Abstract
The Zwicky Transient Facility is a large optical survey in multiple filters producing hundreds of thousands of transient alerts per night. We describe here various machine learning (ML) implementations and plans to make the maximal use of the large data set by taking advantage of the temporal nature of the data, and further combining it with other data sets. We start with the initial steps of separating bogus candidates from real ones, separating stars and galaxies, and go on to the classification of real objects into various classes. Besides the usual methods (e.g., based on features extracted from light curves) we also describe early plans for alternate methods including the use of domain adaptation, and deep learning. In a similar fashion we describe efforts to detect fast moving asteroids. We also describe the use of the Zooniverse platform for helping with classifications through the creation of training samples, and active learning. Finally we mention the synergistic aspects of ZTF and LSST from the ML perspective.
Original language | English (US) |
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Article number | 038002 |
Journal | Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific |
Volume | 131 |
Issue number | 997 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Mar 2019 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Based on observations obtained with the Samuel Oschin Telescope 48-inch and the 60-inch Telescope at the Palomar Observatory as part of the Zwicky Transient Facility project. Major funding has been provided by the U.S. National Science Foundation under Grant No. AST-1440341 and by the ZTF partner institutions: the California Institute of Technology, the Oskar Klein Centre, the Weizmann Institute of Science, the University of Maryland, the University of Washington, Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and the TANGO Program of the University System of Taiwan. Part of this research was carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Facilities: PO:1.2m, PO:1.5m.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019. The Astronomical Society of the Pacific.
Keywords
- Machine learning
- Sky surveys
- Time domain