_version_ 1866918297107169280
author Hall, Xander J.
Palmese, Antonella
BenZvi, Segev
Banovetz, John
O'Connor, Brendan
Hu, Lei
Hammerstein, Erica
Amsellem, Ariel
Aguilar, Jessica Nicole
Ahlen, Steven
Bailey, Steven
Bianchi, Davide
Brooks, David
Claybaugh, Todd
Cuceu, Andrei
Dawson, Kyle
de la Macorra, Axel
Della Costa, John
Dey, Arjun
Doel, Peter
Ferraro, Simone
Font-Ribera, Andreu
Forero-Romero, Jaime E.
Gaztanaga, Enrique
Gontcho, Satya Gontcho A
Gonzalez-Morales, Alma Xochitl
Graur, Or
Gutierrez, Gaston
Ishak, Mustapha
Jimenez, Jorge
Joyce, Dick
Juneau, Stephanie
Kremin, Anthony
Lahav, Ofer
Lamman, Claire
Landriau, Martin
Guillou, Laurent Le
Leauthaud, Alexie
Levi, Michael
Manera, Marc
Meisner, Aaron
Miquel, Ramon
Moustakas, John
Myers, Adam
Nadathur, Seshadri
Percival, Will
Poppett, Claire
Perez-Rafols, Ignasi
Prada, Francisco
Rossi, Graziano
Sanchez, Eusebio
Schlafly, Edward
Schlegel, David
Schubnell, Michael
Sprayberry, David
Tarle, Gregory
Weaver, Benjamin Alan
Zhou, Rongpu
Zou, Hu
author_facet Hall, Xander J.
Palmese, Antonella
BenZvi, Segev
Banovetz, John
O'Connor, Brendan
Hu, Lei
Hammerstein, Erica
Amsellem, Ariel
Aguilar, Jessica Nicole
Ahlen, Steven
Bailey, Steven
Bianchi, Davide
Brooks, David
Claybaugh, Todd
Cuceu, Andrei
Dawson, Kyle
de la Macorra, Axel
Della Costa, John
Dey, Arjun
Doel, Peter
Ferraro, Simone
Font-Ribera, Andreu
Forero-Romero, Jaime E.
Gaztanaga, Enrique
Gontcho, Satya Gontcho A
Gonzalez-Morales, Alma Xochitl
Graur, Or
Gutierrez, Gaston
Ishak, Mustapha
Jimenez, Jorge
Joyce, Dick
Juneau, Stephanie
Kremin, Anthony
Lahav, Ofer
Lamman, Claire
Landriau, Martin
Guillou, Laurent Le
Leauthaud, Alexie
Levi, Michael
Manera, Marc
Meisner, Aaron
Miquel, Ramon
Moustakas, John
Myers, Adam
Nadathur, Seshadri
Percival, Will
Poppett, Claire
Perez-Rafols, Ignasi
Prada, Francisco
Rossi, Graziano
Sanchez, Eusebio
Schlafly, Edward
Schlegel, David
Schubnell, Michael
Sprayberry, David
Tarle, Gregory
Weaver, Benjamin Alan
Zhou, Rongpu
Zou, Hu
contents We present the first systematic spectroscopic observations of extragalactic transients from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI), as part of the DESI Transients Survey program. With 5,000 fibers and an ${\sim} 8$ deg$^2$ field of view, we exploit DESI as a machine for the discovery and classification of transients. We present transient classifications from archival DESI data in Data Releases 1 and 2, relying on a combination of a secondary target program and serendipitous observations. We also present observations from the first 6 months of the DESI spare fiber program dedicated to transients. The program is run in coordination with a dedicated DECam time-domain survey, serving as a pathfinder for what we will be able to achieve in conjunction with the Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST). We classify over 250 transients, of which the majority were previously unclassified. The sample comprises thermonuclear and core-collapse supernovae and tidal disruption events (TDEs), including a TDE observed before its discovery in imaging. We demonstrate DESI's ability to classify a population of faint transients down to $r\sim 22.5$ mag during main survey operations, with negligible impacts on DESI's main observations.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2601_12611
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle The DESI Transients Survey: Legacy Classifications and Methodology
Hall, Xander J.
Palmese, Antonella
BenZvi, Segev
Banovetz, John
O'Connor, Brendan
Hu, Lei
Hammerstein, Erica
Amsellem, Ariel
Aguilar, Jessica Nicole
Ahlen, Steven
Bailey, Steven
Bianchi, Davide
Brooks, David
Claybaugh, Todd
Cuceu, Andrei
Dawson, Kyle
de la Macorra, Axel
Della Costa, John
Dey, Arjun
Doel, Peter
Ferraro, Simone
Font-Ribera, Andreu
Forero-Romero, Jaime E.
Gaztanaga, Enrique
Gontcho, Satya Gontcho A
Gonzalez-Morales, Alma Xochitl
Graur, Or
Gutierrez, Gaston
Ishak, Mustapha
Jimenez, Jorge
Joyce, Dick
Juneau, Stephanie
Kremin, Anthony
Lahav, Ofer
Lamman, Claire
Landriau, Martin
Guillou, Laurent Le
Leauthaud, Alexie
Levi, Michael
Manera, Marc
Meisner, Aaron
Miquel, Ramon
Moustakas, John
Myers, Adam
Nadathur, Seshadri
Percival, Will
Poppett, Claire
Perez-Rafols, Ignasi
Prada, Francisco
Rossi, Graziano
Sanchez, Eusebio
Schlafly, Edward
Schlegel, David
Schubnell, Michael
Sprayberry, David
Tarle, Gregory
Weaver, Benjamin Alan
Zhou, Rongpu
Zou, Hu
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
We present the first systematic spectroscopic observations of extragalactic transients from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI), as part of the DESI Transients Survey program. With 5,000 fibers and an ${\sim} 8$ deg$^2$ field of view, we exploit DESI as a machine for the discovery and classification of transients. We present transient classifications from archival DESI data in Data Releases 1 and 2, relying on a combination of a secondary target program and serendipitous observations. We also present observations from the first 6 months of the DESI spare fiber program dedicated to transients. The program is run in coordination with a dedicated DECam time-domain survey, serving as a pathfinder for what we will be able to achieve in conjunction with the Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST). We classify over 250 transients, of which the majority were previously unclassified. The sample comprises thermonuclear and core-collapse supernovae and tidal disruption events (TDEs), including a TDE observed before its discovery in imaging. We demonstrate DESI's ability to classify a population of faint transients down to $r\sim 22.5$ mag during main survey operations, with negligible impacts on DESI's main observations.
title The DESI Transients Survey: Legacy Classifications and Methodology
topic High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.12611