Fast algorithms for slow moving asteroids: constraints on the distribution of Kuiper Belt Objects

Abstract

We introduce a new computational technique for searching for faint moving sources in astronomical images. Starting from a maximum likelihood estimate for the probability of the detection of a source within a series of images, we develop a massively parallel algorithm for searching through candidate asteroid trajectories that utilizes Graphics Processing Units (GPU). This technique can search over 10^10 possible asteroid trajectories in stacks of the order 10-15 4K x 4K images in under a minute using a single consumer grade GPU. We apply this algorithm to data from the 2015 campaign of the High Cadence Transient Survey (HiTS) obtained with the Dark Energy Camera (DECam). We find 39 previously unknown Kuiper Belt Objects in the 150 square degrees of the survey. Comparing these asteroids to an existing model for the inclination distribution of the Kuiper Belt we demonstrate that we recover a KBO population above our detection limit consistent with previous studies. Software used in this analysis is made available as an open source package.

Accepted to AJ

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Cited by in corpus (13)

• A search of the full six years of the Dark Energy Survey for outer Solar System objects
• Sifting Through the Static: Moving Object Detection in Difference Images
• Deep Drilling in the Time Domain with DECam: Survey Characterization
• Synthetic tracking using ZTF Long Dwell Datasets
• Discovery and physical characterization as the first response to a potential asteroid collision: The case of 2023 DZ2
• Probability of simultaneous parallax detection for free-floating planet microlensing events near Galactic Centre
• Enabling discovery of solar system objects in large alert data streams
• Dozens of virtual impactor orbits eliminated by the EURONEAR VIMP DECam data mining project
• Survey-Wide Asteroid Discovery with a High-Performance Computing Enabled Non-Linear Digital Tracking Framework
• The Luminosity Function of Ultra-Faint Trans-Neptunian Objects Detected by JWST
• Enhancing Ground-Based Observations of Trans-Neptunian Objects using a Single-Epoch Parallax Measurement from L2
• Enabling Deep All-Sky Searches of Outer Solar System Objects
• An Efficient Shift-and-Stack Algorithm Applied to Detection Catalogs