Project description
On an astrophysics mission to explore star formation
Big Data and hybrid machine learning methods will be used to explore the largest, panchromatic data collection of young stellar objects. Paving the path towards data-intensive science applications in modern astrophysics, the EU-funded NEMESIS project will improve our understanding of star formation. Recent evidence suggests that planets form synchronously rather than sequentially to their host stars, indicating a rapid early evolution of star–planet systems. NEMESIS will determine the characteristic transitions that describe each phase of star formation. Specifically, it will review the current classification scheme and its characteristic timescales so that it is concurrent with the most recent observational and theoretical constraints.
Objective
NEMESIS has the ambition to reshape our understanding on the formation of stars by employing artificial intelligence methods to interpret the largest, panchromatic data collection of young stellar objects. Recent evidence suggests that planets form synchronously rather than sequentially to their host stars, indicating a rapid early evolution of star-planet systems. To ascertain these timescales, it is necessary to first determine the characteristic transitions that describe each phase of star formation. The definition of classes for young stellar objects was made possible more than 30 years ago, due to the first space-based infrared sky surveys. Whilst successful in determining global properties, current classification is prone to large uncertainties, and therefore, timescales, which are based on population statistics among different classes in a steady-state evolution, remain dubious.
NEMESIS aims to readjust the current classification scheme and its characteristic timescales so that it is concurrent with the most recent observational and theoretical constraints. To meet these goals NEMESIS will compile the largest, panchromatic dataset comprising of all young stellar objects in nearby star-forming regions, harnessing critical information that resides in data from space missions. It will reprocess and analyze this unique dataset with supervised and unsupervised machine learning algorithms, deep learning neural networks for object detection, clustering and regression analysis of images in order to advance the analysis and interpretation beyond the current state-of-the-art. Ultimately, NEMESIS brings big data techniques and hybrid machine learning methods to systematically analyze and interpret large data volumes in order to answer some of the most persisting questions, paving the path toward data-intensive science applications in modern astrophysics.
Fields of science
- natural sciencescomputer and information sciencesdata sciencebig data
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesastronomyastrophysics
- natural sciencescomputer and information sciencesartificial intelligencemachine learningdeep learning
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesastronomystellar astronomy
- natural sciencescomputer and information sciencesartificial intelligencecomputational intelligence
Keywords
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
RIA - Research and Innovation actionCoordinator
1010 Wien
Austria