10-3847-0004-6256-152-6-154.pdf (2.1 MB)
Host galaxy identification for supernova surveys
Version 2 2023-06-12, 08:35
Version 1 2023-06-09, 04:20
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-12, 08:35 authored by Kathy RomerKathy Romer, et al. The Dark Energy SurveyHost galaxy identification is a crucial step for modern supernova (SN) surveys such as the Dark Energy Survey (DES) and the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), which will discover SNe by the thousands. Spectroscopic resources are limited, so in the absence of real-time SN spectra these surveys must rely on host galaxy spectra to obtain accurate redshifts for the Hubble diagram and to improve photometric classification of SNe. In addition, SN luminosities are known to correlate with host-galaxy properties. Therefore, reliable identification of host galaxies is essential for cosmology and SN science. We simulate SN events and their locations within their host galaxies to develop and test methods for matching SNe to their hosts. We use both real and simulated galaxy catalog data from the Advanced Camera for Surveys General Catalog and MICECATv2.0, respectively. We also incorporate "hostless" SNe residing in undetected faint hosts into our analysis, with an assumed hostless rate of 5%. Our fully automated algorithm is run on catalog data and matches SNe to their hosts with 91% accuracy. We find that including a machine learning component, run after the initial matching algorithm, improves the accuracy (purity) of the matching to 97% with a 2% cost in efficiency (true positive rate). Although the exact results are dependent on the details of the survey and the galaxy catalogs used, the method of identifying host galaxies we outline here can be applied to any transient survey.
Funding
STFC Consolidated Grant Supplement; G1316; STFC-SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY FACILITIES COUNCIL; ST/M000753/1
History
Publication status
- Published
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- Published version
Journal
Astronomical JournalISSN
0004-6256Publisher
American Astronomical SocietyExternal DOI
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152Page range
154Department affiliated with
- Physics and Astronomy Publications
Research groups affiliated with
- Astronomy Centre Publications
Full text available
- Yes
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Legacy Posted Date
2016-12-05First Open Access (FOA) Date
2016-12-05First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date
2016-12-05Usage metrics
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