University of Delaware

Department of Physics and Astronomy

Biden School of Public Policy and Administration

Data  Science Institute

Rubin Legacy Survey of Space and Time

Deputy Project Scientist, Rubin Construction

Interim Head of Science, Rubin Operations

Federica B. Bianco

(she/her)

slides available at

https://slides.com/federicabianco/LCOstudents2023

This is a living land acknowledgement developed in consultation with tribal leadership of Poutaxet, what is now known as the “Delaware Bay,” including: the Lenape Indian Tribe of Delaware, the Nanticoke Indian Tribe, and the Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Tribal Nation in 2021. We thank these leaders for their generosity.

The University of Delaware occupies lands vital to the web of life for Lenni Lenape and Nanticoke, who share their ancestry, history, and future in this region. UD has financially benefited from this regional occupation as well as from Indigenous territories that were expropriated through the United States land grant system. European colonizers and later the United States forced Nanticoke and Lenni Lenape westward and northward, where they formed nations in present-day Oklahoma, Wisconsin, and Ontario, Canada. Others never left their homelands or returned from exile when they could. We express our appreciation for ongoing Indigenous stewardship of the ecologies and traditions of this region. While the harms to Indigenous people and their homelands are beyond repair, we commit to building right relationships going forward by collaborating with tribal leadership on actionable institutional steps.

Rubin Observatory

Site: Cerro Pachon, Chile

Funding: US NSF + DOE

Status: final phases of construction - completion expected 2023

September 2016

Fabruary 2020

May 2022

November 2022

Vera C. Rubin Observatory:

May 2022 - Telescope Mount Assembly

The DOE LSST Camera - 3.2 Gigapixel

Camera and Cryostat integration completed at SLAC in May,

Shutter and filter auto-changer integrated into camera body

3024 science raft amplifier channels, only 3 are substandard.

400 4K HD TVs

 u         g            r         i         z        y

UV

N I R

what's in a name?

The first ground-based national US observatory named after a woman, Dr. Vera C. Rubin 

In the first 10 years of its life Rubin will conduct the Legacy Survey of Space and Time or LSST

Cosmology in the LSST era: the DARK sector

LSST Science Drivers

Probing Dark Energy and Dark Matter

image credit ESO-Gaia

LSST Science Drivers

Mapping the Milky Way and Local Volume

via resolved stellar population

An unprecedented inventory of the Solar System from threatening NEO to the distant Oort Cloud

LSST Science Drivers

LSST Science Drivers

Exploring the Transients and Variable Universe

10M alerts every night shared with the world

60 seconds after observation

single image depth ~24

10-year stack image depth ~26

image resolution 0.2'' (seeing limited)

18,000 sq degrees 

839 images over 10 years in 6 filters

2-3 images per night

each fields reobserved within ~days

5 fields observed to higher cadence and more images

survey specification

~25.9, 26.8, 26.8, 26.3, 25.6, 24.8

~56, 74, 184, 187, 166, 171

Ivezić (w Bianco) et al 2019

circa 1900

Survey

design

what do we mean when we say survey cadence??

Rubin LSST survey design

distributions of time gaps

in 76 LSST simulations (2018)

Rubin LSST survey design

Li et al. 2021

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4365/ac3bca

Rubin LSST survey design

Bianco et al. 2021

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4365/ac3e72

https://www.lsst.org/content/charge-survey-cadence-optimization-committee-scoc

Because the Rubin LSST data is open to all US scientists and to a broader yet community worldwide, to truly make it a survey of and for and of the people, Rubin Observatory called the community to design its survey -

this is a uniquely "democratic" process!

single document

9 chapters ​

25 science cases

14

46 papers

467 unique authors

16

39 notes

218 unique authors

173

date

response

available simulations

(OpSim)

2015-17

2018

2021

Rubin LSST survey design

2015-17

The call for cadence white papers generated an unprecedentedly collaborative process that lead to 46 white papers in 2018

Currently 12 have been turned into peer review work

https://observablehq.com/embed/@f7f7156e50925896/rubin-lsst-science-collaborations-cadence-white-paper-by-s?cells=chart

0.576

0.52

intranight gap

hours

15

internight gap

days

15

3

median internight gap

days

50

5

median internight gap

days

any filter

r band

current survey specifications

ls.st/opsims

26.9

28.1

coadd 5σ depth

survey specifications

(current baseline)

source http://astro-lsst-01.astro.washington.edu:8080/?runId=2

26.8

29.05

28.6

26.8

survey specifications

(current baseline)

26.8

29.05

28.6

26.8

Lochner et al 2018

https://arxiv.org/pdf/1812.00515.pdf

Research Inclusion: sonification of LSST lightcurves

Rubin Rhapsodies

https://lsst-tvssc.github.io/RubinRhapsodies/

Data Products

world public!

world public

data right holders

Astronomy meets Data Science

At this level of precision,everything is variable, everything is blended, everything is moving.

 https://ls.st/srd

SDSS

LSST

http://faculty.washington.edu/ivezic/talks/NASAseminar.pdf

Ivezič+19

SDSS 2x4 arcmin sq griz

MYSUC (Gawiser 2014) 1 mag shallower than LSST coadds

At this level of precision,everything is variable, everything is blended, everything is moving.

 https://ls.st/srd

http://faculty.washington.edu/ivezic/talks/NASAseminar.pdf

Rubin will see ~1000 SN every night!

A lot of them will be too faint to study with traditional means, particularly spectra. 

Lots of emphasis in new analysis techniques that rely on "Big Data"

Ivezič (w Bianco) et al 2019

Rubin Observatory LSST 

Rubin and MMA

Rubin Observatory LSST 

LIGO/VIRGO area of localization ~100deg square

 Ursa Minor contains 255.86 square degrees

S190425z 18% of the sky localization

Rubin Observatory LSST 

Rubin can find the electromagnetic counterpart of Gravitational Wave and Neutrino discoveries better than any survey!

LIGO/VIRGO area of localization ~100deg square

 Ursa Minor contains 255.86 square degrees

Rubin FoV 10 deg

S190425z 18% of the sky localization

Rubin Observatory LSST 

 AT 2017gfo

optical counterpart we have identified near NGC 4993 is associated with GW170817

Evidence that mergers of NS are significant sources of r-process elements heavier than iron, including gold and platinum, which was previously attributed exclusively to supernova explosions

Rubin Observatory LSST 

Margutti+2018

Andreoni+ 2022

Rubin Observatory LSST 

Margutti+2018

Andreoni+ 2022

Rubin Observatory LSST 

Margutti+2018

Andreoni+ 2022

We study rare and unusual transients with machine learning and probabilistic inference

Rubin LSST

Leading the Rubin LSST army of volunteers

FASTLab projects in data-driven astrophysics

At the intersection of astrophysics and Public Policy: From Light Echoes to Pollution Plumes

Data skills for good: COVID response support in Delaware

Time domain astrophysics at a glance

Multi-city Urban Observatory Network

Dobler, Bianco, et al 2021, in Remote Sensing

Studying cities as complex systems through imaging data

Multi-city Urban Observatory Network

Dobler, Bianco, et al 2021, in Remote Sensing

Studying cities as complex systems through imaging data

• energy demand and consumption
• ecology of flora and fauna
• urban metabolism
• circadiem rhythms

Multi-city Urban Observatory Network

From Light Echoes to Polluting Plumes

Ian Heffner, UD MSDS

​improved image

subtraction through PCA

Pessimal AI problem:

• small training data
• inaccurate labels
• imbalance classes
• diverse morphology
• low SNR
• complex BG

From Light Echoes to Polluting Plumes

Ian Heffner, UD MSDS

​improved image

subtraction through PCA

Pessimal AI problem:

• small training data
• inaccurate labels
• imbalance classes
• diverse morphology
• low SNR
• complex BG

Plumes and heat in NIR

Plumes in hyperspectral imaging

COVID-19 - an opportunity to be useful or an opportunistic exploitation of a serious problem?

- we understand exponentials

- we do not understand how science translated into policy

COVID-19 - an opportunity to be useful or an opportunistic exploitation of a serious problem?

COVID-19 - an opportunity to be useful or an opportunistic exploitation of a serious problem?

COVID-19 - an opportunity to be useful or an opportunistic exploitation of a serious problem?

Is there a need?

dont overestimate the resources that are available

"Christiana care is seeking someone with Python expertise..."

surge plans rely on mutual aid between States

Is there a need?

dont overestimate the resources that are available

Dr. Chiam, Value Institute

Is there a need?

• Delaware is a small state (unlike Washington State, CA, NY)
• 5 hospitals only one has an epidemiological team... of 1
• There are limited computational resources in people and in hardware

"Christiana care is seeking someone with Python expertise..."

Can I fulfill that need?

• Is there a team of domain experts you can work with?

"Christiana care is seeking someone with Python expertise..."

"ChristianaCare is seeking someone with Python expertise..."

to work with the CC Value institute epidemiologist and software engineer

DATA

MODEL IMPLEMENTATION

MODEL IMPLEMENTATION

DE COORDINATION

EPIDEMIOLOGY

INTEGRATION W CC NEEDS AND RESOURCES

COVID-19 - an opportunity to be useful or an opportunistic exploitation of a serious problem?

COVID-19 - an opportunity to be useful or an opportunistic exploitation of a serious problem?

COVID-19 - an opportunity to be useful or an opportunistic exploitation of a serious problem?

COVID-19 - an opportunity to be useful or an opportunistic exploitation of a serious problem?

COVID-19 - an opportunity to be useful or an opportunistic exploitation of a serious problem?

Delaware COVID-19 deaths by race

 COVID 19 is a racist desease

Society

COVID-19 - an opportunity to be useful or an opportunistic exploitation of a serious problem?

"While some states do not have demonstrable disparities, minorities in other states face 5 or 10-fold or higher risk of death than their white counterparts."

https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.05.07.20094250v1.full.pdf+html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/world/corona-simulator/

COVID-19 - an opportunity to be useful or an opportunistic exploitation of a serious problem?

Obvious solution: MC simulation (a.k.a. Agent-based models

but the computational costs are significant

    . how will policy changes affect disease progression and hospitalization?

    . will there be a suppression of disease propagation in future summer months?

    . what are the impacts of DE’s unique demographic distribution on hospitalization?

    . how do we incorporate behavioral properties of the in- and out-of-state sub-populations?

    . what level of resurgence might we expect to see in the winter if social distancing is relaxed?

    . if re-infection is a possibility, what will be the burden on local health care systems?

age block

ethnicity block

socioeconomic block

comorbidities block

age block

ethnicity block

socioeconomic block

comorbidities block

This framework allows for substantial flexibility to include effects such as:

        · time-dependent social distancing

        · mask mandate compliance

        · person-to-person contact rates

        · age, gender, race, and ethnicity  

        · individual susceptibilities

        · comorbidities

        · probabilistic hospital length of stay

        · asymptomatic subpopulations

        · vaccine availability and use

        · closing and reopening

        · hospital discharge and intake operations

up to 100 subpops -

100x100 sparse contact matrix => ~sec 

500,000 samples => ~1M sec

e-DHARMA: a DHARMA emulator

"It has been invaluable to have predictions for the next week instead of having to panic about the next shift"

Research Inclusion: sonification of LSST lightcurves

Riley Clarke, UD grad student Sid Patel, UD undergrad summer research project

Sonification: Data → Sound

New way of understanding data

• Can be complementary to visualizations

• Gives access to people who cannot
  interpret data visually

• Sounds cool! Good for public outreach

Research Inclusion: sonification of LSST lightcurves

Rubin Rhapsodies

Research Inclusion: sonification of LSST lightcurves

Rubin Rhapsodies

https://lsst-tvssc.github.io/RubinRhapsodies/

Light Echoes

Light Echoes

η-Carinae light echoes

Rest et al. (w Bianco) 2012Natur.482..375R​

Light Echoes

η-Carinae light echoes

Frew 2004, Smith & Frew 2011

Light Echoes

η-Carinae light echoes

Light Echoes

η-Carinae light echoes

Li et al. submitted

AILE: the first AI-based platform for the detection and study of Light Echoes

NSF Award #2108841

Detecting and studying light echoes in the era of Rubin and Artificial Intelligence

P.I. Bianco

Pessimal AI problem:

• small training data
• inaccurate labels
• imbalance classes
• diverse morphology
• low SNR

AILE: the first AI-based platform for the detection and study of Light Echoes

YOLO3 + "attention" mechanism

precision 80% at 70% recall with a training set of 19 light echo examples! 

NSF Award #2108841

Detecting and studying light echoes in the era of Rubin and Artificial Intelligence

P.I. Bianco

Li et al. submitted

thank you!

University of Delaware

Department of Physics and Astronomy

Biden School of Public Policy and Administration

Data  Science Institute

federica bianco

fbianco@udel.edu

Rubin Observatory LSST 

Diversity Equity Inclusion

Rubin LSST Science Collaborations

We aspire to be an inclusive, equitable, and ultimately just group and we are working with renewed vigor in the wake of the recent event that exposed inequity and racism in our society to turning this aspiration into action.

Rubin LSST Science Collaborations

what's in a name?

The first ground-based national US observatory named after a woman, Dr. Vera C. Rubin 

VRO

In the first 10 years of its life Rubin will conduct the Legacy Survey of Space and Time or LSST