Computational Astrostatistics

The coming decade will see the construction of massive datasets in astronomy. These will come from surveys designed to extract constraints on the properties of the dark Universe by surveying very large samples of galaxies, a space mission, GAIA, which will pinpoint the location of stars to exquisite accuracy and thereby provide a detailed view of our Galaxy, to synoptic surveys of the celestial sphere which will combine the temporal axis with spatial location to give a dynamic view of the Universe.

Our ability to extract science from these massive datasets will rely on our ability to efficiently mine and analyse the data. To achieve this it is important that astronomers interact closely with statisticians and computer scientists. At the same time, the size and complexity of these, frequently freely available, datasets present unique challenges and opportunities for the development and testing of new statistical and computational techniques.

To help strengthen these links within the Netherlands, we are organising a workshop on Astrostatistics at the Lorentz Center in Leiden 27 - 31 January 2014.

The workshop will have four main themes:

day 1: Cluster finding and outlier detection

day 2: Inverse problems

day 3: Multi-scale problems

day 4: Multi-source problems

This will be the first major astrostatics workshop in the Netherland and a key goal is to bring the Dutch groups in statistics, computer science and astronomy together.  The format will consist of a few talks before lunch with the rest of the day free for discussions and impromptu presentations. To reach the goals of the meeting we will ensure that some of the talks the first day will address in particular the different language used across disciplines. The aim is that this will foster lively discussions.