CDS&E: Detection, Instance Segmentation, and Classification for Astronomical Surveys with Deep Learning (DeepDISC)

下一代宽视场深空天文观测将在2020年代及以后提供前所未有的大量天空图像。随着灵敏度和深度的增加，将出现更多的混合（重叠）源。混合将导致有偏差的测量，污染关键的天文推断。因此，拥有有效的去混合技术是未来天文学研究的一个高度优先事项。然而，一个有效的和强大的方法来检测，分层，并分类源仍然缺乏大规模的调查。在这个项目中，伊利诺伊大学厄巴纳-香槟分校的科学家们将开发一个多功能的深度学习框架，用于图像去混合和源检测。这项工作将使有效处理宽深调查图像变得容易，并将以尽可能低的延迟准确识别混合源，以最大限度地提高科学回报。此外，这项工作将提供强大的不确定性的检测推断，这是实现精确宇宙学的关键。拟议的工作对广泛的主题具有广泛的影响，包括探测瞬变和太阳系天体，以探索暗物质和暗能量的性质。作为该项目的一部分，PI还将开发和教授一个专门的夏季外展计划，让年轻女孩参与STEM。该研究计划将利用快速发展的计算机视觉领域，为天文物体检测，实例分割，分类等建立一个新的深度学习平台。它将采用计算机视觉中最新的开源算法进行对象检测和分割。该方法是跨学科的，将最先进的天文调查数据与最新的深度学习工具相结合。新平台将使用真实的数据和逼真模拟的混合体进行训练和验证，这些数据和模拟是通过将传统图像模拟与生成模型相结合而构建的。它将充分发挥功能，使更高层次的下游科学应用，如光度红移估计和星系形态推断。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并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，被认为值得支持。

The next generation of wide-field deep astronomical surveys will deliver unprecedented amounts of images of the sky through the 2020s and beyond. As both the sensitivity and depth increase, larger numbers of blended (overlapping) sources will occur. Blending would result in biased measurements, contaminating key astronomical inferences. Having efficient deblending techniques is thus a high priority for the future of astronomical research. However, an efficient and robust method to detect, deblend, and classify sources is still lacking for massive surveys. In this project, scientists at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign will develop a versatile deep learning framework for image deblending and source detection. This work will make it easy to efficiently process wide-deep survey images and will accurately identify blended sources with the lowest possible latency to maximize science returns. Moreover, this work will provide robust uncertainties of detection inferences, which are critical for enabling precision cosmology. The proposed work has broad implications for a wide range of subjects, including detecting transients and solar system objects to probing the nature of dark matter and dark energy. As part of this project, the PI will also develop and teach a dedicated summer outreach program to engage young girls in STEM.This research program will leverage the rapidly developing field of computer vision to build a new deep learning platform for astronomical object detection, instance segmentation, classification, and beyond. It will adapt the latest open-source algorithms in computer vision for object detection and segmentation. The approach is interdisciplinary, combining state-of-the-art astronomical survey data with the latest deep learning tools. The new platform will be trained and validated using a hybrid of real data and realistic simulations that are built by combining traditional image simulations with generative models. It will be fully featured to enable higher-level downstream science applications such as photometric redshift estimation and galaxy morphology inferences. All codes generated will be open source to enable broad community usage.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.