Astronomy & Astrophysics Seminar: A Novel Approach for Periodicity Detection in Sparse Datasets

Abstract:

Gaia lightcurves, as well as lightcurves of Gaia's predecessor Hipparcos, are typically unevenly sampled and sparse, comprising only dozens of samples during a span of a few years. This is the case also in radial velocity surveys looking for signatures of exoplanets. This renders the task of searching for periodicity very challenging. In the talk I'll introduce a new nonparametric approach to detect periodicity in unevenly-sampled sparse datasets, based on the notion of statistical independence tests. The talk will explain the new approach, show some benchmark simulations, and also reveal some new detections that became possible by this new approach, within the Hipparcos archived data.

Seminar Organizer: Prof. Rennan Barkana