Year: 2021
Type: article
Abstract: Stochastic field distortions caused by atmospheric turbulence are a fundamental limitation to the astrometric accuracy of ground-based imaging. This distortion field is measurable at the locations of stars with accurate positions provided by the Gaia DR2 catalog; we develop the use of Gaussian process regression (GPR) to interpolate the distortion field to arbitrary locations in each exposure. We introduce an extension to standard GPR techniques that exploits the knowledge that the 2D distortion field is curl-free. Applied to several hundred 90 s exposures from the Dark Energy Survey as a test bed, we find that the GPR correction reduces the variance of the turbulent astrometric distortions ≈12× , on average, with better performance in denser regions of the Gaia catalog. The rms per-coordinate distortion in the riz bands is typically ≈7 mas before any correction and ≈2 mas after application of the GPR model. The GPR astrometric corrections are validated by the observation that their use reduces, from 10 to 5 mas rms, the residuals to an orbit fit to riz-band observations over 5 yr of the r = 18.5 trans-Neptunian object Eris. We also propose a GPR method, not yet implemented, for simultaneously estimating the turbulence fields and the 5D stellar solutions in a stack of overlapping exposures, which should yield further turbulence reductions in future deep surveys.
Source: The Astronomical Journal
Authors: W. F. Fortino, G. M. Bernstein, P. H. Bernardinelli, M. Aguena, S. Allam, J. Annis, D. Bacon, K. Bechtol, S. Bhargava, D. Brooks, D. L. Burke, J. Carretero, A. Choi, M. Costanzi, L. N. da Costa, M. E. S. Pereira, J. De Vicente, S. Desai, P. Doel, A. Drlica-Wagner, K. Eckert, T. F. Eifler, A. E. Evrard, I. Ferrero, J. Frieman, J. García-Bellido, E. Gaztañaga, D. W. Gerdes, R. A. Gruendl, J. Gschwend, G. Gutierrez, W. G. Hartley, S. R. Hinton, D. L. Hollowood, K. Honscheid, D. J. James, M. Jarvis, S. Kent, K. Kuehn, N. Kuropatkin, M. A. G. Maia, J. L. Marshall, F. Menanteau, R. Miquel, R. Morgan, J. Myles, R. L. C. Ogando, A. Palmese, F. Paz-Chinchón, A. A. Plazas, A. Roodman, E. S. Rykoff, E. Sanchez, B. Santiago, V. Scarpine, M. Schubnell, S. Serrano, I. Sevilla-Noarbe, M. Smith, E. Suchyta, G. Tarle, C. To, D. L. Tucker, T. N. Varga, A. R. Walker, J. Weller, W. Wester
Institutions: University of Pennsylvania, University of Delaware, Universidade de São Paulo, Laboratório Interinstitucional de e-Astronomia, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, University of Portsmouth, University of Wisconsin–Madison, University of Sussex, University College London, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, Stanford University, Institute for High Energy Physics, Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, The Ohio State University, Trieste Astronomical Observatory, Institute for Fundamental Physics of the Universe, National Observatory, University of Michigan, Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas, Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad, University of Chicago, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, University of Arizona, University of Oslo, Instituto de Física Teórica, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Institute of Space Sciences, Institut d'Estudis Espacials de Catalunya, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, National Center for Supercomputing Applications, University of Geneva, The University of Queensland, University of California, Santa Cruz, Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian, Lowell Observatory, Australian Astronomical Optics, Texas A&M University, Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats, University of Cambridge, Princeton University, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, University of Southampton, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
Funders: National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Energy, University of Pennsylvania, Ohio State University, University of Chicago, University of Portsmouth, Centres de Recerca de Catalunya, University College London, European Commission, University of Sussex, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Generalitat de Catalunya, Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, Fundação Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, Institut de Física d'Altes Energies, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Office of Science, Science and Technology Facilities Council, European Regional Development Fund, Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas, High Energy Physics, Integrated Electronics Engineering Center, Binghamton University, Argonne National Laboratory, Fermilab, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, FP7 Ideas: European Research Council, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
Awards: G1054097061, G1249197737, G1265542407, Capitalizing on Gravitational Shear, G1313983767, G1328166135, G1491530973, G154696372, Testing the Dark Energy Paradigm and Measuring Neutrino Mass with the Dark Energy Survey, G1682672702, G1687081336, PROPOSAL TO EXPLORE THE FUNDAMENTAL CONSTITUENTS OF THE UNIVERSE FUNDING YEARS FY 2018-2020, G1907584174, G1993551506, G2401681081, G265847165, G2916908045, G3154116105, G3207356259, G3467815775, G3496172001, G3523651922, G3586607516, G3715052068, G3740091667, The Dark Energy Survey Data Management Operations, G3870743921, G3906089732, G393177772, G3968781304, G4027194468, G4104599821, G419118642, G4334057779, G4404904460, G4478587286, G454676879, Understanding the Origin of Cosmic Structure, G4760961572, G490073602, G4960654128, G496129201, G498139845, RESEARCH IN HIGH ENERGY PHYSICS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA, G5616713406, G5617605617, G5702163051, G585908603, G600983903, G6480793128, G6514847661, Stronger weak lensing cosmology, G6619390584, G6636566961, G6676276723, G6731467812, Accurate cosmology from the Dark Energy Survey, RESEARCH IN HIGH ENERGY PHYSICS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA, G7038324121, G716412294, G7290792616, G7711421660, G7788408655, G7835623888, G7954596376, Collaborative Research: Characterizing the Trans-Neptunian Solar System with the Dark Energy Survey, Collaborative Research: The Dark Energy Survey Data Management Operations, G86560745, G969889393
OpenAlex ID: W3093723487