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
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
Yao Y
(2023)
Tidal Disruption Event Demographics with the Zwicky Transient Facility: Volumetric Rates, Luminosity Function, and Implications for the Local Black Hole Mass Function
in The Astrophysical Journal Letters
Yao Y
(2022)
The X-Ray and Radio Loud Fast Blue Optical Transient AT2020mrf: Implications for an Emerging Class of Engine-driven Massive Star Explosions
in The Astrophysical Journal
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
Weston J
(2024)
Training a convolutional neural network for real-bogus classification in the ATLAS survey
in RAS Techniques and Instruments
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
Wang Q
(2024)
Flight of the Bumblebee: the Early Excess Flux of Type Ia Supernova 2023bee Revealed by TESS, Swift, and Young Supernova Experiment Observations
in The Astrophysical Journal
Wang Q
(2021)
SN 2018agk: A Prototypical Type Ia Supernova with a Smooth Power-law Rise in Kepler (K2)
in The Astrophysical Journal
Wang Q
(2023)
Revealing the Progenitor of SN 2021zby through Analysis of the TESS Shock-cooling Light Curve
in The Astrophysical Journal Letters
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
Teja R
(2024)
SN 2021wvw: A Core-collapse Supernova at the Subluminous, Slower, and Shorter End of Type IIPs
in The Astrophysical Journal
Teja R
(2023)
SN 2018gj: A Short Plateau Type II Supernova with Persistent Blueshifted Ha Emission
in The Astrophysical Journal
Srivastav S
(2023)
The Luminous Type Ia Supernova 2022ilv and Its Early Excess Emission
in The Astrophysical Journal Letters
Srivastav S
(2022)
The luminous type Ia supernova 2022ilv and its early excess emission
Srivastav S
(2022)
SN 2020kyg and the rates of faint Iax supernovae from ATLAS
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Srivastav S
(2020)
The Lowest of the Low: Discovery of SN 2019gsc and the Nature of Faint Iax Supernovae
in The Astrophysical Journal Letters
Sollerman J
(2021)
Three Core-Collapse Supernovae with Nebular Hydrogen Emission
Sollerman J
(2021)
The Type II supernova SN 2020jfo in M 61, implications for progenitor system, and explosion dynamics
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Smith K
(2020)
Design and Operation of the ATLAS Transient Science Server
in Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific
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
Schwope A
(2024)
Compact white dwarf binaries in the combined SRG/eROSITA/SDSS eFEDS survey
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Schwope A
(2022)
Identification of SRGt 062340.2-265751 as a bright, strongly variable, novalike cataclysmic variable
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Salmaso I
(2025)
The diversity of strongly interacting Type IIn supernovae
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
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
Reddy V
(2024)
2023 DZ2 Planetary Defense Campaign
in The Planetary Science Journal
Rastinejad J
(2022)
A Systematic Exploration of Kilonova Candidates from Neutron Star Mergers during the Third Gravitational-wave Observing Run
in The Astrophysical Journal
Rappaport S
(2024)
Seven new triply eclipsing triple star systems
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Qin Y
(2024)
The statistics and environments of hostless supernovae
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
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
Pitik T
(2022)
Is the High-energy Neutrino Event IceCube-200530A Associated with a Hydrogen-rich Superluminous Supernova?
in The Astrophysical Journal
Pigulski A
(2024)
OGLE-BLAP-001 and ZGP-BLAP-08: Two possible magnetic blue large-amplitude pulsators
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Pastorello A
(2020)
Luminous Red Nova AT 2019zhd, a new merger in M 31
Pastorello A
(2021)
Forbidden hugs in pandemic times II. The luminous red nova variety: AT 2020hat and AT 2020kog
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
| 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 |