Одон орон судлаачид DESI төслийн 800,000 орчим объектыг шинжилж, таталцлын линз үүсгэж буй долоон шинэ квазар нэр дэвшигчийг олж илрүүллээ.
Судлаачид Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) төслийн мэдээллийн санг ашиглан, хэт их масстай хар нүхээр тэжээгддэг, орчлон ертөнцийн хамгийн тод биетүүдийн нэг болох квазаруудыг судалжээ. Таталцлын линзийн үзэгдэл нь алс холын биетийн гэрлийг мурийлгах замаар энгийн нүдээр харагдах боломжгүй нарийн ширийн зүйлийг илрүүлдэг тул одон орон судлалд чухал ач холбогдолтой юм. Ийм ховор системүүд нь галактик болон хар нүхний хоорондын холбоог судлах боломжийг олгодог байна.
Охайогийн их сургуулийн судлаач Эверет МакАртур тэргүүтэй баг хиймэл оюун ухааны загварыг ашиглан 800,000 квазараас хамгийн магадлалтай 200 орчим объектыг ялгаж, улмаар долоон системийг сонгон авчээ. Хиймэл оюун ухааныг сургахын тулд бодит квазар болон арын галактикийн спектрийг хослуулсан симуляцийн системийг ашигласан нь судалгааны үр дүнг нэмэгдүүлсэн байна. Дэлхийгээс 5-аас 6 тэрбум гэрлийн жилийн зайд орших эдгээр долоон объект батлагдвал өмнөх судалгаануудаар илрүүлсэн квазар линзийн тоог хоёр дахин нэмэгдүүлэх юм.
Одоогоор эдгээр нь нэр дэвшигч төдий байгаа бөгөөд цаашид Хаббл сансрын дуран зэрэг хүчирхэг төхөөрөмж ашиглан баталгаажуулах шаардлагатай. Энэхүү судалгааны арга барил нь спектрийн нарийн ялгааг таних чадвартай тул ирээдүйд өөр бусад ховор үзэгдлийг илрүүлэхэд өргөн боломж нээж өгч байна.
Дэлгэрэнгүйг эх сурвалжаас харах
↓Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
A team of astronomers has used artificial intelligence to uncover seven new candidate quasars acting as gravitational lenses after searching through nearly 800,000 objects from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) survey. The findings, published in The Astrophysical Journal, could double the number of these rare systems found in previous surveys if follow-up observations confirm them.
They are some of the brightest objects in the universe. They are powered by supermassive black holes feeding on surrounding gas, making them visible across billions of light-years.
That’s where gravitational lensing comes in. When gravity bends light from a more distant object, it can reveal details that would otherwise remain hidden. These supermassive black hole system that also act as strong gravitational lenses are extremely uncommon, so finding new examples gives researchers more opportunities to explore how galaxies and black holes are connected.
AI Found Seven Rare Quasars Among 800,000
The research team started with a catalog of around 800,000 quasars collected by DESI. The goal was to find the small number showing the telltale signs of acting as gravitational lenses, one of the rarest phenomena in astronomy.
The AI model first narrowed the list to about 200 candidates, saving researchers from having to inspect every object by hand. The team then carefully reviewed those remaining targets and selected seven systems that looked the most convincing.
According to The Astrophysical Journal, all seven candidates are located at least 5 to 6 billion light-years from Earth. If they are confirmed, they would double the number of quasar lenses discovered in earlier surveys.
Lead author Everett McArthur, a graduate student at The Ohio State University, summed up their importance with a simple comparison:
“Quasars are like the baby pictures of a supermassive black hole. So exploring how we get from quasars to those black holes is really important.”
Training the AI With Simulations
One challenge was that there simply are not enough confirmed quasar lenses to train an AI model. Instead, the researchers built realistic mock systems by combining spectra from real quasars with spectra from background galaxies.
As explained by The Ohio State University, those simulations taught the neural network how to recognize the emission lines expected from a quasar acting as a gravitational lens. It then learned to tell the difference between ordinary quasars and the rare systems the team was looking for.
McArthur said the results showed that the model could successfully sort through a wide variety of quasar spectra and pick out subtle differences.
“What this proves is our architecture was able to parse through a diverse array of quasar spectra in a really significant way,” he said.
The Seven Candidates Still Need To Be Confirmed
For now, the seven objects remain candidates. The next step is to observe them with more powerful instruments, including the Hubble Space Telescope, to confirm whether they really are gravitational lenses.
Based on the study, confirming the systems would give astronomers more examples to study the link between galaxies and their central black holes. McArthur explained that relationship could even help explain why the black hole at the center of the Milky Way is sometimes dormant. The team also sees broader uses for the technique. As he put it:
“You can very well expand this type of study to find many rare anomalies in a spectrum.”
The same AI approach could help researchers search large astronomical datasets for other unusual objects that might otherwise go unnoticed.
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