Redshift Classification of Optical Gamma-Ray Bursts using Supervised Learning

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Sarkar, Milind, Dainotti, Maria Giovanna, Khatiya, Nikita S., Bal, Dhruv S., Bogdan, Malgorzata, Li, Ye, Pollo, Agnieszka, Hartmann, Dieter H., Zhang, Bing, Deka, Simanta, Fraija, Nissim, Prochaska, J. Xavier
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Sarkar, Milind
Dainotti, Maria Giovanna
Khatiya, Nikita S.
Bal, Dhruv S.
Bogdan, Malgorzata
Li, Ye
Pollo, Agnieszka
Hartmann, Dieter H.
Zhang, Bing
Deka, Simanta
Fraija, Nissim
Prochaska, J. Xavier
author_facet Sarkar, Milind
Dainotti, Maria Giovanna
Khatiya, Nikita S.
Bal, Dhruv S.
Bogdan, Malgorzata
Li, Ye
Pollo, Agnieszka
Hartmann, Dieter H.
Zhang, Bing
Deka, Simanta
Fraija, Nissim
Prochaska, J. Xavier
contents Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are among the most luminous explosions in the Universe and serve as powerful probes of the early cosmos. However, the rapid fading of their afterglows and the scarcity of spectroscopic measurements make photometric classification crucial for timely high-redshift identification. We present an ensemble machine learning framework for redshift classification of GRBs based solely on their optical plateau and prompt emission properties. Our dataset comprises 171 long GRBs observed by the Swift UVOT and more than 450 ground-based telescopes. The analysis pipeline integrates robust statistical techniques, including M-estimator outlier rejection, multivariate imputation using Multiple Imputation by Chained Equations, and Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator feature selection, followed by a SuperLearner ensemble combining parametric, semi-parametric, and non-parametric algorithms. The optimal model, trained on raw optical data with outlier removal at a redshift threshold of z equals 2.0, achieves a true positive rate of 74 percent and an area under the curve of 0.84, maintaining balanced generalization between training and test sets. At higher thresholds, such as z equals 3.0, the classifier sustains strong discriminative power with an area under the curve of 0.88. Validation on an independent GRB sample yields 97 percent overall accuracy, perfect specificity, and an ensemble area under the curve of 0.93. Compared to previous prompt- and X-ray-based classifiers, our optical framework offers enhanced sensitivity to high-redshift events, improved robustness against data incompleteness, and greater applicability to ground-based follow-up. We also publicly release a web application that enables real-time redshift classification, facilitating rapid identification of candidate high-redshift GRBs for cosmological studies.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2512_13038
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Redshift Classification of Optical Gamma-Ray Bursts using Supervised Learning
Sarkar, Milind
Dainotti, Maria Giovanna
Khatiya, Nikita S.
Bal, Dhruv S.
Bogdan, Malgorzata
Li, Ye
Pollo, Agnieszka
Hartmann, Dieter H.
Zhang, Bing
Deka, Simanta
Fraija, Nissim
Prochaska, J. Xavier
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are among the most luminous explosions in the Universe and serve as powerful probes of the early cosmos. However, the rapid fading of their afterglows and the scarcity of spectroscopic measurements make photometric classification crucial for timely high-redshift identification. We present an ensemble machine learning framework for redshift classification of GRBs based solely on their optical plateau and prompt emission properties. Our dataset comprises 171 long GRBs observed by the Swift UVOT and more than 450 ground-based telescopes. The analysis pipeline integrates robust statistical techniques, including M-estimator outlier rejection, multivariate imputation using Multiple Imputation by Chained Equations, and Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator feature selection, followed by a SuperLearner ensemble combining parametric, semi-parametric, and non-parametric algorithms. The optimal model, trained on raw optical data with outlier removal at a redshift threshold of z equals 2.0, achieves a true positive rate of 74 percent and an area under the curve of 0.84, maintaining balanced generalization between training and test sets. At higher thresholds, such as z equals 3.0, the classifier sustains strong discriminative power with an area under the curve of 0.88. Validation on an independent GRB sample yields 97 percent overall accuracy, perfect specificity, and an ensemble area under the curve of 0.93. Compared to previous prompt- and X-ray-based classifiers, our optical framework offers enhanced sensitivity to high-redshift events, improved robustness against data incompleteness, and greater applicability to ground-based follow-up. We also publicly release a web application that enables real-time redshift classification, facilitating rapid identification of candidate high-redshift GRBs for cosmological studies.
title Redshift Classification of Optical Gamma-Ray Bursts using Supervised Learning
topic High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.13038