Exoplanet detection from starshade images using convolutional neural networks

Zahra Ahmed; Simone D'Amico; Renyu Hu; Mario Damiano

doi:10.1117/12.2676600

5 October 2023 Exoplanet detection from starshade images using convolutional neural networks

Zahra Ahmed, Simone D'Amico, Renyu Hu, Mario Damiano

Proceedings Volume 12680, Techniques and Instrumentation for Detection of Exoplanets XI; 1268028 (2023) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2676600
Event: SPIE Optical Engineering + Applications, 2023, San Diego, California, United States

Conference Poster

Abstract

High-contrast, direct imaging of exoplanets is a key objective for the future of astronomy. Underpinning both the development and successful deployment of future direct imaging missions is the ability to analyze the resulting data. Therefore, in order to inform noise budget requirements and fully leverage high-resolution direct images, it is critical to develop post-processing algorithms that are versatile, efficient, and reliable. This work leverages recent advancements in starshade simulation technology and presents a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) for detecting exoplanet signals from direct images. The proposed architecture modifies U-Net, a semantic segmentation architecture, to directly regress the coordinate location of exoplanet signals from a synthetic star-shade imaging dataset. Results from a limited test set of 144 images indicate that the CNN achieves an average precision and recall of 0.925 ± 0.012 and 0.923 ± 0.018, respectively. Additionally, the CNN does not require processing the data through conventional background estimation algorithms prior to detection and performs inference on single images, showcasing the potential of supervised machine learning as a versatile approach for exoplanet detection.

(2023) Published by SPIE. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

Citation Download Citation

Zahra Ahmed, Simone D'Amico, Renyu Hu, and Mario Damiano "Exoplanet detection from starshade images using convolutional neural networks", Proc. SPIE 12680, Techniques and Instrumentation for Detection of Exoplanets XI, 1268028 (5 October 2023); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2676600

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available