Finding the Elusive in a Deluge of Data: Observational Transient Astrophysics in the Era of Big Data

par Dr Maayane Soumagnac (Bar-Ilan University)

lundi 31 août 2026, 14:00 → 16:00 Europe/Paris

amphi Charpak

The field of observational transient science  is currently undergoing a “double revolution.” On the one hand, a new generation of cutting-edge telescopes is providing unprecedentedly rich and abundant observations of transient phenomena. On the other hand, the rapidly developing field of data science is offering powerful new tools to analyze these observations. In this talk, I will present two projects which reflect emerging opportunities at this critical moment in the history of the field.

(1) I will present the MOST Hosts survey, which uses large new datasets from the DESI telescope to help us refine SNe Ia cosmology and explore the connections between core collapse supernova explosions and their galactic environment.

(2) An important question in X-ray science: How do we detect elusive signals when we have 25 years of observations but hardly any photons? Using innovative search algorithms, I will show how we mine decades of archival X-ray data from space telescopes (Chandra in particular) to find hidden transients buried in the background noise. These signals may reveal the very first moments of stellar death, as well as the physical mechanisms governing stellar flares.