A

Euclid : Searches for strong gravitational lenses using convolutional neural nets in Early Release Observations of the Perseus field

Astronomy and Astrophysics, vol. 696, pp. A214

Abstract

The Euclid Wide Survey (EWS) is predicted to find approximately 170 000 galaxy-galaxy strong lenses from its lifetime observation of 14 000 deg 2 of the sky. Detecting this many lenses by visual inspection with professional astronomers and citizen scientists alone is infeasible. As a result, machine learning algorithms, particularly convolutional neural networks (CNNs), have been used as an automated method of detecting strong lenses, and have proven fruitful in finding galaxy-galaxy strong lens candidates, such that the usage of CNNs in lens identification has increased. We identify the major challenge to be the automatic detection of galaxy-galaxy strong lenses while simultaneously maintaining a low false positive rate, thus producing a pure and complete sample of strong lens candidates from Euclid with a limited need for visual inspection. One aim of this research is to have a quantified starting point on the achieved purity and completeness with our current version of CNN-based detection pipelines for the VIS images of EWS. This work is vital in preparing our CNN-based detection pipelines to be able to produce a pure sample of the >100 000 strong gravitational lensing systems widely predicted for Euclid . We select all sources with VIS I E < 23 mag from the Euclid Early Release Observation imaging of the Perseus field. We apply a range of CNN architectures to detect strong lenses in these cutouts. All our networks perform extremely well on simulated data sets and their respective validation sets. However, when applied to real Euclid imaging, the highest lens purity is just ∼11%. Among all our networks, the false positives are typically identifiable by human volunteers as, for example, spiral galaxies, multiple sources, and artifacts, implying that improvements are still possible, perhaps via a second, more interpretable lens selection filtering stage. There is currently no alternative to human classification of CNN-selected lens candidates. Given the expected ∼10 5 lensing systems in Euclid , this implies 10 6 objects for human classification, which while very large is not in principle intractable and not without precedent.

Authors 63

  1. The Open University

    Affiliation as printed

    School of Physical Sciences, The Open University, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, UK

  2. University of Groningen

    Affiliation as printed

    Kapteyn Astronomical Institute, University of Groningen, PO Box 800, 9700 AV Groningen, The Netherlands

  3. Astronomical Observatory of Capodimonte · Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Napoli · University of Naples Federico II · National Institute for Astrophysics

    Affiliation as printed

    Department of Physics “E. Pancini”, University Federico II, Via Cinthia 6, 80126 Napoli, Italy

    INAF – Osservatorio Astronomico di Capodimonte, Via Moiariello 16, 80131 Napoli, Italy

    INFN section of Naples, Via Cinthia 6, 80126 Napoli, Italy

  4. University of Trento · Arcetri Astrophysical Observatory · University of Florence

    Affiliation as printed

    Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università di Firenze, via G. Sansone 1, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Firenze, Italy

    INAF-Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri, Largo E. Fermi 5, 50125 Firenze, Italy

    University of Trento, Via Sommarive 14, 38123 Trento, Italy

  5. Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics · Technical University of Munich

    Affiliation as printed

    Max-Planck-Institut für Astrophysik, Karl-Schwarzschild-Str. 1, 85748 Garching, Germany

    Technical University of Munich, TUM School of Natural Sciences, Physics Department, James-Franck-Str. 1, 85748 Garching, Germany

  6. Osservatorio di Astrofisica e Scienza dello Spazio · National Institute for Astrophysics · University of Bologna

    Affiliation as printed

    Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia “Augusto Righi” – Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, via Piero Gobetti 93/2, 40129 Bologna, Italy

    INAF-Osservatorio di Astrofisica e Scienza dello Spazio di Bologna, Via Piero Gobetti 93/3, 40129 Bologna, Italy

  7. FHNW University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland

    Affiliation as printed

    University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Northwestern Switzerland, School of Engineering, 5210 Windisch, Switzerland

  8. The Open University

    Affiliation as printed

    School of Physical Sciences, The Open University, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, UK

  9. University of Toronto · University of Manchester

    Affiliation as printed

    David A. Dunlap Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics, University of Toronto, 50 St George Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3H4, Canada

    Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, UK

  10. École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne

    Affiliation as printed

    Institute of Physics, Laboratory of Astrophysics, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Observatoire de Sauverny, 1290 Versoix, Switzerland

    SCITAS, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland

  11. Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats · Institut de Ciències del Cosmos · Universitat de Barcelona

    Affiliation as printed

    Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Passeig de Lluís Companys 23, 08010 Barcelona, Spain

    Institut de Ciències del Cosmos (ICCUB), Universitat de Barcelona (IEEC-UB), Martí i Franquès 1, 08028 Barcelona, Spain

  12. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · Aix-Marseille Université · Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris · Sorbonne Université

    Affiliation as printed

    Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, CNES, LAM, Marseille, France

    Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris, UMR 7095, CNRS, and Sorbonne Université, 98 bis boulevard Arago, 75014 Paris, France

  13. Osservatorio di Astrofisica e Scienza dello Spazio · National Institute for Astrophysics · University of Bologna

    Affiliation as printed

    Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia “Augusto Righi” – Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, via Piero Gobetti 93/2, 40129 Bologna, Italy

    INAF-Osservatorio di Astrofisica e Scienza dello Spazio di Bologna, Via Piero Gobetti 93/3, 40129 Bologna, Italy

  14. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier · Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie · Université de Toulouse

    Affiliation as printed

    Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie (IRAP), Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, CNES, 14 Av. Edouard Belin, 31400 Toulouse, France

  15. Lyon 1 Université · Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules · Institut de Physique des 2 Infinis de Lyon

    Affiliation as printed

    UCB Lyon 1, CNRS/IN2P3, IUF, IP2I Lyon, 4 rue Enrico Fermi, 69622 Villeurbanne, France

  16. Max Planck Institute for Astronomy

    Affiliation as printed

    Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie, Königstuhl 17, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany

  17. University of Liège · Durham University

    Affiliation as printed

    Department of Physics, Centre for Extragalactic Astronomy, Durham University, South Road, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK

    Department of Physics, Institute for Computational Cosmology, Durham University, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE, UK

    STAR Institute, Quartier Agora – Allée du six Août, 19c 4000 Liège, Belgium

  18. Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Bologna · Osservatorio di Astrofisica e Scienza dello Spazio · National Institute for Astrophysics

    Affiliation as printed

    INAF-Osservatorio di Astrofisica e Scienza dello Spazio di Bologna, Via Piero Gobetti 93/3, 40129 Bologna, Italy

    INFN-Sezione di Bologna, Viale Berti Pichat 6/2, 40127 Bologna, Italy

  19. École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne

    Affiliation as printed

    Institute of Physics, Laboratory of Astrophysics, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Observatoire de Sauverny, 1290 Versoix, Switzerland

  20. University of Salento · Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Lecce · National Institute for Astrophysics

    Affiliation as printed

    Department of Mathematics and Physics E. De Giorgi, University of Salento, Via per Arnesano, CP-I93, 73100 Lecce, Italy

    INAF-Sezione di Lecce, c/o Dipartimento Matematica e Fisica, Via per Arnesano, 73100, Lecce, Italy

    INFN, Sezione di Lecce, Via per Arnesano, CP-193, 73100 Lecce, Italy

  21. University of Minnesota

    Affiliation as printed

    Minnesota Institute for Astrophysics, University of Minnesota, 116 Church St SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA

  22. University of Liège

    Affiliation as printed

    STAR Institute, Quartier Agora – Allée du six Août, 19c 4000 Liège, Belgium

  23. Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics · Technical University of Munich

    Affiliation as printed

    Max-Planck-Institut für Astrophysik, Karl-Schwarzschild-Str. 1, 85748 Garching, Germany

    Technical University of Munich, TUM School of Natural Sciences, Physics Department, James-Franck-Str. 1, 85748 Garching, Germany

  24. Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics

    Affiliation as printed

    Max-Planck-Institut für Astrophysik, Karl-Schwarzschild-Str. 1, 85748 Garching, Germany

  25. Osservatorio di Astrofisica e Scienza dello Spazio · National Institute for Astrophysics

    Affiliation as printed

    INAF-Osservatorio di Astrofisica e Scienza dello Spazio di Bologna, Via Piero Gobetti 93/3, 40129 Bologna, Italy

  26. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · Observatoire astronomique de Strasbourg · Université de Strasbourg

    Affiliation as printed

    Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, Observatoire astronomique de Strasbourg, UMR 7550, 67000 Strasbourg, France

  27. Max Planck Institute for Astronomy

    Affiliation as printed

    Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie, Königstuhl 17, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany

  28. Université de Montréal

    Affiliation as printed

    Department of Physics, Université de Montréal, 2900 Edouard Montpetit Blvd, Montréal, Québec H3T 1J4, Canada

  29. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · Université de Montpellier · Laboratoire Univers et Particules de Montpellier

    Affiliation as printed

    Laboratoire univers et particules de Montpellier, Université de Montpellier, CNRS, 34090 Montpellier, France

  30. University of Groningen

    Affiliation as printed

    Kapteyn Astronomical Institute, University of Groningen, PO Box 800, 9700 AV Groningen, The Netherlands

  31. Arcetri Astrophysical Observatory

    Affiliation as printed

    INAF-Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri, Largo E. Fermi 5, 50125 Firenze, Italy

  32. Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena

    Affiliation as printed

    Departamento Física Aplicada, Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena, Campus Muralla del Mar, 30202 Cartagena, Murcia, Spain

  33. The Open University

    Affiliation as printed

    School of Physical Sciences, The Open University, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, UK

  34. Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics

    Affiliation as printed

    Max-Planck-Institut für Astrophysik, Karl-Schwarzschild-Str. 1, 85748 Garching, Germany

  35. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · Université de Bordeaux · Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux

    Affiliation as printed

    Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de Bordeaux, CNRS and Université de Bordeaux, Allée Geoffroy St. Hilaire, 33165 Pessac, France

  36. European Space Astronomy Centre

    Affiliation as printed

    ESAC/ESA, Camino Bajo del Castillo, s/n., Urb. Villafranca del Castillo, 28692 Villanueva de la Cañada, Madrid, Spain

  37. University of Surrey

    Affiliation as printed

    School of Mathematics and Physics, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey, GU2 7XH, UK

  38. Brera Astronomical Observatory

    Affiliation as printed

    INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera, Via Brera 28, 20122 Milano, Italy

  39. Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati · Trieste Astronomical Observatory · Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Trieste · Institute for Fundamental Physics of the Universe

    Affiliation as printed

    IFPU, Institute for Fundamental Physics of the Universe, via Beirut 2, 34151 Trieste, Italy

    INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Trieste, Via G. B. Tiepolo 11, 34143 Trieste, Italy

    INFN, Sezione di Trieste, Via Valerio 2, 34127 Trieste TS, Italy

    SISSA, International School for Advanced Studies, Via Bonomea 265, 34136 Trieste TS, Italy

  40. Osservatorio di Astrofisica e Scienza dello Spazio · National Institute for Astrophysics

    Affiliation as printed

    INAF-Osservatorio di Astrofisica e Scienza dello Spazio di Bologna, Via Piero Gobetti 93/3, 40129 Bologna, Italy

  41. Astronomical Observatory of Capodimonte · Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Napoli · University of Naples Federico II · National Institute for Astrophysics

    Affiliation as printed

    Department of Physics “E. Pancini”, University Federico II, Via Cinthia 6, 80126 Napoli, Italy

    INAF – Osservatorio Astronomico di Capodimonte, Via Moiariello 16, 80131 Napoli, Italy

    INFN section of Naples, Via Cinthia 6, 80126 Napoli, Italy

  42. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · Aix-Marseille Université

    Affiliation as printed

    Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, CNES, LAM, Marseille, France

  43. Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Torino · Osservatorio Astrofisico di Torino · University of Turin

    Affiliation as printed

    Dipartimento di Fisica, Università degli Studi di Torino, Via P. Giuria 1, 10125 Torino, Italy

    INAF – Osservatorio Astrofisico di Torino, Via Osservatorio 20, 10025 Pino Torinese (TO), Italy

    INFN-Sezione di Torino, Via P. Giuria 1, 10125 Torino, Italy

  44. Osservatorio Astrofisico di Torino

    Affiliation as printed

    INAF – Osservatorio Astrofisico di Torino, Via Osservatorio 20, 10025 Pino Torinese (TO), Italy

  45. National Institute for Astrophysics

    Affiliation as printed

    INAF-IASF Milano, Via Alfonso Corti 12, 20133 Milano, Italy

  46. Port d'Informació Científica · Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas

    Affiliation as printed

    Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas (CIEMAT), Avenida Complutense 40, 28040 Madrid, Spain

    Port d’Informació Científica, Campus UAB, C. Albareda s/n, 08193 Bellaterra (Barcelona), Spain

  47. University of Portsmouth · RWTH Aachen University

    Affiliation as printed

    Institute for Theoretical Particle Physics and Cosmology (TTK), RWTH Aachen University, 52056 Aachen, Germany

    Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth PO1 3FX, UK

  48. Astronomical Observatory of Rome · National Institute for Astrophysics

    Affiliation as printed

    INAF – Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma, Via Frascati 33, 00078 Monteporzio Catone, Italy

  49. Osservatorio di Astrofisica e Scienza dello Spazio · National Institute for Astrophysics

    Affiliation as printed

    INAF-Osservatorio di Astrofisica e Scienza dello Spazio di Bologna, Via Piero Gobetti 93/3, 40129 Bologna, Italy

  50. University of Bologna

    Affiliation as printed

    Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia “Augusto Righi” – Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, Viale Berti Pichat 6/2, 40127 Bologna, Italy

  51. Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias

    Affiliation as printed

    Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, Calle Vía Láctea s/n, 38204, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain

  52. University of Manchester

    Affiliation as printed

    Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, UK

  53. European Space Agency · European Space Astronomy Centre · European Space Research Institute

    Affiliation as printed

    ESAC/ESA, Camino Bajo del Castillo, s/n., Urb. Villafranca del Castillo, 28692 Villanueva de la Cañada, Madrid, Spain

    European Space Agency/ESRIN, Largo Galileo Galilei 1, 00044 Frascati, Roma, Italy

  54. Lyon 1 Université · Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules · Institut de Physique des 2 Infinis de Lyon

    Affiliation as printed

    Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS/IN2P3, IP2I Lyon, UMR 5822, Villeurbanne 69100, France

  55. University College London

    Affiliation as printed

    Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University College London, Holmbury St Mary, Dorking, Surrey RH5 6NT, UK

  56. University of Geneva

    Affiliation as printed

    Department of Astronomy, University of Geneva, ch. d’Ecogia 16, 1290 Versoix, Switzerland

  57. Trieste Astronomical Observatory

    Affiliation as printed

    INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Trieste, Via G. B. Tiepolo 11, 34143 Trieste, Italy

  58. University of Geneva

    Affiliation as printed

    Department of Astronomy, University of Geneva, ch. d’Ecogia 16, 1290 Versoix, Switzerland

  59. European Space Astronomy Centre

    Affiliation as printed

    ESAC/ESA, Camino Bajo del Castillo, s/n., Urb. Villafranca del Castillo, 28692 Villanueva de la Cañada, Madrid, Spain

  60. Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Padova

    Affiliation as printed

    INFN-Padova, Via Marzolo 8, 35131 Padova, Italy

  61. Institute for Space Astrophysics and Planetology · National Institute for Astrophysics

    Affiliation as printed

    INAF-Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, via del Fosso del Cavaliere, 100, 00100 Roma, Italy

  62. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · Université Paris Cité · Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives · Université Paris-Saclay · Astrophysique, Instrumentation et Modélisation

    Affiliation as printed

    Université Paris-Saclay, Université Paris Cité, CEA, CNRS, AIM, 91191, Gif-sur-Yvette, France

  63. Astronomical Observatory of Rome · Agenzia Spaziale Italiana · National Institute for Astrophysics

    Affiliation as printed

    INAF – Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma, Via Frascati 33, 00078 Monteporzio Catone, Italy

    Space Science Data Center, Italian Space Agency, via del Politecnico snc, 00133 Roma, Italy

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References 77