The Zwicky Transient Facility Catalog of Periodic Variable Stars
Xiaodian Chen, Shu Wang, Licai Deng, Richard de Grijs, Ming Yang, Hao, Tian

TL;DR
This paper presents a large catalog of over 780,000 periodic variable stars identified and classified using ZTF Data Release 2, significantly expanding known samples and aiding Galactic structure studies.
Contribution
The study introduces an improved classification method and reports nearly 80% new or newly classified variables, enhancing the understanding of stellar populations and Galactic features.
Findings
Classified 781,602 periodic variables into 11 types.
Discovered approximately 620,000 new or newly classified variables.
Achieved ~2% misclassification rate and 99% period accuracy.
Abstract
The number of known periodic variables has grown rapidly in recent years. Thanks to its large field of view and faint limiting magnitude, the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) offers a unique opportunity to detect variable stars in the northern sky. Here, we exploit ZTF Data Release 2 (DR2) to search for and classify variables down to r ~ 20.6 mag. We classify 781,602 periodic variables into 11 main types using an improved classification method. Comparison with previously published catalogs shows that 621,702 objects (79.5%) are newly discovered or newly classified, including ~700 Cepheids, ~5000 RR Lyrae stars, ~15,000 Delta Scuti variables, ~350,000 eclipsing binaries, ~100,000 long-period variables, and about 150,000 rotational variables. The typical misclassification rate and period accuracy are on the order of 2% and 99%, respectively. 74% of our variables are located at Galactic…
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