Abstract
We describe an extension of a test proposed by Lampton for detecting weak and/or short-lived transient point sources in finite-resolution photon-limited maps of the sky. We test the null hypothesis that the count density is spatially uniform (i.e., no point sources) over a limited region of the sky by decomposing that region into a nested set of source regions and background annuli, and testing whether the count density in each source region differs significantly from the count density in each associated background. The tests are by construction independent, so a combined p-value can be rigorously defined.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
M. Lampton. Two-sample discrimination of Poisson means. Astrophys. J., 436:784–786, 1994.
H. L. Marshall. Tools for use with low signal/noise data. In D. R. Crabtree, R. J. Hanisch, and J. Barnes, editors, Astronomical Data Analysis Software and Systems III, volume 61 of ASP Conference Series, 1994.
R. Simes. An improved Bonferroni procedure for multiple tests of signficance. Biometrika, 73:751–754, 1986.
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1997 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this paper
Cite this paper
Theiler, J., Bloch, J. (1997). Nested Test for Point Sources. In: Babu, G.J., Feigelson, E.D. (eds) Statistical Challenges in Modern Astronomy II. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-1968-2_30
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-1968-2_30
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4612-7360-8
Online ISBN: 978-1-4612-1968-2
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive