papers

Publications (30)

astro-ph.SR2025

PhotoD with LSST: Stellar Photometric Distances Out to the Edge of the Galaxy

Lovro Palaversa, Željko Ivezić, Neven Caplar +14

As demonstrated with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), Pan-STARRS, and most recently with Gaia data, broadband near-UV to near-IR stellar photometry can be used to estimate dist…

physics.soc-ph2013

Analysis of player's in-game performance vs rating: Case study of Heroes of Newerth

Neven Caplar, Mirko Suznjevic, Maja Matijasevic

We evaluate the rating system of "Heroes of Newerth" (HoN), a multiplayer online action role-playing game, by using statistical analysis and comparison of a player's in-game perfor…

astro-ph.GA2021

On possible proxies of AGN light curves cadence selection in future time domain surveys

Andjelka B. Kovacevic, Dragana Ilic, Luka C. Popovic +6

Motivated by upcoming photometric and spectroscopic surveys (Vera C. Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST), Manuakea Spectroscopic Explorer), we design the stati…

astro-ph.GA2017

Galaxy Zoo: major galaxy mergers are not a significant quenching pathway

Anna K. Weigel, Kevin Schawinski, Neven Caplar +9

We use stellar mass functions to study the properties and the significance of quenching through major galaxy mergers. In addition to SDSS DR7 and Galaxy Zoo 1 data, we use samples…

astro-ph.SR2025

A Systematic Search for Main-Sequence Dipper Stars Using the Zwicky Transient Facility

Anastasios Tzanidakis, James R. A. Davenport, Neven Caplar +8

Main-sequence dipper stars, characterized by irregular and often aperiodic luminosity dimming events, offer a unique opportunity to explore the variability of circumstellar materia…

astro-ph.GA2022

Stochastic Modelling of Star Formation Histories III. Constraints from Physically-Motivated Gaussian Processes

Kartheik G. Iyer, Joshua S. Speagle, Neven Caplar +4

Galaxy formation and evolution involves a variety of effectively stochastic processes that operate over different timescales. The Extended Regulator model provides an analytic fram…

astro-ph.CO2013

Generalized models of unification of dark matter and dark energy

Neven Caplar, Hrvoje Stefancic

A model of unification of dark matter and dark energy based on the modeling of the speed of sound as a function of the parameter of the equation of state is introduced. It is found…

astro-ph.IM2025

Using LSDB to enable large-scale catalog distribution, cross-matching, and analytics

Neven Caplar, Wilson Beebe, Doug Branton +9

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory will generate an unprecedented volume of data, including approximately 60 petabytes of raw data and around 30 trillion observed sources, posing a sign…

astro-ph.IM2022

From Data to Software to Science with the Rubin Observatory LSST

Katelyn Breivik, Andrew J. Connolly, K. E. Saavik Ford +97

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) dataset will dramatically alter our understanding of the Universe, from the origins of the Solar System to the…

astro-ph.GA2019

A forward modelling approach to AGN variability -- Method description and early applications

Lia F. Sartori, Benny Trakhtenbrot, Kevin Schawinski +3

We present a numerical framework for the variability of active galactic nuclei (AGN), which links the variability of AGN over a broad range of timescales and luminosities to the ob…

astro-ph.GA2018

A model for AGN variability on multiple timescales

Lia F. Sartori, Kevin Schawinski, Benny Trakhtenbrot +5

We present a framework to link and describe AGN variability on a wide range of timescales, from days to billions of years. In particular, we concentrate on the AGN variability feat…

astro-ph.IM2026

Hyrax: An Extensible Framework for Rapid ML Experimentation and Unsupervised Discovery in the Era of Rubin, Roman, and Euclid

Aritra Ghosh, Drew Oldag, Michael Tauraso +29

The NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory, Roman Space Telescope, Euclid, and other next-generation surveys will deliver imaging, spectroscopic, and time-domain data at scales that inc…

astro-ph.GA2020

Observational nonstationarity of AGN variability: The only way to go is down!

Neven Caplar, Theodore Pena, Sean D. Johnson +1

To gain insights into long-term Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) variability, we analyze an AGN sample from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and compare their photometry with observ…

astro-ph.IM2026

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory Data Preview 1

Vera C Rubin Observatory Team, Tatiana Acero Cuellar, Emily Acosta +325

We present Rubin Data Preview 1 DP1, the first data from the NSF DOE Vera C Rubin Observatory, comprising raw and calibrated single epoch images, coadds, difference images, detecti…

astro-ph.HE2026

Optical Counterparts to X-ray sources in LSST DP1

Yuankun, Wang, Eric C. Bellm +9

The paper crossmatches a combined X‑ray source catalog with the Vera C. Rubin Observatory LSST Data Preview 1 to identify optical counterparts across six fields, reporting 2314 mat…

#x-ray sources#optical counterparts#lsst data#crossmatching
astro-ph.EP2026

NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory Observations of Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS (C/2025 N1)

Colin Orion Chandler, Pedro H. Bernardinelli, Mario Jurić +305

We report on the observation and measurement of astrometry, photometry, morphology, and activityof the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS, also designated C/2025 N1 (ATLAS) with the NSF-…

astro-ph.IM2022

The LSST era of supermassive black holes accretion-disk reverberation mapping

Andjelka B. Kovacevic, Viktor Radovic, Dragana Ilic +22

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) will detect an unprecedentedly large sample of actively accreting supermassive black holes with typical accreti…

astro-ph.GA2017

AGN and their host galaxies in the local Universe: two mass independent Eddington ratio distribution functions characterize black hole growth

Anna K. Weigel, Kevin Schawinski, Neven Caplar +3

We use a phenomenological model to show that black hole growth in the local Universe (z < 0.1) can be described by two separate, mass independent Eddington ratio distribution funct…

astro-ph.IM2025

Variability-finding in Rubin Data Preview 1 with LSDB

Konstantin Malanchev, Melissa DeLucchi, Neven Caplar +56

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory recently released Data Preview 1 (DP1) in advance of the upcoming Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST), which will enable boundless discoveries in t…

astro-ph.GA2018

AGN evolution from galaxy evolution viewpoint - II

Neven Caplar, Simon J. Lilly, Benny Trakhtenbrot

In order to relate the observed evolution of the galaxy stellar mass function and the luminosity function of active galactic nuclei (AGN), we explore a co-evolution scenario in whi…

astro-ph.GA2020

Stochastic modelling of star-formation histories II: star-formation variability from molecular clouds and gas inflow

Sandro Tacchella, John C. Forbes, Neven Caplar

A key uncertainty in galaxy evolution is the physics regulating star formation, ranging from small-scale processes related to the life-cycle of molecular clouds within galaxies to…

astro-ph.GA2015

AGN evolution from a galaxy evolution viewpoint

Neven Caplar, Simon J. Lilly, Benny Trakhtenbrot

We explore the connections between the evolving galaxy and AGN populations. We present a simple phenomenological model that links the evolving galaxy mass function and the evolving…

astro-ph.GA2023

Dwarf AGNs from Variability for the Origins of Seeds (DAVOS): Intermediate-mass black hole demographics from optical synoptic surveys

Colin J. Burke, Yue Shen, Xin Liu +4

We present a phenomenological forward Monte Carlo model for forecasting the population of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) in dwarf galaxies observable via their optical variability.…

astro-ph.GA2025

Crowded Field Photometry with Rubin: Exploring 47 Tucanae with Data Preview 1

Tobin M. Wainer, James R. A. Davenport, Eric C. Bellm +15

We analyze imaging from Data Preview 1 of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory to explore the performance of early LSST pipelines in the 47 Tucanae field. The coadd-\texttt{object} catalo…

astro-ph.GA2020

The Diversity and Variability of Star Formation Histories in Models of Galaxy Evolution

Kartheik G. Iyer, Sandro Tacchella, Shy Genel +10

Understanding the variability of galaxy star formation histories (SFHs) across a range of timescales provides insight into the underlying physical processes that regulate star form…

astro-ph.IM2016

Quantitative Evaluation of Gender Bias in Astronomical Publications from Citation Counts

Neven Caplar, Sandro Tacchella, Simon Birrer

We analyze the role of first (leading) author gender on the number of citations that a paper receives, on the publishing frequency and on the self-citing tendency. We consider a co…

astro-ph.GA2019

Stochastic modeling of star-formation histories I: the scatter of the star-forming main sequence

Neven Caplar, Sandro Tacchella

We present a framework for modelling the star-formation histories of galaxies as a stochastic process. We define this stochastic process through a power spectrum density with a fun…

astro-ph.GA2025

An outer-disk SX Phe variable star in Rubin Data Preview 1

Jeffrey L. Carlin, Peter S. Ferguson, A. Katherina Vivas +2

We report the discovery of an SX Phoenicis-type pulsating variable star via 217 epochs of time-series photometry from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory's Data Preview 1. The star, desi…

astro-ph.GA2021

LSST AGN SC Cadence Note: Two metrics on AGN variability observable

Andjelka Kovacevic, Dragana Ilic, Isidora Jankov +5

We have developed two metrics related to AGN variability observables (time-lags, periodicity, and Structure Function (SF)) to evaluate LSST OpSim FBS 1.5, 1.6, 1.7 performance in A…

astro-ph.GA2016

Optical variability of AGN in the PTF/iPTF survey

Neven Caplar, Simon J. Lilly, Benny Trakhtenbrot

We characterize the optical variability of quasars in the intermediate Palomar Transient Factory (iPTF) and Palomar Transient Factory (PTF) surveys. We re-calibrate the -band li…