Points: 150 Time: 3.

0 Hours

Instructions
1. The Data Analysis competition will be 3 hours in duration and is marked out of a total of 150 points.
2. There are Detailed Worksheets for carrying out detailed work / rough work. On each of the
Detailed Worksheets, please fill in

Student Code
Question no.
Page no. and total number of pages.

3. Start each problem on a new page of the Detailed Worksheets. Please write only on the printed side
of the sheet. Do not use the reverse side. If you have written something on any sheet that you do not
want to be marked, cross it out.

4. Graph Paper is required for your solutions. On each Graph Paper sheet, please fill in

Student Code
Question no.
Graph no. and total number of graph paper sheets used.

5. There is a summary Answer Sheet with your student ID code for your final answers.
6. Please remember that the graders may not understand your language. As far as possible, write your
solutions only using mathematical expressions and numbers. If it is necessary to explain something in
words, please use short phrases (if possible in English).
7. You are not allowed to leave your exam desk without permission. If you need any assistance
(malfunctioning calculator, need to visit a restroom, need more Detailed Worksheets, etc.), please put
up your hand to signal the invigilator.
8. The beginning and end of the competition will be indicated by a long sound signal. Additionally, there
will be a short sound signal fifteen minutes before the end of the competition (before the final long
sound signal).
9. At the end of the competition you must stop writing immediately. Sort and put your Summary
Answer Sheets, Graph Papers, and Detailed Worksheets in one stack. Put all other papers in another
stack. You are not allowed to take any sheet of paper out of the examination area.
10. Wait at your table until your envelope is collected. Once all envelopes are collected, your student
guide will escort you out of the competition room.

IOAA 2024 Page 1 of 5

Data Analysis Examination, English (Official)
Points: 150 Time: 3.0 Hours

D1. Photometric comparison of surveys (75 points)

You are an astronomer working with large photometric surveys, such as the Sloan Digital Sky
Survey (SDSS) and the Dark Energy Survey (DES), both of which have your host, Observatório
Nacional, as a participant. SDSS used a 2.5 m telescope in Apache Point, USA, during the
2000s, and DES used a 4 m telescope in Cerro Tololo, Chile, from 2013 to 2019. Even though
they mostly covered different hemispheres of the sky, they had an equatorial region in
common known as Stripe 82 that you can use to compare and calibrate the photometry of
different data sets, like SDSS and DES.

The following tables containing object positions and magnitudes from Stripe 82 were
downloaded for analysis. However, due to a file system corruption on the computer, the file
names were scrambled, and now you cannot tell which table belongs to which survey.

Tables 1 and 2 appear next to each other below, with an identification number for each
source, its equatorial coordinates, and its magnitude in the g-band (m ) with its error (err m ).
g g

(a) (5 points) From these tables, which survey (SDSS or DES) is Table 1 and which is Table 2?
Assume that both surveys are equivalent regarding detector response, exposure times, and
site characteristics.

(b) (35 points) Using the data in the table, plot the magnitude (m ) on the x-axis (linear scale)
g

and the error in magnitude (err m ) on the y-axis (logarithmic scale) using the semi-log paper
g

marked as Graph 1. Estimate the angular coefficient A (slope) and linear coefficient B (y-axis
intercept) for each dataset. There is no need to calculate the associated errors.

(c) (5 points) The Signal to Noise ratio (S/N ) is approximately the inverse of the error in the
magnitude, S/N ≈ 1/(err m ). Using the linear fit calculated in the previous part, what is
g

the S/N reached for each survey at a magnitude of m = 21. 5 mag?

g

(d) (15 points) An object in Table 1 that is within 1 arcsecond of an object in Table 2 can be
considered to be the same object. By looking at the RA and Dec of the objects in both tables,
identify the objects in common and write down a new table with the matching IDs, I D and 1

ID .2

(e) (15 points) Using the matched table from part (d), plot the g-band magnitude of each
survey against the other, Table 1 on x-axis, and Table 2 on y-axis using the millimetre (linear)
paper marked as Graph 2. Draw on error bars for each point in both horizontal and vertical
directions, using values double err m (known as a 2σ uncertainty). From your graph, identify
g

the stars that would be suitable for photometric calibration between the two surveys and
write down their correspondings IDs from Table 1.

IOAA 2024 Page 2 of 5

Data Analysis Examination, English (Official)
Points: 150 Time: 3.0 Hours

Table 1 Table 2
err
I D1 RA Dec mg I D2 RA Dec mg err m g
mg

(deg) (deg) (mag) (mag) (deg) (deg) (mag) (mag)

1 0.047255 0.000406 21.7649 0.0120 1 0.006167 0.066874 21.9020 0.0576
2 0.064741 0.021568 21.1111 0.0067 2 0.018660 0.007450 21.8039 0.0529
3 0.064911 0.026395 21.3931 0.0084 3 0.047853 0.061487 21.3007 0.0418
4 0.098343 0.054871 21.3934 0.0088 4 0.050870 0.015659 21.1678 0.0388
5 0.022256 0.039129 21.9933 0.0157 5 0.051270 0.020812 21.2524 0.0401
6 0.006188 0.066928 21.5490 0.0088 6 0.057414 0.075999 21.8884 0.0578
7 0.083945 0.074259 21.9395 0.0126 7 0.064745 0.021583 21.3634 0.0422
8 0.076715 0.079496 21.4808 0.0089 8 0.064910 0.026419 21.6428 0.0488
9 0.057422 0.076006 21.8897 0.0127 9 0.071102 0.091058 21.9259 0.0751
10 0.024412 0.087688 21.8341 0.0126 10 0.074946 0.002792 21.3258 0.0410
11 0.044723 0.091782 21.8868 0.0172 11 0.076709 0.079474 21.5303 0.0476
12 0.071089 0.091053 21.4390 0.0098 12 0.092635 0.077395 21.6995 0.0513
13 0.098343 0.054854 21.6542 0.0499
14 0.099332 0.093711 21.8802 0.0577

D2. Shapley Hypothesis (75 points)

Globular clusters are one of the oldest components of galaxies. About a century ago, Harlow
Shapley studied the distribution of globular clusters in the Milky Way in order to determine
the distance from the Sun to the Galactic Centre, with the hypothesis that globular clusters
were symmetrically distributed around the Galactic Centre. The table below shows the
positions and distance moduli of a few known globular clusters in the Milky Way. The first
three columns in the table show the cluster name, galactic longitude (l), and galactic latitude
(b). The fourth column shows the distance modulus (i.e. the difference between the apparent
and absolute magnitude), for which the values are extinction-corrected. Based on the data in
the table:

IOAA 2024 Page 3 of 5

Data Analysis Examination, English (Official)
Points: 150 Time: 3.0 Hours

Name l (degrees) b (degrees) Distance modulus (mag)

NGC 6522 1.025 -3.926 14.3
NGC 6401 3.450 3.980 14.4
NGC 6342 4.898 9.725 14.5
NGC 6553 5.253 -3.029 13.6
NGC 6440 7.729 3.801 14.6
Ter 12 8.358 -2.101 13.6
VVV-CL160 10.151 0.302 14.2
2MASS-GC01 10.471 0.100 12.6
NGC 6517 19.225 6.762 14.8
NGC 6402 21.324 14.804 14.8
NGC 6712 25.354 -4.318 14.3
NGC 6426 28.087 16.234 16.6
NGC 5466 42.150 73.592 16.0
NGC 7089 53.371 -35.770 15.3
NGC 288 151.285 -89.380 14.8
NGC 2298 245.629 -16.006 15.0
NGC 4590 299.626 36.051 15.1
NGC 4372 300.993 -9.884 13.8
NGC 362 301.533 -46.247 14.7
BH 140 303.171 -4.307 13.4
NGC 5927 326.604 4.860 14.6
Patchick 126 340.381 -3.826 14.5
NGC 5897 342.946 30.294 15.5
NGC 6380 350.182 -3.422 14.9
Djor 1 356.675 -2.484 15.0

IOAA 2024 Page 4 of 5

Data Analysis Examination, English (Official)
Points: 150 Time: 3.0 Hours

(a) (25 points) Calculate the distance (in parsecs) of each globular cluster from the Sun as well
as their Cartesian coordinates (x, y, z). The x-axis points to the Galactic Centre and the y-axis
points in the direction of galactic rotation. The system is right-handed.

(b) (15 points) From the given data, estimate the distance from the Sun to the centre of the
distribution of globular clusters and its uncertainty.

(c) (30 points) To test the validity of Shapley's hypothesis that globular clusters are
symmetrically distributed around the Galactic Centre, make histograms with five bins (i.e. sort
the data and divide them into five equally-sized intervals) for each of the distributions in the
x, y, and z directions. Mark the value of the quartiles (Q , Q , Q ) of the three distributions
1 2 3

with solid lines on the histograms.

Hint: The three quartiles divide the sorted sample into four sections, each containing 25% of
the data, with the second and third sections representing the interquartile range.

(d) (5 points) Using the quartiles, calculate the symmetry factor value for the three
distributions as given by:
|Q1,x+Q3,x−2Q2,x| |Q1,y+Q3,y−2Q2,y| |Q1,z+Q3,z−2Q2,z|
Φx = , Φy = , Φz =
Q3,x−Q1,x Q3,y−Q1,y Q3,z−Q1,z

Classify the three distributions in the x, y, and z directions based on their calculated
symmetry factor values, according to the table shown below. Hence, on the answer sheet,
write True (T) if the analysed sample follows Shapley’s hypothesis or False (F) otherwise.

Symmetry factor value Symmetry type

0. 0 ≤ Φ ≤ 0. 1 symmetrical

0. 1 < Φ ≤ 0. 2 quasi-symmetrical

Φ > 0. 2 asymmetrical

IOAA 2024 Page 5 of 5

Data Analysis Examination, English (Official)