Anomaly detection in the Open Supernova Catalog Pruzhinskaya, M V; Malanchev, K L; Kornilov, M V ...
Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society,
08/2019, Volume:
489, Issue:
3
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
ABSTRACT
In the upcoming decade, large astronomical surveys will discover millions of transients raising unprecedented data challenges in the process. Only the use of the machine learning algorithms ...can process such large data volumes. Most of the discovered transients will belong to the known classes of astronomical objects. However, it is expected that some transients will be rare or completely new events of unknown physical nature. The task of finding them can be framed as an anomaly detection problem. In this work, we perform for the first time an automated anomaly detection analysis in the photometric data of the Open Supernova Catalog (OSC), which serves as a proof of concept for the applicability of these methods to future large-scale surveys. The analysis consists of the following steps: (1) data selection from the OSC and approximation of the pre-processed data with Gaussian processes, (2) dimensionality reduction, (3) searching for outliers with the use of the isolation forest algorithm, and (4) expert analysis of the identified outliers. The pipeline returned 81 candidate anomalies, 27 (33 per cent) of which were confirmed to be from astrophysically peculiar objects. Found anomalies correspond to a selected sample of 1.4 per cent of the initial automatically identified data sample of approximately 2000 objects. Among the identified outliers we recognized superluminous supernovae, non-classical Type Ia supernovae, unusual Type II supernovae, one active galactic nucleus and one binary microlensing event. We also found that 16 anomalies classified as supernovae in the literature are likely to be quasars or stars. Our proposed pipeline represents an effective strategy to guarantee we shall not overlook exciting new science hidden in the data we fought so hard to acquire. All code and products of this investigation are made publicly available.1
ABSTRACT
We present results from applying the SNAD anomaly detection pipeline to the third public data release of the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF DR3). The pipeline is composed of three stages: ...feature extraction, search of outliers with machine learning algorithms, and anomaly identification with followup by human experts. Our analysis concentrates in three ZTF fields, comprising more than 2.25 million objects. A set of four automatic learning algorithms was used to identify 277 outliers, which were subsequently scrutinized by an expert. From these, 188 (68 per cent) were found to be bogus light curves – including effects from the image subtraction pipeline as well as overlapping between a star and a known asteroid, 66 (24 per cent) were previously reported sources whereas 23 (8 per cent) correspond to non-catalogued objects, with the two latter cases of potential scientific interest (e.g. one spectroscopically confirmed RS Canum Venaticorum star, four supernovae candidates, one red dwarf flare). Moreover, using results from the expert analysis, we were able to identify a simple bi-dimensional relation that can be used to aid filtering potentially bogus light curves in future studies. We provide a complete list of objects with potential scientific application so they can be further scrutinised by the community. These results confirm the importance of combining automatic machine learning algorithms with domain knowledge in the construction of recommendation systems for astronomy. Our code is publicly available.1
ABSTRACT
Theoretical models of accretion discs and observational data indicate that the X-ray emission from the inner parts of an accretion disc can irradiate its outer regions and induce a thermal ...wind, which carries away the mass and angular momentum from the disc. Our aim is to investigate the influence of the thermal wind on the outburst light curves of black hole X-ray binary systems. We carry out numerical simulations of a non-stationary disc accretion with wind using upgraded open code freddi. We assume that the wind launches only from the ionized part of the disc and may turn off if the latter shrinks fast enough. Our estimates of the viscosity parameter α are shifted downward compared to a scenario without a wind. Generally, correction of α depends on the spectral hardness of central X-rays and the disc outer radius, but unlikely to exceed a factor of 10 in the case of a black hole low-mass X-ray binary (BH LMXB). We fit 2002 outburst of BH LMXB 4U 1543 − 47 taking into account the thermal wind. The mass-loss in the thermal wind is of order of the accretion rate on the central object at the peak of the outburst. New estimate of the viscosity parameter α for the accretion disc in this system is about two times lower than the previous one. Additionally, we calculate evolution of the number of hydrogen atoms towards 4U 1543 − 47 due to the thermal wind from the hot disc.
Aims.
We present the first piece of evidence that adaptive learning techniques can boost the discovery of unusual objects within astronomical light curve data sets.
Methods.
Our method follows an ...active learning strategy where the learning algorithm chooses objects that can potentially improve the learner if additional information about them is provided. This new information is subsequently used to update the machine learning model, allowing its accuracy to evolve with each new piece of information. For the case of anomaly detection, the algorithm aims to maximize the number of scientifically interesting anomalies presented to the expert by slightly modifying the weights of a traditional isolation forest (IF) at each iteration. In order to demonstrate the potential of such techniques, we apply the Active Anomaly Discovery algorithm to two data sets: simulated light curves from the Photometric LSST Astronomical Time-series Classification Challenge (PLAsTiCC) and real light curves from the Open Supernova Catalog. We compare the Active Anomaly Discovery results to those of a static IF. For both methods, we performed a detailed analysis for all objects with the ∼2% highest anomaly scores.
Results.
We show that, in the real data scenario, Active Anomaly Discovery was able to identify ∼80% more true anomalies than the IF. This result is the first piece of evidence that active anomaly detection algorithms can play a central role in the search for new physics in the era of large-scale sky surveys.
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ABSTRACT
Radial structure of accretion discs around compact objects is often described using analytic approximations which are derived from averaging or integrating vertical structure equations. For ...non-solar chemical composition, partial ionization, or for supermassive black holes, this approach is not accurate. Additionally, radial extension of ‘analytically-described’ disc zones is not evident in many cases. We calculate vertical structure of accretion discs around compact objects, with and without external irradiation, with radiative and convective energy transport taken into account. For this, we introduce a new open Python code, allowing different equations of state and opacity laws, including tabular values. As a result, radial structure and stability ‘S-curves’ are calculated for specific disc parameters and chemical composition. In particular, based on more accurate power-law approximations for opacity in the disc, we supply new analytic formulas for the farthest regions of the hot disc around stellar-mass object. On calculating vertical structure of a self-irradiated disc, we calculate a self-consistent value of the irradiation parameter Cirr for stationary α-disc. We find that, for a fixed shape of the X-ray spectrum, Cirr depends weakly on the accretion rate but changes with radius, and the dependence is driven by the conditions in the photosphere and disc opening angle. The hot zone extent depends on the ratio between irradiating and intrinsic flux: corresponding relation for $T_{\rm irr,\, crit}$ is obtained.
Optical and near-infrared photometry, optical spectroscopy, and soft X-ray and UV monitoring of the changing-look active galactic nucleus NGC 2617 show that it continues to have the appearance of a ...type-1 Seyfert galaxy. An optical light curve for 2010–2016 indicates that the change of type probably occurred between 2010 October and 2012 February and was not related to the brightening in 2013. In 2016, NGC 2617 brightened again to a level of activity close to that in 2013 April. We find variations in all passbands and in both the intensities and profiles of the broad Balmer lines. A new displaced emission peak has appeared in Hβ. X-ray variations are well correlated with UV–optical variability and possibly lead by ∼2–3 d. The K band lags the J band by about 21.5 ± 2.5 d and lags the combined B + J filters by ∼25 d. J lags B by about 3 d. This could be because J-band variability arises from the outer part of the accretion disc, while K-band variability comes from thermal re-emission by dust. We propose that spectral-type changes are a result of increasing central luminosity causing sublimation of the innermost dust in the hollow bi-conical outflow. We briefly discuss various other possible reasons that might explain the dramatic changes in NGC 2617.
The vertical structure of stationary thin accretion discs is calculated from the energy balance equation with heat generation due to microscopic ion viscosity ... and electron heat conductivity ..., ...both depending on temperature. In the optically thin discs it is found that for the heat conductivity increasing with temperature, the vertical temperature gradient exceeds the adiabatic value at some height, suggesting convective instability in the upper disc layer. There is a critical Prandtl number, Pr = 4/9, above which a Keplerian disc become fully convective. The vertical density distribution of optically thin laminar accretion discs as found from the hydrostatic equilibrium equation cannot be generally described by a polytrope but in the case of constant viscosity and heat conductivity. In the optically thick discs with radiation heat transfer, the vertical disc structure is found to be convectively stable for both absorption-dominated and scattering-dominated opacities, unless a very steep dependence of the viscosity coefficient on temperature is assumed. A polytropic-like structure in this case is found for Thomson scattering-dominated opacity. (ProQuest: ... denotes formulae/symbols omitted.)
Abstract
We present the results of 3D-hydrodynamical simulations of accretion flow in the eclipsing dwarf nova V1239 Her in quiescence. The model includes the optical star filling its Roche lobe, a ...gas stream emanating from the inner Lagrangian point of the binary system, and the accretion disc structure. A cold hydrogen gas stream is initially emitted towards a point-like gravitational centre. A stationary accretion disc is formed in about 15 orbital periods after the beginning of accretion. The model takes into account partial ionization of hydrogen and uses realistic cooling function for hydrogen. The light curve of the system is calculated as the volume emission of optically thin layers along the line of sight up to the optical depth τ = 2/3 calculated using Planck-averaged opacities. The calculated eclipse light curves show good agreement with observations, with the changing shape of pre-eclipse and post-eclipse light curves being explained entirely due to ∼50 per cent variations in the mass accretion rate through the gas stream.
We consider a new mechanism for the removal of angular momentum from an X-ray binary system and the change in its orbital period—the mass loss in the form of a wind from an accretion disk. A powerful ...wind from a disk is observed in X-ray transients and is predicted by models. We have obtained an analytical estimate for the increase in the orbital period of a binary system with a wind from the disk during an outburst; quantitative estimates are given for the systems XTE J1118
480, A0620
00, and GRS 1124
68. The rates of increase in the period are comparable in absolute value to the observed rates of secular decrease in the period. We also compare the predicted rates of change in the period of a binary system due to the mass transfer into the disk and the outflow from the second Lagrange point with the observed ones. We conclude that the above-mentioned mechanisms cannot explain the observed secular decrease in the period, and it is necessary to consider a circumbinary disk that removes the binary’s angular momentum.
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DOBA, EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, IZUM, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
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