文章基本信息

标题：Fast Algorithms for Slow Moving Asteroids: Constraints on the Distribution of Kuiper Belt Objects
本地全文：下载
作者：Peter J. Whidden ; J. Bryce Kalmbach ; Andrew J. Connolly 等
期刊名称：The Astronomical journal
印刷版ISSN：0004-6256
电子版ISSN：1538-3881
出版年度：2019
卷号：157
期号：3
页码：1-15
DOI：10.3847/1538-3881/aafd2d
语种：English
出版社：American Institute of Physics
摘要：We introduce a new computational technique for searching for faint moving sources in astronomical images. Starting from a maximum-likelihood estimate for the probability of the detection of a source within a series of images, we develop a massively parallel algorithm for searching through candidate asteroid trajectories that utilizes graphics processing units (GPU). This technique can search over 10 10 possible asteroid trajectories in stacks of the order of 10–15 4K×4K images in under a minute using a single consumer grade GPU. We apply this algorithm to data from the 2015 campaign of the High Cadence Transient Survey (HiTS) obtained with the Dark Energy Camera (DECam). We find 39 previously unknown Kuiper belt objects (KBOs) in the 150 square degrees of the survey. Comparing these asteroids to an existing model for the inclination distribution of the Kuiper belt we demonstrate that we recover a KBO population above our detection limit consistent with previous studies. Software used in this analysis is made available as an open source package.
关键词：methods: data analysis;minor planets, asteroids: general;Kuiper belt: general;techniques: image processing