A. Bauer, B. Lundgren, W. O'Mullane, L. Corlies, M. Schwamb, B. Nord, D. Norman
{"title":"A Need for Dedicated Outreach Expertise and Online Programming: Astro2020 Science White Paper","authors":"A. Bauer, B. Lundgren, W. O'Mullane, L. Corlies, M. Schwamb, B. Nord, D. Norman","doi":"10.2172/1592157","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2172/1592157","url":null,"abstract":"Maximizing the public impact of astronomy projects in the next decade requires NSF-funded centers to support the development of online, mobile-friendly outreach and education activities. EPO teams with astronomy, education, and web development expertise should be in place to build accessible programs at scale and support astronomers doing outreach.","PeriodicalId":8459,"journal":{"name":"arXiv: Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics","volume":"18 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-10-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"81836029","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Unique Science from a Coordinated LSST-WFIRST Survey of the Galactic Bulge","authors":"R. Street, E. Al, N. Golovich, W. Dawson","doi":"10.2172/1572250","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2172/1572250","url":null,"abstract":"NASA's WFIRST mission will perform a wide-field, NIR survey of the Galactic Bulge to search for exoplanets via the microlensing techniques. As the mission is due to launch in the mid-2020s, around half-way through the LSST Main Survey, we have a unique opportunity to explore synergistic science from two landmark programs. LSST can survey the entire footprint of the WFIRST microlensing survey in a single Deep Drilling Field. Here we explore the great scientific potential of this proposal and recommend the most effective observing strategies.","PeriodicalId":8459,"journal":{"name":"arXiv: Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics","volume":"5 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-10-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"80542045","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"POLAR measurements of the Crab pulsar","authors":"Po Li, M. Ge, Bobing Wu","doi":"10.22323/1.301.0820","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22323/1.301.0820","url":null,"abstract":"POLAR is a Compton polarimeter sensitive in the 50 to 500 keV energy range. The Crab pulsar is a scientific target for POLAR on board the Chinese space laboratory Tiangong-2 (TG-2). With its large Field of View (FoV), POLAR detected significant pulsed signals from the Crab pulsar which is visible by POLAR in about half of observation time. In this work, we present the preliminary results including the pulse profile, timing and polarization measuring method. First, we show the highly significant pulse profile observed by POLAR which is compared to the results of other detectors including Fermi/LAT and INTEGRAL. And the pulse profile as a function of theta incident angle and as a function of channel number, which indicate that POLAR has a good detection performance, have been showed. Second, we find that the timing of the Crab pulses are accurately measured, which provides a unique verification and calibration to the POLAR timing system. Finally, the potential polarization measurement of the Crab pulsar is also discussed.","PeriodicalId":8459,"journal":{"name":"arXiv: Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics","volume":"152 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-10-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"75638778","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
C. Matzner, N. Cowan, R. Doyon, V. H'enault-Brunet, David Lafrenere, M. Lokken, P. Martin, S. Morsink, M. Normandeau, N. Ouellette, Mubdi Rahman, J. Roediger, James Taylor, Robert P. Thacker, M. Kerkwijk
{"title":"Astronomy in a Low-Carbon Future","authors":"C. Matzner, N. Cowan, R. Doyon, V. H'enault-Brunet, David Lafrenere, M. Lokken, P. Martin, S. Morsink, M. Normandeau, N. Ouellette, Mubdi Rahman, J. Roediger, James Taylor, Robert P. Thacker, M. Kerkwijk","doi":"10.5281/ZENODO.3758549","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5281/ZENODO.3758549","url":null,"abstract":"The global climate crisis poses new risks to humanity, and with them, new challenges to the practices of professional astronomy. Avoiding the more catastrophic consequences of global warming by more than 1.5 degrees requires an immediate reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. According to the 2018 United Nations Intergovernmental Panel report, this will necessitate a 45% reduction of emissions by 2030 and net-zero emissions by 2050. Efforts are required at all levels, from the individual to the governmental, and every discipline must find ways to achieve these goals. This will be especially difficult for astronomy with its significant reliance on conference and research travel, among other impacts. However, our long-range planning exercises provide the means to coordinate our response on a variety of levels. We have the opportunity to lead by example, rising to the challenge rather than reacting to external constraints. \u0000We explore how astronomy can meet the challenge of a changing climate in clear and responsible ways, such as how we set expectations (for ourselves, our institutions, and our granting agencies) around scientific travel, the organization of conferences, and the design of our infrastructure. We also emphasize our role as reliable communicators of scientific information on a problem that is both human and planetary in scale.","PeriodicalId":8459,"journal":{"name":"arXiv: Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics","volume":"84 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-10-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"79350567","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
A. Boley, David Kendall, M. Byers, F. Grandmont, Cameron Byers, J. Busler, W. Evans, B. Gladman, Tanya Harrison, Catherine L. Johnson
{"title":"The Role of NewSpace in Furthering Canadian Astronomy","authors":"A. Boley, David Kendall, M. Byers, F. Grandmont, Cameron Byers, J. Busler, W. Evans, B. Gladman, Tanya Harrison, Catherine L. Johnson","doi":"10.5281/ZENODO.3755907","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5281/ZENODO.3755907","url":null,"abstract":"[Highly abridged, from executive summary] As much as NewSpace presents opportunities, there are significant challenges that must be overcome, requiring engagement with policy makers to influence domestic and international space governance. Failure to do so could result in a range of long-lasting negative outcomes for science and space stewardship. How will the Canadian astronomical community engage with NewSpace? What are the implications for NewSpace on the astro-environment, including Earth orbits, lunar and cis-lunar orbits, and surfaces of celestial bodies? This white paper analyzes the rapid changes in space use and what those changes could mean for Canadian astronomers. Our recommendations are as follows: Greater cooperation between the astronomical and the Space Situational Awareness communities is needed. Build closer ties between the astronomical community and Global Affairs Canada (GAC). Establish a committee for evaluating the astro-environmental impacts of human space use, including on and around the Moon and other bodies. CASCA and the Tri-Council should coordinate to identify programs that would enable Canadian astronomers to participate in pay-for-use services at appropriate funding levels. CASCA should continue to foster a relationship with CSA, but also build close ties to the private space industry. Canadian-led deep space missions are within Canada's capabilities, and should be pursued.","PeriodicalId":8459,"journal":{"name":"arXiv: Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics","volume":"10 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"91553476","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
K. Vanderlinde, Adrian Liu, B. Gaensler, D. Bond, G. Hinshaw, C. Ng, C. Chiang, I. Stairs, Jo-Anne C. Brown, J. Sievers, J. Mena, Kendrick M. Smith, K. Bandura, K. Masui, K. Spekkens, L. Belostotski, M. Dobbs, N. Turok, P. Boyle, Michael Rupen, T. Landecker, U. Pen, V. Kaspi
{"title":"LRP 2020 Whitepaper: The Canadian Hydrogen Observatory and Radio-transient Detector (CHORD)","authors":"K. Vanderlinde, Adrian Liu, B. Gaensler, D. Bond, G. Hinshaw, C. Ng, C. Chiang, I. Stairs, Jo-Anne C. Brown, J. Sievers, J. Mena, Kendrick M. Smith, K. Bandura, K. Masui, K. Spekkens, L. Belostotski, M. Dobbs, N. Turok, P. Boyle, Michael Rupen, T. Landecker, U. Pen, V. Kaspi","doi":"10.5281/ZENODO.3765414","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5281/ZENODO.3765414","url":null,"abstract":"The Canadian Hydrogen Observatory and Radio-transient Detector (CHORD) is a next-generation radio telescope, proposed for construction to start immediately. CHORD is a pan-Canadian project, designed to work with and build on the success of the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME). It is an ultra-wideband, \"large-N, small-D\" telescope, consisting of a central array of 512x6-m dishes, supported by a pair of distant outrigger stations, each equipped with CHIME-like cylinders and a 64-dish array. CHORD will measure the distribution of matter over a huge swath of the Universe, detect and localize tens of thousands of Fast RadioBursts (FRBs), and undertake cutting-edge measurements of fundamental physics.","PeriodicalId":8459,"journal":{"name":"arXiv: Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics","volume":"16 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"77887129","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
A. Boley, T. Bridges, P. Hickson, H. Richer, B. Gladman, J. Heyl, J. Kavelaars, Ingrid Stairs
{"title":"Small and Moderate Aperture Telescopes for Research and Education","authors":"A. Boley, T. Bridges, P. Hickson, H. Richer, B. Gladman, J. Heyl, J. Kavelaars, Ingrid Stairs","doi":"10.5281/ZENODO.3756119","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5281/ZENODO.3756119","url":null,"abstract":"In this white paper (WP), we highlight several examples of small and moderate aperture telescopes that are being used for education and/or research. We further discuss potential costs for establishing new, small observatories, as well as joining existing international consortia. The WP includes a brief overview of select observing sites, with a discussion on how small telescopes at exceptional observing locations can be competitive, under certain circumstances, with larger and more expensive facilities located at poorer sites. In addition to research, these facilities enable many different types of educational experiences for wide range of people, from high school students to undergraduates to graduate students to postdocs. Canada should remain committed to partnering with large, international observatories such as CFHT, Gemini, and TMT, but it should also negotiate international agreements and commit funding to expand the use of small and moderate research observatories at domestic and international sites through coordination with the NRC, the Tri-Council, and the Canadian Foundation for Innovation. Both capital and operational costs (with site rental costs allowed) need to be included in support possibilities. CASCA should establish and maintain a small to moderate telescope expression of interest database that would help to facilitate Canadian institutions in organizing consortia, particularly for smaller institutions. The astronomical community should work with the NRC to make existing facilities more accessible to the astronomical community for research. This could involve, for example, automating the Plaskett and/or providing travel funds for supporting classical observing modes. Finally, a small to moderate aperture facility in the Arctic would be a world-class observatory and should be advanced over the next decade.","PeriodicalId":8459,"journal":{"name":"arXiv: Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"90370287","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
H. Neilson, L. Rousseau-Nepton, S. Lawler, K. Spekkens
{"title":"Indigenizing the next decade of astronomy in Canada","authors":"H. Neilson, L. Rousseau-Nepton, S. Lawler, K. Spekkens","doi":"10.5281/ZENODO.3755981","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5281/ZENODO.3755981","url":null,"abstract":"(Abridged) The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada published its calls to action in 2015 with 94 recommendations. Many of these 94 recommendations are directly related to education, language, and culture, some of which the Canadian Astronomy community can address and contribute to as part of reconciliation. The Canadian Astronomy community has an additional obligation since it benefits from facilities on Indigenous territories across Canada and the world. Furthermore, Indigenous people are still underrepresented at all levels in Canadian astronomy. The purpose of this Community Paper is to develop recommendations for the Canadian astronomy community to support Indigenous inclusion in the science community, support Indigenous learning by developing Indigenous-based learning materials and facilitate access to professionals and science activities, and to recognize and acknowledge the great contributions of Indigenous communities to our science activities. As part of this work we propose the ten following recommendations for CASCA as an organization and throughout this Community Paper we will include additional recommendations for individuals: astronomers, students and academics.","PeriodicalId":8459,"journal":{"name":"arXiv: Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics","volume":"55 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"76152923","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
K. Aylor, M. Haq, L. Knox, Y. Hezaveh, L. Perreault-Levasseur
{"title":"Cleaning our own dust: simulating and separating galactic dust foregrounds with neural networks","authors":"K. Aylor, M. Haq, L. Knox, Y. Hezaveh, L. Perreault-Levasseur","doi":"10.1093/mnras/staa3344","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/staa3344","url":null,"abstract":"Separating galactic foreground emission from maps of the cosmic microwave background (CMB), and quantifying the uncertainty in the CMB maps due to errors in foreground separation are important for avoiding biases in scientific conclusions. Our ability to quantify such uncertainty is limited by our lack of a model for the statistical distribution of the foreground emission. Here we use a Deep Convolutional Generative Adversarial Network (DCGAN) to create an effective non-Gaussian statistical model for intensity of emission by interstellar dust. For training data we use a set of dust maps inferred from observations by the Planck satellite. A DCGAN is uniquely suited for such unsupervised learning tasks as it can learn to model a complex non-Gaussian distribution directly from examples. We then use these simulations to train a second neural network to estimate the underlying CMB signal from dust-contaminated maps. We discuss other potential uses for the trained DCGAN, and the generalization to polarized emission from both dust and synchrotron.","PeriodicalId":8459,"journal":{"name":"arXiv: Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics","volume":"187 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-09-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"76950115","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Pulsar Candidates Classification with Deep Convolutional Neural Networks","authors":"Yuanchao Wang, Mingtao Li, Z. Pan, Jianhua Zheng","doi":"10.1088/1674--4527/19/9/133","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1088/1674--4527/19/9/133","url":null,"abstract":"As performance of dedicated facilities continually improved, massive pulsar candidates are being received, which makes selecting valuable pulsar signals from candidates challenging. In this paper, we designed a deep convolutional neural network (CNN) with 11 layers for classifying pulsar candidates. Compared to artificial designed features, CNN chose sub-integrations plot and sub-bands plot in each candidate as inputs without carrying biases. To address the imbalanced problem, data augmentation method based on synthetic minority samples is proposed according to characteristics of pulsars. The maximum pulses of pulsar candidates were first translated to the same position, then new samples were generated by adding up multiple subplots of pulsars. The data augmentation method is simple and effective for obtaining varied and representative samples which keep pulsar characteristics. In the experiments on HTRU 1 dataset, it shows that this model can achieve recall as 0.962 while precision as 0.963.","PeriodicalId":8459,"journal":{"name":"arXiv: Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics","volume":"3 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-09-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"74368145","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}