UK Involvement in LSST: Phase B (QUB component)
Lead Research Organisation:
Queen's University Belfast
Department Name: Sch of Mathematics and Physics
Abstract
Abstracts are not currently available in GtR for all funded research. This is normally because the abstract was not required at the time of proposal submission, but may be because it included sensitive information such as personal details.
Planned Impact
Support for UK involvement in LSST, through funding the LSST:UK Science Centre (LUSC), can generate societal and economic impact under the following five headings:
1. Enhancing the research capacity, knowledge and skills of enterprises working on "Big Data" issues being incubated within the Higgs Centre for Innovation.
The Phase B LUSC Data Access Centre workpackage is co-located on the Royal Observatory Edinburgh campus with the Higgs Centre for Innovation, which is being funded to improve interaction between academia and industry in Space and Big Data, and to enhance economic impact in those two domains. We shall exploit that co-location to ensure that Big Data innovations within the LSST project in the US filter through to UK SMEs and that the challenging requirements of LSST inspire the development of novel Big Data techniques and technologies within the UK, as has been the case in the US.
2. Increasing public engagement with research through Citizen Science initiatives.
The LSST:UK Consortium will develop a Citizen Science platform based on the pioneering Zooniverse project, which currently has more than one million users doing real science online. Computational advances between now and the start of LSST operations will enable Citizen Science activities that greatly exceed what is currently possible, and perhaps most exciting is the prospect of involving Citizen Scientists in the classification of the million or more transient alerts that LSST will generate per night, placing the public at the heart of LSST's pioneering exploration of time-domain astronomy.
3. Enhancing cultural enrichment and quality of life through education & outreach activities.
The LSST:UK Consortium institutions have a wealth of experience in education and public outreach (EPO) activities, from running Open Days and exhibitions to CPD courses for school teachers to Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs). During Phase B we will develop an EPO programme, in conjunction with the very active LSST EPO team in the US.
4. Enhancing the research capacity, knowledge and skills of organisations through the employment of researchers with high-level expertise derived from working on LSST.
Over the 18-year lifetime of the LUSC programme, many students (e.g. from the STFC data-intensive science CDTs) and postdocs who have developed high-level expertise from working on LSST will pass from astronomy to the commercial sector, taking their valuable knowledge and skills with them. Particularly valuable will be the computational and statistical skills that will be readily applicable to the Big Data challenges prevalent in the public and private sector, and the expertise in thick CCDs developed through UK involvement in the LSST camera team.
5. Wealth creation, through the placing of construction contracts with UK companies.
The detector characterisation work started during LUSC Phase A, and proposed for continuation during Phase B, has included liaison with a UK company that has now signed a large contract to supply roughly half of the LSST detectors.
1. Enhancing the research capacity, knowledge and skills of enterprises working on "Big Data" issues being incubated within the Higgs Centre for Innovation.
The Phase B LUSC Data Access Centre workpackage is co-located on the Royal Observatory Edinburgh campus with the Higgs Centre for Innovation, which is being funded to improve interaction between academia and industry in Space and Big Data, and to enhance economic impact in those two domains. We shall exploit that co-location to ensure that Big Data innovations within the LSST project in the US filter through to UK SMEs and that the challenging requirements of LSST inspire the development of novel Big Data techniques and technologies within the UK, as has been the case in the US.
2. Increasing public engagement with research through Citizen Science initiatives.
The LSST:UK Consortium will develop a Citizen Science platform based on the pioneering Zooniverse project, which currently has more than one million users doing real science online. Computational advances between now and the start of LSST operations will enable Citizen Science activities that greatly exceed what is currently possible, and perhaps most exciting is the prospect of involving Citizen Scientists in the classification of the million or more transient alerts that LSST will generate per night, placing the public at the heart of LSST's pioneering exploration of time-domain astronomy.
3. Enhancing cultural enrichment and quality of life through education & outreach activities.
The LSST:UK Consortium institutions have a wealth of experience in education and public outreach (EPO) activities, from running Open Days and exhibitions to CPD courses for school teachers to Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs). During Phase B we will develop an EPO programme, in conjunction with the very active LSST EPO team in the US.
4. Enhancing the research capacity, knowledge and skills of organisations through the employment of researchers with high-level expertise derived from working on LSST.
Over the 18-year lifetime of the LUSC programme, many students (e.g. from the STFC data-intensive science CDTs) and postdocs who have developed high-level expertise from working on LSST will pass from astronomy to the commercial sector, taking their valuable knowledge and skills with them. Particularly valuable will be the computational and statistical skills that will be readily applicable to the Big Data challenges prevalent in the public and private sector, and the expertise in thick CCDs developed through UK involvement in the LSST camera team.
5. Wealth creation, through the placing of construction contracts with UK companies.
The detector characterisation work started during LUSC Phase A, and proposed for continuation during Phase B, has included liaison with a UK company that has now signed a large contract to supply roughly half of the LSST detectors.
Organisations
People |
ORCID iD |
| Stephen Smartt (Principal Investigator) |
Publications
Pigulski A
(2024)
OGLE-BLAP-001 and ZGP-BLAP-08: Two possible magnetic blue large-amplitude pulsators
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Homan D
(2023)
Discovery of the luminous X-ray ignition eRASSt J234402.9-352640 I. Tidal disruption event or a rapid increase in accretion in an active galactic nucleus?
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Mata Sánchez D
(2025)
Dynamical confirmation of a black hole in the X-ray transient Swift J1727.8-1613
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Wang Z. -Y.
(2024)
Massive stars exploding in a He-rich circumstellar medium X. Flash spectral features in the Type Ibn SN 2019cj and observations of SN2018jmt
in ASTRONOMY & ASTROPHYSICS
Kouch P
(2024)
Association of the IceCube neutrinos with blazars in the CGRaBS sample
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Rappaport S
(2024)
Seven new triply eclipsing triple star systems
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Munoz-Sanchez G
(2024)
Episodic mass loss in the very luminous red supergiant [W60] B90 in the Large Magellanic Cloud
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Salmaso I
(2025)
The diversity of strongly interacting Type IIn supernovae
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Brogan R
(2023)
Still alive and kicking: A significant outburst in changing-look AGN Mrk 1018
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Pastorello A
(2021)
Forbidden hugs in pandemic times II. The luminous red nova variety: AT 2020hat and AT 2020kog
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Schwope A
(2024)
Compact white dwarf binaries in the combined SRG/eROSITA/SDSS eFEDS survey
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Cai Y
(2022)
Forbidden hugs in pandemic times III. Observations of the luminous red nova AT 2021biy in the nearby galaxy NGC 4631
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Cai Y
(2021)
Intermediate-luminosity red transients: Spectrophotometric properties and connection to electron-capture supernova explosions
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Ackley K
(2020)
Observational constraints on the optical and near-infrared emission from the neutron star-black hole binary merger candidate S190814bv
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Pastorello A
(2021)
Forbidden hugs in pandemic times I. Luminous red nova AT 2019zhd, a new merger in M 31
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Schwope A
(2022)
Identification of SRGt 062340.2-265751 as a bright, strongly variable, novalike cataclysmic variable
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Sollerman J
(2021)
The Type II supernova SN 2020jfo in M 61, implications for progenitor system, and explosion dynamics
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Elias-Rosa N
(2024)
SN 2020pvb: A Type IIn-P supernova with a precursor outburst
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Gutierrez Claudia P.
(2024)
CSS 161010: A Luminous Fast Blue Optical Transient with Broad Blueshifted Hydrogen Lines
in ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL
Betzler A
(2024)
Analysis of the ATLAS photometry of the dwarf planets (134340) Pluto and (136199) Eris
in Astrophysics and Space Science
Betzler A
(2024)
Dual broadband phase curves of asteroid (3200) Phaethon
in Astrophysics and Space Science
Hernández-GarcÃa L
(2023)
Multiwavelength monitoring of the nucleus in PBC J2333.9-2343: the giant radio galaxy with a blazar-like core
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Niwano M
(2024)
Possible anticorrelations between pulsation amplitudes and the disc growth of Be stars in giant-outbursting Be X-ray binaries
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Smartt S
(2024)
GW190425: Pan-STARRS and ATLAS coverage of the skymap and limits on optical emission associated with FRB 20190425A
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Aghakhanloo M
(2023)
Repeating periodic eruptions of the supernova impostor SN 2000ch
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Ross G
(2024)
DEATHSTAR : a system for confirming planets and identifying false-positive signals in TESS data using ground-based time-domain surveys
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Xi G
(2022)
SN 2019ein: a Type Ia supernova likely originated from a sub-Chandrasekhar-mass explosion
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Tinyanont S
(2022)
Progenitor and close-in circumstellar medium of type II supernova 2020fqv from high-cadence photometry and ultra-rapid UV spectroscopy
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Davis K
(2023)
SN 2022ann: a Type Icn supernova from a dwarf galaxy that reveals helium in its circumstellar environment
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Clark P
(2024)
Long-term follow-up observations of extreme coronal line emitting galaxies
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Betzler A
(2023)
A photometric study of centaurs 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann and (2060) Chiron
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Chen Y
(2024)
Searching for quasar candidates with periodic variations from the Zwicky Transient Facility: results and implications
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Qin Y
(2024)
The statistics and environments of hostless supernovae
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Malyali A
(2024)
Transient fading X-ray emission detected during the optical rise of a tidal disruption event
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Zhang X
(2022)
SN 2019va: a Type IIP Supernova with Large Influence of Nickel-56 Decay on the Plateau-phase Light Curve
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Gutiérrez C
(2022)
SN 2020wnt: a slow-evolving carbon-rich superluminous supernova with no O ii lines and a bumpy light curve
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Onori F
(2022)
The nuclear transient AT 2017gge: a tidal disruption event in a dusty and gas-rich environment and the awakening of a dormant SMBH
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Poidevin F
(2023)
Optical polarization and spectral properties of the hydrogen-poor superluminous supernovae SN 2021bnw and SN 2021fpl
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Gutierrez C. P.
(2022)
SN 2020wnt: a slow-evolving carbon-rich superluminous supernova with no O II lines and a bumpy light curve
in MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY
Nagy Z
(2023)
The Gaia alerted fading of the FUor-type star Gaia21elv
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
McBrien O
(2021)
PS15cey and PS17cke: prospective candidates from the Pan-STARRS Search for kilonovae
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Srivastav S
(2022)
SN 2020kyg and the rates of faint Iax supernovae from ATLAS
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Eappachen D
(2024)
XMM- Newton -discovered Fast X-ray Transients: host galaxies and limits on contemporaneous detections of optical counterparts
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Poidevin F
(2022)
Post maximum light and late time optical imaging polarimetry of type I superluminous supernova 2020znr
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Amrutha N
(2024)
Discovering changing-look AGN in the 6dF Galaxy Survey using ATLAS light curves
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Aghakhanloo M
(2023)
Recurring outbursts of the supernova impostor AT 2016blu in NGC 4559
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Parrag E
(2021)
SN 2019hcc: a Type II supernova displaying early O ii lines
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Chen P
(2024)
A 12.4-day periodicity in a close binary system after a supernova
in Nature
Kool E
(2023)
A radio-detected type Ia supernova with helium-rich circumstellar material
in Nature
| Description | Delivered the software and infrastructure to be able to process the nightly stream of alerts from the Rubin obsevatory, this was what was proposed for and it was delivered. We developed a protoype that works on the Zwicky Transient Facility data, a precursor survey. |
| Exploitation Route | We have a wide user base for this software platform amongst the world-wide scientific community interested in the Rubin Observatory data. |
| Sectors | Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software) Education |
| URL | https://lasair-ztf.lsst.ac.uk |
| Title | 3 SN multiwavelength light curves |
| Description | VizieR online Data Catalogue associated with article published in journal Astronomy & Astrophysics with title 'The Type II supernova SN 2020jfo in M61, implications for progenitor system and explosion dynamics.' (bibcode: 2021A&A...655A.105S) |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| URL | https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/J/A+A/655/A105 |
| Title | 5 ILRTs light curves and spectra |
| Description | VizieR online Data Catalogue associated with article published in journal Astronomy & Astrophysics with title 'Intermediate-Luminosity Red Transients: Spectro-photometric properties and connection to electron-capture supernova explosions.' (bibcode: 2021A&A...654A.157C) |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| URL | https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/J/A+A/654/A157 |
| Title | Lasair: The Transient Alert Broker for LSST:UK |
| Description | Lasair provides a user-friendly interface to access public ZTF transient alerts. The alerts are transmitted by ZTF typically within 13 minutes of the exposure, in Avro/Kafka format. They are ingested into the Lasair database (on hardware in Edinburgh) within 20 minutes. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | Lasair is the transient alerts broker for the LSST:UK collaboration. In preparation for LSST's data stream, Lasair ingests the ZTF public alert stream into a relational database, assimilates the alerts into objects, and produces lightcurves and reliable cross-matches to star and galaxy catalogs. Lasair can be viewed and queried through a web browser5 and we provide simple example streams of interesting objects, as well as access to a full SQL search engine. Registration to the website is optional, free, and open to all. |
| URL | https://lasair.roe.ac.uk/ |
| Title | M31 luminous red nova AT 2019zhd photometry |
| Description | VizieR online Data Catalogue associated with article published in journal Astronomy & Astrophysics with title 'Forbidden hugs in pandemic times. I. Luminous red nova AT 2019zhd, a new merger in M 31.' (bibcode: 2021A&A...646A.119P) |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| URL | https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/J/A+A/646/A119 |
| Title | SN 2018agk spectra and NIR-UV light curves |
| Description | VizieR online Data Catalogue associated with article published in journal Astronomical Journal (AAS) with title 'SN 2018agk: a prototypical type Ia supernova with a smooth power-law rise in Kepler (K2).' (bibcode: 2021ApJ...923..167W) |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| URL | https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/J/ApJ/923/167 |
| Title | Young Supernova Experiment (YSE) DR1 |
| Description | VizieR online Data Catalogue associated with article published in journal Astronomical Journal (AAS) with title 'The Young Supernova Experiment Data Release 1 (YSE DR1): light curves and photometric classification of 1975 supernovae.' (bibcode: 2023ApJS..266....9A) |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| URL | https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/J/ApJS/266/9 |