CDS&E: Peculiar galaxy detection in digital sky surveys

数字天空测量在天文学中越来越重要，但现有的计算方法无法有效地分析由此产生的超大数据库。该项目将开发和应用结合成像、光度和光谱数据分析的方法来挖掘天文数据库并探测具有科学价值的特殊天体。特殊星系与大多数星系非常不同，它们携带着关于天体相互作用、它们的形成和它们的演化历史的关键信息。它们对于解决关于早期、现在和未来宇宙的基本问题很重要。在这个项目中开发的软件和源代码将向社区开放。这位首席研究员一直在领导高影响力的包容性和多样性项目，吸引来自代表性不足的少数族裔的学生。本项目将加强这些学生的体验，继续将研究作为增加多样性和包容性的工具。新的和在以前NSF支持下开发的算法将应用于现有最重要的数字天空测量，包括斯隆数字天空测量(SDSS)、全景测量和快速反应系统(PanSTARRS)和暗能量测量(DES)，并将为未来做好准备，特别是大型天气观测望远镜(LSST)，十年来最强大的天文成像设备和NSF的主要天文项目。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Digital sky surveys are increasingly pivotal in astronomy, but existing computational methodologies are unable effectively to analyze the resultant extremely large databases. This project will develop and apply methods that combine the analysis of imaging, photometric, and spectroscopic data to mine astronomical databases and detect peculiar celestial objects of scientific value. Peculiar galaxies are very different from the majority of galaxies and carry crucial information about the interactions of objects, their formation, and their evolutionary history. They are important for addressing fundamental questions about the early, present, and future universe. Software and source code developed in this project will be open to the community. The principal investigator has been leading high-impact inclusion and diversity programs that engage students from underrepresented minorities. The present project will strengthen these student experiences, continuing to use research as a tool for increasing diversity and inclusion.Algorithms, both new and already developed with previous NSF support, will be applied to the most significant existing digital sky surveys, including the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (PanSTARRS), and the Dark Energy Survey (DES), and will be prepared for the future, notably for the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), the most powerful astronomical imaging device and the primary NSF astronomical project for the decade.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.