Hierarchical Bayesian power-law fits to early ZTF light curves of 972 SNe Ia yield population parameters for rise time, index, and color evolution, revealing a bifurcation with SALT2 stretch.
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The Zwicky Transient Facility: Data Processing, Products, and Archive
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abstract
The Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) is a new robotic time-domain survey currently in progress using the Palomar 48-inch Schmidt Telescope. ZTF uses a 47 square degree field with a 600 megapixel camera to scan the entire northern visible sky at rates of ~3760 square degrees/hour to median depths of g ~ 20.8 and r ~ 20.6 mag (AB, 5sigma in 30 sec). We describe the Science Data System that is housed at IPAC, Caltech. This comprises the data-processing pipelines, alert production system, data archive, and user interfaces for accessing and analyzing the products. The realtime pipeline employs a novel image-differencing algorithm, optimized for the detection of point source transient events. These events are vetted for reliability using a machine-learned classifier and combined with contextual information to generate data-rich alert packets. The packets become available for distribution typically within 13 minutes (95th percentile) of observation. Detected events are also linked to generate candidate moving-object tracks using a novel algorithm. Objects that move fast enough to streak in the individual exposures are also extracted and vetted. The reconstructed astrometric accuracy per science image with respect to Gaia is typically 45 to 85 milliarcsec. This is the RMS per axis on the sky for sources extracted with photometric S/N >= 10. The derived photometric precision (repeatability) at bright unsaturated fluxes varies between 8 and 25 millimag. Photometric calibration accuracy with respect to Pan-STARRS1 is generally better than 2%. The products support a broad range of scientific applications: fast and young supernovae, rare flux transients, variable stars, eclipsing binaries, variability from active galactic nuclei, counterparts to gravitational wave sources, a more complete census of Type Ia supernovae, and Solar System objects.
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astro-ph.HE 22 astro-ph.SR 16 astro-ph.GA 9 astro-ph.IM 7 astro-ph.CO 3 astro-ph.EP 1 cs.LG 1 gr-qc 1roles
background 7representative citing papers
Detection of a 0.1802-day periodic signal in TESS photometry of slow-rising nova PGIR22akgylf interpreted as orbital modulation from binary distortion of the envelope during common-envelope interaction.
Primordial black holes captured by stars lead to either quiet consumption or explosive disruption via disk formation, producing transients and high-spin remnants with potentially observable event rates.
Discovery of the highest-redshift non-jetted TDE at z=1.037 with constant ~19,000 K blackbody temperature and peak luminosity ~8e44 erg/s.
The survey identifies 27 low-redshift LRDs with compact morphology, V-shaped continua, broad Balmer lines with extreme decrements, and ubiquitous outflows, matching high-z counterparts and yielding a number density lower limit of 7.5e-10 cMpc^-3.
Blue straggler stars in old open clusters exhibit a Kraft break in rotation, with rapid rotators above the break and slow rotators below, indicating their envelopes behave like those of single stars.
PDRS is an O(N) algorithm for identifying high-activity regions in time series by seeding at local maxima and using gradient-aware search, achieving performance comparable to Bayesian Blocks.
SDSSJ110546.07+145202.4 is the first known long-duration radio changing-look NLS1 galaxy whose outburst is explained by an accretion-rate change that triggered a powerful radio jet.
J1105+1452 transitioned to a megahertz peaked-spectrum source with a new compact jet of radius ~0.68 pc, apparent velocity ~0.64c, and Doppler factor ~12, while X-ray emission stayed disk-corona dominated.
Spectroscopic and imaging confirmation of the brightest known quadruply-lensed quasar J1330-0905 at z=2.22 with Einstein radius ~0.45 arcsec and predicted magnification ~56.
DGPFM stacks GP-based linear and nonlinear transformations in function space via kernel integrals and inducing-point variational learning for function-on-function regression.
SN 2020bij and four other Type IIP SNe with slow-rising light curves and high velocities are modeled with weak to no CSM interaction, suggesting a new subclass linked to confined CSM.
Discovery and multi-wavelength follow-up of a new FU Orionis accretion outburst in V7995 Sgr with photometry and spectroscopy confirming the classification.
Multi-epoch X-ray analysis of PHL 1811 indicates its apparent weakness results from heavy obscuration by a radiatively driven wind rather than intrinsic X-ray weakness.
Nebular spectroscopy of low-luminosity Type IIP SNe from ZTF identifies two plausible ECSN candidates but derives an upper limit on the ECSN rate of ≲(5–8)×10² Gpc⁻³ yr⁻¹ implying a sAGB mass window narrower than 0.06 M⊙.
Blue straggler stars in old open clusters predominantly appear near the terminal-age main sequence because mass transfer from asymptotic giant branch donors enriches their cores with helium.
The first eclipsing CEMP candidate is identified in a 1.224-day binary, with 3.5% of dwarf carbon stars showing short-period variability consistent with tidally locked post-common envelope systems and supporting wind capture for carbon enhancement.
Optical-MIR lags of 39.1 days and 79.4 days are measured in Mrk 42 and Mrk 493, yielding dust reverberation radii of 0.032 pc and 0.065 pc with R_dust/R_BLR ratios of approximately 6-7.
IY Lyr is a thick-disk RRc star with a 1.37 solar-mass companion most likely a neutron star in a 3.94-year eccentric orbit, confirmed by photometry, spectroscopy, and astrometry.
A second coherent radio burst spanning 704-4032 MHz with spectral index -2.18, 54% linear and 22% circular polarization, and an orthogonal polarization angle jump was detected from 2XMM J104608.7-594306, showing rare radio activity in sources thought to be radio-quiet.
StarCLR pretrains on TESS light curves via contrastive learning on overlapping subsequences and improves variable star classification F1 scores over scratch-trained models when fine-tuned on TESS, ZTF, and Gaia.
Radial velocity data reveal a 310-day orbital period in NaSt1 with opposing phases in two groups of emission lines, supporting its nature as a post-mass-transfer massive binary system.
A criterion of |Δg| > 0.4 mag and |Δ(g-r)| > 0.2 mag detects photometric CL-AGN transitions in 9.6% of known hosts with 1.6% false positive rate from simulations.
Discovery of a gravitationally lensed Type II supernova at z=1.37 with magnification ≳100×, confirmed via multi-telescope spectra and imaging.
citing papers explorer
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Decoding the Early-Time Light Curves of Type Ia Supernovae. II. Population Parameters of One Thousand ZTF Supernovae
Hierarchical Bayesian power-law fits to early ZTF light curves of 972 SNe Ia yield population parameters for rise time, index, and color evolution, revealing a bifurcation with SALT2 stretch.
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TESS detection of periodic brightness variations during the rise of classical nova PGIR22akgylf
Detection of a 0.1802-day periodic signal in TESS photometry of slow-rising nova PGIR22akgylf interpreted as orbital modulation from binary distortion of the envelope during common-envelope interaction.
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The Life and Death of Stars That Capture Primordial Black Holes
Primordial black holes captured by stars lead to either quiet consumption or explosive disruption via disk formation, producing transients and high-spin remnants with potentially observable event rates.
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Discovery of a Featureless Tidal Disruption Event at z~1 with the Wide Field Survey Telescope
Discovery of the highest-redshift non-jetted TDE at z=1.037 with constant ~19,000 K blackbody temperature and peak luminosity ~8e44 erg/s.
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(LRDs)$^2$: The Low-ReDshift Little Red Dots Survey. II. DESI DR1 Sample
The survey identifies 27 low-redshift LRDs with compact morphology, V-shaped continua, broad Balmer lines with extreme decrements, and ubiquitous outflows, matching high-z counterparts and yielding a number density lower limit of 7.5e-10 cMpc^-3.
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Blue Straggler Stars in Old Open Clusters and the Kraft Break
Blue straggler stars in old open clusters exhibit a Kraft break in rotation, with rapid rotators above the break and slow rotators below, indicating their envelopes behave like those of single stars.
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PDRS : A Linear $\mathcal{O}(N)$ Algorithm for Segmentation of High-Activity Regions in Irregularly Sampled Time Series
PDRS is an O(N) algorithm for identifying high-activity regions in time series by seeding at local maxima and using gradient-aware search, achieving performance comparable to Bayesian Blocks.
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SDSSJ110546.07+145202.4: The first long-duration radio changing-look NLS1 galaxy
SDSSJ110546.07+145202.4 is the first known long-duration radio changing-look NLS1 galaxy whose outburst is explained by an accretion-rate change that triggered a powerful radio jet.
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A Radio Changing-state Jet in the Narrow-line Seyfert 1 Galaxy J1105+1452
J1105+1452 transitioned to a megahertz peaked-spectrum source with a new compact jet of radius ~0.68 pc, apparent velocity ~0.64c, and Doppler factor ~12, while X-ray emission stayed disk-corona dominated.
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Persephone's Torch: A 15th Magnitude Quadruply-Lensed Quasar From the Couch Discovered with SPHEREx and the LBT
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Deep Gaussian Processes for Functional Maps
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SN 2020bij and a Possible Slow-Rise High-Velocity Subclass of Type IIP Supernovae
SN 2020bij and four other Type IIP SNe with slow-rising light curves and high velocities are modeled with weak to no CSM interaction, suggesting a new subclass linked to confined CSM.
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V7995 Sgr: A New FU Orionis Accretion Outburst Near NGC 6589/6590
Discovery and multi-wavelength follow-up of a new FU Orionis accretion outburst in V7995 Sgr with photometry and spectroscopy confirming the classification.
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The Curious Case of PHL 1811: Heavy Obscuration Versus Intrinsic X-ray Weakness
Multi-epoch X-ray analysis of PHL 1811 indicates its apparent weakness results from heavy obscuration by a radiatively driven wind rather than intrinsic X-ray weakness.
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Low-Luminosity Type IIP Supernovae from the Zwicky Transient Facility Census of the Local Universe. III: Hunting for electron-capture supernovae using nebular spectroscopy
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The Distribution of Blue Straggler Stars in the Color-Magnitude Diagrams of Old Open Clusters
Blue straggler stars in old open clusters predominantly appear near the terminal-age main sequence because mass transfer from asymptotic giant branch donors enriches their cores with helium.
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An eclipsing CEMP candidate discovered in a search for dwarf carbon stars in post-common envelope binaries
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The 2MIG isolated AGNs. 3. Optical--IR variability and dust reverberation in the NLSy1 galaxies Mrk~42 and Mrk~493
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IY Lyr: A Thick-Disk first-overtone RR Lyrae Star with a Possible Neutron Star Companion
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A bright wideband radio burst from the isolated neutron star 2XMM J104608.7$-$594306
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StarCLR: Contrastive Learning Representation for Astronomical Light Curves
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Radial Velocity Evidence for a Post-Mass-Transfer Massive Binary System: NaSt1
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Identifying Changing-Look AGN Transitions in Light Curve Data with the Zwicky Transient Facility
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