SNIascore: Deep Learning Classification of Low-Resolution Supernova Spectra

TL;DR

SNIascore is a deep learning tool that accurately classifies low-resolution supernova spectra with minimal false positives, enabling rapid, automated, large-scale supernova classification and redshift estimation in real-time.

Contribution

This work introduces SNIascore, a novel RNN-based method for automated, low-resolution supernova classification with extremely low false-positive rates and real-time public announcement capabilities.

Findings

Achieves <0.6% false-positive rate in classifying SNe Ia.

Classifies up to 90% of low-resolution spectra from ZTF BTS.

Redshift predictions with <0.005 uncertainty.

Abstract

We present SNIascore, a deep-learning based method for spectroscopic classification of thermonuclear supernovae (SNe Ia) based on very low-resolution (R $\sim100$) data. The goal of SNIascore is fully automated classification of SNe Ia with a very low false-positive rate (FPR) so that human intervention can be greatly reduced in large-scale SN classification efforts, such as that undertaken by the public Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) Bright Transient Survey (BTS). We utilize a recurrent neural network (RNN) architecture with a combination of bidirectional long short-term memory and gated recurrent unit layers. SNIascore achieves a $<0.6\%$ FPR while classifying up to $90\%$ of the low-resolution SN Ia spectra obtained by the BTS. SNIascore simultaneously performs binary classification and predicts the redshifts of secure SNe Ia via regression (with a typical uncertainty of $<0.005$ in the range from $z = 0.01$ to $z = 0.12$). For the magnitude-limited ZTF BTS survey ($\approx70\%$ SNe Ia), deploying SNIascore reduces the amount of spectra in need of human classification or confirmation by $\approx60\%$. Furthermore, SNIascore allows SN Ia classifications to be automatically announced in real-time to the public immediately following a finished observation during the night.