Microlensify: a Transformer Based Machine Learning Classifier for Microlensing Events Trained on TESS Light Curves

📅 2026-08-19
📈 Citations: 0
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🤖 AI Summary
研究使用基于Transformer的机器学习分类器Microlensify处理TESS光曲线数据,以识别微引力透镜事件并区分假阳性。
📝 Abstract
Microlensing can reveal populations of faint compact objects that are otherwise difficult to detect. Depending on their design, all-sky surveys have the potential to search for these objects across the sky. The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), primarily designed to detect transiting exoplanets, also provides near all-sky coverage with high cadence. In this work, we use TESS data to search for microlensing candidates using both traditional and machine-learning methods and to identify associated false positives in high-cadence surveys. Microlensify is a physics-informed, transformer-based variational autoencoder trained on simulated single-lens microlensing light curves and real TESS Sector 12 data. The model classifies events, reconstructs light curves, and estimates microlensing event durations. Applied to $\sim 5.6$ million TESS light curves, it identified between $0.036\%$ and $1.89\%$ as microlensing candidates across different TESS pipelines. After applying microlensing detection metrics and cross-matching with SIMBAD, we obtained a final list of candidates and identified false positives including long-period variables, Mira variables, cataclysmic variables, red giants, and transients. We also found Gaussian-like peaks caused by asteroid crossings, a potential source of false positives in high-cadence microlensing surveys. The model also predicts event duration with an accuracy of $R^2 = 0.97$. The model was further tested on published events from different ground-based microlensing surveys, confirming 92.7% as microlensing, demonstrating its applicability across surveys with different cadences.
Problem

Research questions and friction points this paper is trying to address.

Microlensing
TESS
False Positives
Light Curves
Machine Learning
Innovation

Methods, ideas, or system contributions that make the work stand out.

Transformer-based classifier
microlensing events
TESS light curves
event duration prediction
cross-survey validation
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Sedighe Sajadian
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University of Delaware, Department of Physics and Astronomy, 217 Sharp Lab, Newark, DE 19716 USA
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