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| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Preprint |
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2026
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.20374 |
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| _version_ | 1866918400376176640 |
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| author | Géron, Tobias Drout, Maria R. Jacobson-Galán, W. V. Kilpatrick, C. D. |
| author_facet | Géron, Tobias Drout, Maria R. Jacobson-Galán, W. V. Kilpatrick, C. D. |
| contents | The final stages of stellar evolution can be constrained by studying pre-SN variability. The incredible amount of data coming from the upcoming Rubin Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) will be fundamental to this type of work. However, robustly measuring pre-SN variability can be hard, as even state-of-the-art image subtraction pipelines struggle when the target is embedded in a bright nearby galaxy. We developed Detection Efficiency and Threshold Estimation for Characterization of Transients (DETECT) to tackle this problem. It performs a series of source injection, image subtraction, and forced photometry to obtain reliable detection thresholds tailored to a specific location within a given host galaxy. We first validate the pipeline using simulated data from Rubin DP0 and then apply it to a sample of 15 targets found in Rubin DP1. We demonstrate that DETECT is capable of identifying pre-SN variability while calculating reliable upper limits and suppressing false positives for targets embedded in bright host galaxies. Most of the false positives in this work occurred when the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) was between 5 and 10, while no false positives were found when the SNR was greater than 10. Finally, even though DETECT was originally developed in the context of pre-SN variability, it is broadly applicable to any situation where detections are uncertain and robust upper limits are needed. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2603_20374 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | DETECT: A Pipeline to Quantify Detection Thresholds in Rubin for Nearby Targets Embedded in Bright Host Galaxies Géron, Tobias Drout, Maria R. Jacobson-Galán, W. V. Kilpatrick, C. D. Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics Astrophysics of Galaxies Solar and Stellar Astrophysics The final stages of stellar evolution can be constrained by studying pre-SN variability. The incredible amount of data coming from the upcoming Rubin Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) will be fundamental to this type of work. However, robustly measuring pre-SN variability can be hard, as even state-of-the-art image subtraction pipelines struggle when the target is embedded in a bright nearby galaxy. We developed Detection Efficiency and Threshold Estimation for Characterization of Transients (DETECT) to tackle this problem. It performs a series of source injection, image subtraction, and forced photometry to obtain reliable detection thresholds tailored to a specific location within a given host galaxy. We first validate the pipeline using simulated data from Rubin DP0 and then apply it to a sample of 15 targets found in Rubin DP1. We demonstrate that DETECT is capable of identifying pre-SN variability while calculating reliable upper limits and suppressing false positives for targets embedded in bright host galaxies. Most of the false positives in this work occurred when the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) was between 5 and 10, while no false positives were found when the SNR was greater than 10. Finally, even though DETECT was originally developed in the context of pre-SN variability, it is broadly applicable to any situation where detections are uncertain and robust upper limits are needed. |
| title | DETECT: A Pipeline to Quantify Detection Thresholds in Rubin for Nearby Targets Embedded in Bright Host Galaxies |
| topic | Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics Astrophysics of Galaxies Solar and Stellar Astrophysics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.20374 |