Optimizing Weights for the Detection of Stellar Oscillations: Application to alpha Centauri A and B, and beta Hydri

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new weight adjustment method that reduces sidelobes in spectral data, significantly improving frequency resolution in stellar oscillation detection for stars like alpha Centauri A and B, and beta Hydri.

Contribution

The paper presents a novel weight optimization technique that enhances spectral analysis accuracy over previous methods.

Findings

Significant improvement in frequency resolution.

Potential detection of additional oscillation modes.

Effective application to multiple stellar observations.

Abstract

We have recently developed a new method for adjusting weights to minimize sidelobes in the spectral window. Here we show the results of applying this method to published two-site velocity observations of three stars (alpha Cen A, alpha Cen B and beta Hyi). Compared to our previous method of minimizing sidelobes, which involved adjusting the weights on a night-by-night basis, we find a significant improvement in frequency resolution. In the case of alpha Cen A, this should allow the detection of extra oscillation modes in the data.