Kepler & K2 Members of the Kepler Extra-Galactic Survey are hosting an Extragalactic Transient Data Analysis Meeting on July 16-18, 2018 at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.
This hands-on meeting, inspired by Tess Ninja and the Gaia Sprints, is designed to bring together researchers with a common interest in the analysis of extragalactic transients using data from NASA's Kepler and K2 missions.
This meeting is intended to build new collaborations, minimize duplication of effort, and facilitate the development of open-source tools for working with this new dataset. This is not a traditional scientific conference and there won't be any formal talks. Instead, the time will be spent in informal discussions and co-working, with the goal of having tangible results by the end of the meeting. This project is designed to help build and support the broader community, and we welcome applications from people both inside and outside the existing K2 community.
The deadline to apply to register is June 28th, 2018. The maximum number of participants is 25. See details below.
Rationale
The Kepler telescope continues to deliver high-precision photometric time series, with over over 65,000 galaxies monitored to date for a range of science cases, including studies of supernovae and AGN. Dozens of candidate supernovae have already been identified in these galaxies, including Type Ia supernovae possessing early rise times recorded with unprecedented precision.
The flux time series from pre-outburst to maximum light can identify shock breakout and distinguish among supernova triggering mechanisms. Recent K2 campaigns 16 and 17 offered the unusual ability to acquire contemporaneous space- and ground- based monitoring, including multiband photometry and spectroscopic classification. Different types of extragalactic transients reside in the Kepler/K2 data, including fast-evolving luminous transients.
Distinguishing correlated instrumental noise and astrophysical signals remains a challenge to the robust scientific interpretation of supernovae in K2 however. This hands-on meeting aims to promote collaboration and tool building for overcoming shared data analysis challenges. Tools may include Kepler/K2 and ancillary data analysis, or application of supernova theory to lightcurves. We also welcome looking forward to synergies with the NASA TESS mission, which will yield a wider albeit shallower survey of more-nearby galaxies.
Venue
The meeting will take place in Room 462 of the Bloomberg Center for Physics and Astronomy at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.
The most nearby hotel is the Inn at The Colonnade, which is located within 5 minutes walking distance from the meeting. The LOC has secured a discounted rate of $147 + tax per room, please use the group code "K2E" to secure this rate.
Schedule
The majority of days will remain unstructured so that participants may self assemble. The first day will begin with a short welcome from STSci/JHU and K2 staff, followed by pitches for projects or offers for skill sharing from all participants. Each day will begin and end with a short recap from each team describing progress, stumbling blocks, and the next steps. Demos of the projects will occur on the final hour on Wednesday.
Monday, July 16
| 09:15–9:30 | Welcome from STSci/JHU and K2 |
|---|---|
| 9:30–10:00 |
Project pitches |
| 10:00–4:00 |
Unstructured time for working on collaborative projects |
| 4:30–5:00 |
Progress reports (one slide per team) |
Tuesday, July 17
| 9:15–9:30 |
Recap of Day 1 |
|---|---|
| 9:30–4:30 |
Unstructured time for working on collaborative projects |
| 4:30–5:00 |
Progress reports (one slide per team) |
Wednesday, July 18
| 9:15–9:30 |
Recap of Day 2 |
|---|---|
| 9:30–2:00 |
Unstructured time for working on collaborative projects |
| 2:00–3:00 |
Project demos |
Collaboration Policy
To ensure transparency and openness, we have adopted the collaboration policy developed for the Gaia Sprints. This policy requires that participants agree to the following:
All participants will be expected to openly share their ideas, expertise, code, and interim results. Project development will proceed out in the open, among participants and in the world.
Participants will be encouraged to change gears, start new collaborations, and combine projects. Any participant who contributes significantly to a project can expect co-authorship on resulting scientific papers, and any participant who gets significant contributions to a project is expected to include those contributors as co-authors.
These rules make it inadvisable to bring proprietary data sets or proprietary code, unless the participant bringing such assets has the rights to open them or add collaborators.
Code of Conduct
We are dedicated to providing a harassment-free conference experience for everyone, regardless of gender, gender identity and expression, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, ethnicity, religion (or lack thereof), or technology choices. We do not tolerate harassment, abusive behavior, or intimidation of conference participants in any form. We expect all participants to read and abide by the statements in the Kepler/K2 Community Code of Conduct.
Registration
Interested participants should apply to register by June 28th using the form linked below. The meeting can accommodate a maximum of 25 participants. Researchers from all career stages and backgrounds are encouraged to apply.
The meeting will be free, however confirmed participants will be invited to pay an optional $50 fee if they wish to consume coffee and snacks.
Travel Support
The K2 GO office will consider supporting the travel costs of key researchers or students who would otherwise not be able to attend the meeting. Requests for travel support must be submitted to keplergo@mail.arc.nasa.gov no later than June 15th, 2018. Requests must be accompanied by a statement detailing the reasons you wish to participate, how you expect to contribute to and benefit from the meeting, and a detailed estimate of the travel costs for which you are seeking support.
Confirmed participants
- Patrick Armstrong (Australian National University)
- Victoria Ashley Villar (Harvard)
- Thomas Barclay (NASA GSFC)
- Geert Barentsen (NASA Kepler/K2)
- Jessie Dotson (NASA Ames Research Center)
- Peter Garnavich (University of Notre Dame)
- Michael Gully-Santiago (NASA Kepler/K2)
- Daichi Hiramatsu (Las Cumbres Observatory and University of California, Santa Barbara)
- Daniel Kasen (UC Berkeley)
- Jackeline Moreno (Drexel University)
- Gautham Narayan (STScI)
- Armin Rest (STScI)
- Gordon Richards (Drexel University)
- Ryan Ridden-Harper (Australian National University)
- Ed Shaya (U. of Maryland)
SOC
- Armin Rest (STScI)
- Geert Barentsen (K2 GO Office)
- Jessie Dotson (K2 Project Scientist)
- Peter Garnavich (Notre Dame)
- Daniel Kasen (Berkeley)
- Brad Tucker (ANU)