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Wang, Wenting

Publications and source records attributed to Wang, Wenting.

SpecDis: Value Added Distance Catalog for 4 Million Stars from DESI Year-1 Data

We present the SpecDis value-added stellar distance catalog accompanying DESI Data Release 1. SpecDis trains a feed-forward neural network (NN) with Gaia parallaxes and gets the distance estimates. To build up an unbiased training sample, we do not apply selections on parallax error or signal-to-noise (S/N) of the stellar spectra, and instead, we incorporate parallax error into the loss function. Moreover, we employ principal component analysis to reduce the noise and dimensionality of stellar spectra. Validated by independent external samples of member stars with precise distances from globular clusters, dwarf galaxies, stellar streams, combined with blue horizontal branch stars, we demonstrate that our distance measurements show no significant bias up to 100 kpc, and are much more precise than Gaia parallax beyond 7 kpc. The median distance uncertainties are 23%, 19%, 11%, and 7% for S/N < 20, 20 ≤ S/N < 60, 60 ≤ S/N < 100, and S/N ≥ 100. Selecting stars with ${\mathrm{log}}\,g\lt 3.8$ and distance uncertainties smaller than 25%, we have more than 74,000 giant candidates within 50 kpc of the Galactic center and 1500 candidates beyond this distance. Additionally, we develop a Gaussian mixture model to identify unresolvable equal-mass binaries by modeling the discrepancy between the NN-predicted and the geometric absolute magnitudes from Gaia parallaxes and identify 120,000 equal-mass binary candidates. Our final catalog provides distances and distance uncertainties for >4 million stars, offering a valuable resource for Galactic astronomy.

astronomy data analysis↗

Moving beyond the Aerosol Climatology of WRF-Solar: A Case Study over the North China Plain

Numerical weather prediction (NWP), when accessible, is a crucial input to short-term solar power forecasting. WRF-Solar, the first NWP model specifically designed for solar energy applications, has shown promising predictive capability. Nevertheless, few attempts have been made to investigate its performance under high aerosol loading, which attenuates incoming radiation significantly. The North China Plain is a polluted region due to industrialization, which constitutes a proper testbed for such investigation. Here, in this paper, aerosol direct radiative effect (DRE) on three surface shortwave radiation components (i.e., global, beam, and diffuse) during five heavy pollution episodes is studied within the WRF-Solar framework. Results show that WRF-Solar overestimates instantaneous beam radiation up to 795.3 W m -2 when the aerosol DRE is not considered. Although such overestimation can be partially offset by an underestimation of the diffuse radiation of about 194.5 W m -2 , the overestimation of the global radiation still reaches 160.2 W m -2 . This undesirable bias can be reduced when WRF-Solar is powered by Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) aerosol forecasts, which then translates to accuracy improvements in photovoltaic (PV) power forecasts. This work also compares the forecast performance of the CAMS-powered WRF-Solar with that of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts model. Under high aerosol loading conditions, the irradiance forecast accuracy generated by WRF-Solar increased by 53.2% and the PV power forecast accuracy increased by 6.8%.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

First estimation of high-resolution solar photovoltaic resource maps over China with Fengyun-4A satellite and machine learning

Fengyun-4A (FY-4A), which is the latest-generation Chinese geostationary meteorological satellite, measures solar reflection and thermal emission with high temporal, spatial, and spectral resolutions. It is expected to be highly beneficial for solar resource assessment and forecasting in China. This study is the first to estimate, using FY-4A and a random forest model, the global horizontal irradiance (GHI) at a 4-km–15-min spatio-temporal resolution over China, as a means to arrive at a solar photovoltaic (PV) resource map. In terms of GHI estimates, the root mean square error and mean bias error between hourly measured and retrieved values are 147.02 (35.2%), –5.64 W/m 2 (–1.4%), respectively, whereas the values of daily estimates are 29.20 (18.0%), –2.97 W/m 2 (–1.3%). The retrieval accuracy is found much better for instances with solar zenith angles smaller than 60°. Relatively larger errors are found at locations in the Sichuan Basin and northeastern China, which can be attributed to bright surfaces and/or strong cloud transients. With the retrieved irradiance, PV resource is derived through a physical model chain. The annual mean PV resource map suggests that, over most of the west areas, the annual mean effective irradiance exceeds 1700 kWh/m 2 , with the highest value found in Tibet (around 2000 kWh/m 2 per annum). Eastern China has an annual effective irradiance of only 1300–1500 kWh/m 2 . In conclusion, the region with poorest solar resource is the Sichuan Basin (less than 1100 kWh/m 2 per annum).

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

Overview of the DESI Milky Way Survey

Abstract We describe the Milky Way Survey (MWS) that will be undertaken with the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) on the Mayall 4 m telescope at the Kitt Peak National Observatory. Over the next 5 yr DESI MWS will observe approximately seven million stars at Galactic latitudes ∣ b ∣ > 20°, with an inclusive target selection scheme focused on the thick disk and stellar halo. MWS will also include several high-completeness samples of rare stellar types, including white dwarfs, low-mass stars within 100 pc of the Sun, and horizontal branch stars. We summarize the potential of DESI to advance understanding of the Galactic structure and stellar evolution. We introduce the final definitions of the main MWS target classes and estimate the number of stars in each class that will be observed. We describe our pipelines for deriving radial velocities, atmospheric parameters, and chemical abundances. We use ≃500,000 spectra of unique stellar targets from the DESI Survey Validation program (SV) to demonstrate that our pipelines can measure radial velocities to ≃1 km s −1 and [Fe/H] accurate to ≃0.2 dex for typical stars in our main sample. We find the stellar parameter distributions from ≈100 deg 2 of SV observations with ≳90% completeness on our main sample are in good agreement with expectations from mock catalogs and previous surveys.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Coherent terahertz radiation with 2.8-octave tunability through chip-scale photomixed microresonator optical parametric oscillation

High-spectral-purity frequency-agile room-temperature sources in the terahertz spectrum are foundational elements for imaging, sensing, metrology, and communications. Here we present a chip-scale optical parametric oscillator based on an integrated nonlinear microresonator that provides broadly tunable single-frequency and multi-frequency oscillators in the terahertz regime. Through optical-to-terahertz down-conversion using a plasmonic nanoantenna array, coherent terahertz radiation spanning 2.8-octaves is achieved from 330 GHz to 2.3 THz, with ≈20 GHz cavity-mode-limited frequency tuning step and ≈10 MHz intracavity-mode continuous frequency tuning range at each step. By controlling the microresonator intracavity power and pump-resonance detuning, tunable multi-frequency terahertz oscillators are also realized. Furthermore, by stabilizing the microresonator pump power and wavelength, sub-100 Hz linewidth of the terahertz radiation with 10 –15 residual frequency instability is demonstrated. The room-temperature generation of both single-frequency, frequency-agile terahertz radiation and multi-frequency terahertz oscillators in the chip-scale platform offers unique capabilities in metrology, sensing, imaging and communications.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Constraining the Milky Way Mass Profile with Phase-space Distribution of Satellite Galaxies

We estimate the Milky Way (MW) halo properties using satellite kinematic data including the latest measurements from Gaia DR2. With a simulation-based 6D phase-space distribution function (DF) of satellite kinematics, we can infer halo properties efficiently and without bias, and handle the selection function and measurement errors rigorously in the Bayesian framework. Applying our DF from the EAGLE simulation to 28 satellites, we obtain an MW halo mass of $M={1.23}_{-0.18}^{+0.21}\times {10}^{12}{M}_{\odot }$ and a concentration of $c={9.4}_{-2.1}^{+2.8}$ with the prior based on the M–c relation. The inferred mass profile is consistent with previous measurements but with better precision and reliability due to the improved methodology and data. Potential improvement is illustrated by combining satellite data and stellar rotation curves. Using our EAGLE DF and best-fit MW potential, we provide much more precise estimates of the kinematics for those satellites with uncertain measurements. Compared to the EAGLE DF, which matches the observed satellite kinematics very well, the DF from the semi-analytical model based on the dark-matter-only simulation Millennium II (SAM-MII) over-represents satellites with small radii and velocities. We attribute this difference to less disruption of satellites with small pericenter distances in the SAM-MII simulation. Finally, by varying the disruption rate of such satellites in this simulation, we estimate a ~5% scatter in the inferred MW halo mass among hydrodynamics-based simulations.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

A Chip-Scale Oscillation-Mode Optomechanical Inertial Sensor Near the Thermodynamical Limits

Modern navigation systems integrate the global positioning system (GPS) with an inertial navigation system (INS), which complement each other for correct attitude and velocity determination. Here, the core of the INS integrates accelerometers and gyroscopes used to measure forces and angular rate in the vehicular inertial reference frame. With the help of gyroscopes and by integrating the acceleration to compute velocity and distance, precision and compact accelerometers with sufficient accuracy can provide small–error location determination. Solid–state implementations, through coherent readout, can provide a platform for high performance acceleration detection. In contrast to prior accelerometers using piezoelectric or capacitive readout techniques, optical readout provides narrow–linewidth high–sensitivity laser detection along with low–noise resonant optomechanical transduction near the thermodynamical limits. Here an optomechanical inertial sensor with an 8.2 µg Hz –1/2 velocity random walk (VRW) at an acquisition rate of 100 Hz and 50.9 µg bias instability is demonstrated, suitable for applications, such as, inertial navigation, inclination sensing, platform stabilization, and/or wearable device motion detection. Driven into optomechanical sustained–oscillation, the slot photonic crystal cavity provides radio–frequency readout of the optically–driven transduction with an enhanced 625 µg Hz –1 sensitivity. Measuring the optomechanically–stiffened oscillation shift, instead of the optical transmission shift, provides a 220× VRW enhancement over pre–oscillation mode detection.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗

A Versatile and Accurate Method for Halo Mass Determination from Phase-space Distribution of Satellite Galaxies

We propose a versatile and accurate method to estimate the halo mass and concentration from the kinematics of satellite galaxies. We construct the 6D phase-space distribution function of satellites from a cosmological simulation based on the similarity of internal dynamics for different halos. Within the Bayesian statistical framework, not only can we efficiently infer the halo mass and concentration, we can also treat various observational effects, including the selection function, incomplete data, and measurement errors, in a rigorous and straightforward manner. Through tests with mock samples, we show that our method is valid and accurate, as well as more precise than pure steady-state methods. It can constrain the halo mass to within ~20% using only 20 tracers and has a small intrinsic uncertainty of ~10%. In addition to the clear application to the Milky Way and similar galaxies, our method can be extended to galaxy groups or clusters.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Second data release of the Hyper Suprime-Cam Subaru Strategic Program

This paper presents the second data release of the Hyper Suprime-Cam Subaru Strategic Program, a wide-field optical imaging survey using the 8.2 m Subaru Telescope. We report the release includes data from 174 nights of observation through 2018 January. The Wide layer data cover about 300 deg$^2$ in all five broad-band filters ($grizy$) to the nominal survey exposure (10 min in $gr$ and 20 min in $izy$). Partially observed areas are also included in the release; about 1100 deg$^2$ is observed in at least one filter and one exposure. The median seeing in the i-band is ${0_{.}^{\prime \prime }6}$, demonstrating the superb image quality of the survey. The Deep (26 deg$^2$) and UltraDeep (4 deg$^2$) data are jointly processed and the UltraDeep-COSMOS field reaches an unprecedented depth of $i\sim 28$ at $5 \, \sigma$ for point sources. In addition to the broad-band data, narrow-band data are also available in the Deep and UltraDeep fields. This release includes a major update to the processing pipeline, including improved sky subtraction, PSF modeling, object detection, and artifact rejection. The overall data quality has been improved, but this release is not without problems; there is a persistent deblender problem as well as new issues with masks around bright stars. The user is encouraged to review the issue list before utilizing the data for scientific explorations. All the image products as well as catalog products are available for download. The catalogs are also loaded into a database, which provides an easy interface for users to retrieve data for objects of interest. In addition to these main data products, detailed galaxy shape measurements withheld from Public Data Release 1 (PDR1) are now available to the community. The shape catalog is drawn from the S16A internal release, which has a larger area than PDR1 (160 deg$^2$). All products are available at the data release site, https://hsc-release.mtk.nao.ac.jp/.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗