A Panoply of Cepheid Light Curve Templates

TL;DR

This paper presents a comprehensive set of accurate V and I band light curve templates for Cepheids, including short period and overtone pulsators, enabling precise measurements from sparse data in large surveys.

Contribution

It introduces new light curve templates for a broader range of Cepheids, including short period and overtone pulsators, using Fourier and PCA methods, suitable for surveys with limited observations.

Findings

Templates enable precise magnitude and period measurements with few observations.

Inclusion of short period and overtone Cepheids broadens applicability.

Simulations confirm effectiveness for large survey data.

Abstract

We have generated accurate V and I template light curves using a combination of Fourier decomposition and principal component analysis for a large sample of Cepheid light curves. Unlike previous studies, we include short period Cepheids and stars pulsating in the first overtone mode in our analysis. Extensive Monte Carlo simulations show that our templates can be used to precisely measure Cepheid magnitudes and periods, even in cases where there are few observational epochs. These templates are ideal for characterizing serendipitously discovered Cepheids and can be used in conjunction with surveys such as Pan-Starrs and LSST where the observational sampling may not be optimized for Cepheids.