Mapping Synthetic Observations to Prestellar Core Models: An Interpretable Machine Learning Approach

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Grassi, T., Padovani, M., Galli, D., Vaytet, N., Jensen, S. S., Redaelli, E., Spezzano, S., Bovino, S., Caselli, P.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Grassi, T.
Padovani, M.
Galli, D.
Vaytet, N.
Jensen, S. S.
Redaelli, E.
Spezzano, S.
Bovino, S.
Caselli, P.
author_facet Grassi, T.
Padovani, M.
Galli, D.
Vaytet, N.
Jensen, S. S.
Redaelli, E.
Spezzano, S.
Bovino, S.
Caselli, P.
contents Observations of molecular lines are a key tool to determine the main physical properties of prestellar cores. However, not all the information is retained in the observational process or easily interpretable, especially when a larger number of physical properties and spectral features are involved. We present a methodology to link the information in the synthetic spectra with the actual information in the simulated models (i.e., their physical properties), in particular, to determine where the information resides in the spectra. We employ a 1D gravitational collapse model with advanced thermochemistry, from which we generate synthetic spectra. We then use neural network emulations and the SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP), a machine learning technique, to connect the models' properties to the specific spectral features. Thanks to interpretable machine learning, we find several correlations between synthetic lines and some of the key model parameters, such as the cosmic-ray ionization radial profile, the central density, or the abundance of various species, suggesting that most of the information is retained in the observational process. Our procedure can be generalized to similar scenarios to quantify the amount of information lost in the real observations. We also point out the limitations for future applicability.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2502_07874
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Mapping Synthetic Observations to Prestellar Core Models: An Interpretable Machine Learning Approach
Grassi, T.
Padovani, M.
Galli, D.
Vaytet, N.
Jensen, S. S.
Redaelli, E.
Spezzano, S.
Bovino, S.
Caselli, P.
Astrophysics of Galaxies
Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics
Observations of molecular lines are a key tool to determine the main physical properties of prestellar cores. However, not all the information is retained in the observational process or easily interpretable, especially when a larger number of physical properties and spectral features are involved. We present a methodology to link the information in the synthetic spectra with the actual information in the simulated models (i.e., their physical properties), in particular, to determine where the information resides in the spectra. We employ a 1D gravitational collapse model with advanced thermochemistry, from which we generate synthetic spectra. We then use neural network emulations and the SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP), a machine learning technique, to connect the models' properties to the specific spectral features. Thanks to interpretable machine learning, we find several correlations between synthetic lines and some of the key model parameters, such as the cosmic-ray ionization radial profile, the central density, or the abundance of various species, suggesting that most of the information is retained in the observational process. Our procedure can be generalized to similar scenarios to quantify the amount of information lost in the real observations. We also point out the limitations for future applicability.
title Mapping Synthetic Observations to Prestellar Core Models: An Interpretable Machine Learning Approach
topic Astrophysics of Galaxies
Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2502.07874