Characterization of CoRoT target fields with BEST: Identification of periodic variable stars in the LRa1 field

TL;DR

This study used the BEST telescope to observe the CoRoT LRa1 field, identifying 39 periodic variable stars and confirming variability in some known stars, aiding in the selection of targets for the CoRoT mission.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed variability survey of the LRa1 field, identifying new periodic variables and confirming known ones to support CoRoT observations.

Findings

39 periodic variable stars identified in the LRa1 field

27 variables are within the CoRoT FOV

Confirmed variability in 4 GCVS catalog stars

Abstract

In this paper we report on observations of the CoRoT LRa1 field with the Berlin Exoplanet Search Telescope (BEST). The current paper is part of the series of papers describing the results of our stellar variability survey. BEST is a small aperture telescope with a wide field-of-view (FOV). It is dedicated to search for stellar variability within the target fields of the CoRoT space mission to aid in minimizing false-alarm rates and identify potential targets for additional science. The LRa1 field is CoRoT's third observed field and the second long run field located in the galactic anticenter direction. We observed the LRa1 stellar field on 23 nights between November and March 2005/2006. From 6099 stars marked as variable, 39 were classified as periodic variable stars and 27 of them are within the CoRoT FOV. We also confirmed the variability for 4 stars listed in GCVS catalog.