Abstract
We present a method for obtaining the likelihood function of distance and extinction to a star given its photometry. The other properties of the star (its mass, age, metallicity and so on) are marginalized assuming a simple Galaxy model. We demonstrate that the resulting marginalized likelihood function can be described faithfully and compactly using a Gaussian mixture model. For dust mapping applications we strongly advocate using monochromatic over bandpass extinctions, and provide tables for converting from the former to the latter for different stellar types.
Author
Sale, S. E.; Magorrian, J.
Journal
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Paper Publication Date
April 2015
Paper Type
Astrostatistics