Scalable Stellar Parameter Inference Using Python-based LASP: From CPU Optimization to GPU Acceleration

TL;DR

This paper introduces a Python-based, GPU-accelerated framework for stellar parameter inference that significantly improves processing speed and maintains accuracy across large spectroscopic datasets, enhancing the efficiency of astronomical surveys.

Contribution

The framework refactors the LASP pipeline with CPU and GPU modules, enabling high-throughput analysis of millions of spectra with improved efficiency and comparable accuracy.

Findings

Runtime reduced from 84 to 7 hours on GPU

Results consistent with original pipeline and external surveys

Better agreement with APOGEE for cool giants

Abstract

To enhance the efficiency, scalability, and cross-survey applicability of stellar parameter inference in large spectroscopic datasets, we present a modular, parallelized Python framework with automated error estimation, built on the LAMOST Atmospheric Parameter Pipeline (LASP) originally implemented in IDL. Rather than a direct code translation, this framework refactors LASP with two complementary modules: LASP-CurveFit, a new implementation of the LASP fitting procedure that runs on a CPU, preserving legacy logic while improving data I/O and multithreaded execution efficiency; and LASP-Adam-GPU, a GPU-accelerated method that introduces grouped optimization by constructing a joint residual function over multiple observed and model spectra, enabling high-throughput parameter inference across tens of millions of spectra. Applied to 10 million LAMOST spectra, the framework reduces runtime from 84 to 48 hr on the same CPU platform and to 7 hr on an NVIDIA A100 GPU, while producing results consistent with those from the original pipeline. The inferred errors agree well with the parameter variations from repeat observations of the same target (excluding radial velocities), while the official empirical errors used in LASP are more conservative. When applied to DESI DR1, our effective temperatures and surface gravities agree better with APOGEE than those from the DESI pipeline, particularly for cool giants, while the latter performs slightly better in radial velocity and metallicity. These results suggest that the framework delivers reliable accuracy, efficiency, and transferability, offering a practical approach to parameter inference in large spectroscopic surveys. The code and DESI-based catalog are available via \dataset[DOI: 10.12149/101679]{https://doi.org/10.12149/101679} and \dataset[DOI: 10.12149/101675]{https://doi.org/10.12149/101675}, respectively.