CDS&E: Peculiar galaxy detection in digital sky surveys

数字巡天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型数据库。 该项目将开发和应用各种方法，将成像、光度测量和光谱数据的分析联合收割机结合起来，挖掘天文数据库，探测具有科学价值的特殊天体。 奇特的星系与大多数星系有很大的不同，它们携带着关于物体相互作用、形成和演化历史的重要信息。 它们对于解决有关早期、现在和未来宇宙的基本问题非常重要。 在这个项目中开发的软件和源代码将向社区开放。 首席研究员一直在领导高影响力的包容性和多样性计划，吸引来自代表性不足的少数民族的学生。 目前的项目将加强这些学生的经验，继续利用研究作为增加多样性和包容性的工具，新的和在国家科学基金会以前的支持下已经开发的算法将应用于最重要的现有数字天空调查，包括斯隆数字天空调查（SDSS）、全景调查望远镜和快速反应系统（PanSTARRS）和暗能量巡天（DES），并将为未来做好准备，特别是大型综合巡天望远镜（LSST），最强大的天文成像设备和美国国家科学基金会的主要天文项目的十年。这一奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并已被认为是值得支持，通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估。

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.