profiles reveal significant width variations from $\sim 5$ to 7.5 km. The width of the fainter ring C2R is less constrained, and may vary between 0.1 and 1 km. The inner and outer edges of C1R are consistent with infinitely sharp boundaries, with typical upper limits of one kilometer for the transition zone between the ring and empty space. No constraint on the sharpness of C2R's edges is available. A 1$σ$ upper limit of $\sim 20$ m is derived for the equivalent width of narrow (physical width <4 km) rings up to distances of 12,000 km, counted in the ring plane.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2017

The white dwarf binary pathways survey - II. Radial velocities of 1453 FGK stars with white dwarf companions from LAMOST DR4

We present the second paper of a series of publications aiming at obtaining a better understanding regarding the nature of type Ia supernovae (SNIa) progenitors by studying a large sample of detached F, G and K main sequence stars in close orbits with white dwarf companions (i.e. WD+FGK binaries). We employ the LAMOST (Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fibre Spectroscopic Telescope) data release 4 spectroscopic data base together with GALEX (Galaxy Evolution Explorer) ultraviolet fluxes to identify 1,549 WD+FGK binary candidates (1,057 of which are new), thus doubling the number of known sources. We measure the radial velocities of 1,453 of these binaries from the available LAMOST spectra and/or from spectra obtained by us at a wide variety of different telescopes around the globe. The analysis of the radial velocity data allows us to identify 24 systems displaying more than 3sigma radial velocity variation that we classify as close binaries. We also discuss the fraction of close binaries among WD+FGK systems, which we find to be ~10 per cent, and demonstrate that high-resolution spectroscopy is required to efficiently identify double-degenerate SNIa progenitor candidates.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2017

Two white dwarfs in ultrashort binaries with detached, eclipsing, likely substellar companions detected by K2

Using data from the extended Kepler mission in K2 Campaign 10 we identify two eclipsing binaries containing white dwarfs with cool companions that have extremely short orbital periods of only 71.2 min (SDSS J1205-0242, a.k.a. EPIC 201283111) and 72.5 min (SDSS J1231+0041, a.k.a. EPIC 248368963). Despite their short periods, both systems are detached with small, low-mass companions, in one case a brown dwarf, and the other case either a brown dwarf or a low-mass star. We present follow-up photometry and spectroscopy of both binaries, as well as phase-resolved spectroscopy of the brighter system, and use these data to place preliminary estimates on the physical and binary parameters. SDSS J1205-0242 is composed of a $0.39\pm0.02$M$_\odot$ helium-core white dwarf which is totally eclipsed by a $0.049\pm0.006$M$_\odot$ ($51\pm6$M$_J$) brown dwarf companion, while SDSS J1231+0041 is composed of a $0.56\pm0.07$M$_\odot$ white dwarf which is partially eclipsed by a companion of mass $\lesssim 0.095$M$_\odot$. In the case of SDSS J1205-0242 we look at the combined constraints from common-envelope evolution and brown dwarf models; the system is compatible with similar constraints from other post common-envelope binaries given the current parameter uncertainties, but has potential for future refinement.

astro-ph.SR↗