Related papers: The confusion limit on astrometry with SIM
The ambitious goals of precision cosmology with wide-field optical surveys such as the Dark Energy Survey (DES) and the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) demand, as their foundation, precision CCD astronomy. This in turn requires an…
We study the fundamental limits of detection for astrophysical observations in the far infrared. Understanding these fundamental limits is critical to the planning and analysis of experiments in this region. We specifically characterize the…
Ghost imaging needs massive measurements to obtain an image with good visibility and the imaging speed is usually very low. In order to realize real-time high-resolution ghost imaging of a target which is located in a scenario with a large…
The Wide-Field InfraRed Space Telescope (WFIRST) will be capable of delivering precise astrometry for faint sources over the enormous field of view of its main camera, the Wide-Field Imager (WFI). This unprecedented combination will be…
Astrophysics demands higher precision in measurements across photometry, spectroscopy, and astrometry. Several science cases necessitate not only precision but also a high level of accuracy. We highlight the challenges involved,…
This paper presents a non-classic approach to narrow field astrometry that offers a significant improvement over conventional techniques due to enhanced reduction of atmospheric image motion. The method is based on two key elements:…
In the coming decade, a new generation of massively multiplexed spectroscopic surveys, such as PFS, WAVES, and MOONS, will probe galaxies in the distant universe in vastly greater numbers than was previously possible. In this work, we…
We investigate the effects of potential sources of systematic error on the angular and photometric redshift, z_phot, distributions of a sample of redshift 0.4 < z < 0.7 massive galaxies whose selection matches that of the Baryon Oscillation…
Stars with excess infrared radiation from circumstellar dust are invaluable for studies of exoplanetary systems, informing our understanding on processes of planet formation and destruction alike. All-sky photometric surveys have made the…
We discuss the prospect of deblending microlensing events by observing astrometric shifts of the lensed stars. Since microlensing searches are generally performed in very crowded fields, it is expected that stars will be confusion limited…
Most general-purpose classification methods, such as support-vector machine (SVM) and random forest (RF), fail to account for an unusual characteristic of astronomical data: known measurement error uncertainties. In astronomical data, this…
We present a new method of DEEM, the direct energy encircling method, for characterising the performance of fibres in most astronomical spectroscopic applications. It's a versatile platform to measure focal ratio degradation (FRD),…
A fraction of the XMM-Newton/EPIC FOV is obscured by the dysfunctional (i.e. bad) pixels. The fraction varies between different EPIC instruments in a given observation. These complications affect the analysis of extended X-ray sources…
Synthetic photometry is a great tool for studying globular clusters, especially for understanding the nature of their multiple populations. Our goal is to quantify the errors on synthetic photometry that are caused by uncertainties on…
We present theoretical analysis of the astrometric searches for extrasolar planets with the Space Interferometry Mission (SIM). Particularly, we derive a model for the future measurements with SIM and discuss the problem of reliable…
Simulation-based inference (SBI) has become an important tool in cosmology for extracting additional information from observational data using simulations. However, all cosmological simulations are approximations of the actual universe, and…
Accurate optical sensing and micromanipulation requires sensitive measurements of the position, orientation, and dynamics of small particles--and sometimes even large objects--under consideration. The signals acquired in the process,…
Precise centroid estimation plays a critical role in accurate astrometry using telescope images. Conventional centroid estimation fits a template point spread function (PSF) to the image data. Because the PSF is typically not known to high…
The ability to accurately measure the shapes of faint objects in images taken with the Advanced Camera for Surveys(ACS) on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) depends upon detailed knowledge of the Point Spread Function (PSF). We show that…
Context: Exoplanet science has made staggering progress in the last two decades, due to the relentless exploration of new detection methods and refinement of existing ones. Yet astrometry offers a unique and untapped potential of discovery…