Exploring new techniques for analyzing variability in white dwarf KIC 8626021

TL;DR

This paper investigates how re-binning Kepler space telescope data enhances the detection of low-frequency variability in white dwarf KIC 8626021, revealing a potential link to the star's rotation.

Contribution

It demonstrates that sequential re-binning significantly improves SNR at low frequencies, aiding the analysis of stellar variability.

Findings

SNR at ~5.8 microHz improved with re-binning

Re-binning reveals potential rotational frequency of the star

Method enhances detection of low-frequency signals in noisy data

Abstract

As is common with the collection of astronomical data, signals are frequently dominated by noise. However, when performing FTs of light curves, re-binning data can improve the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) at lower frequencies. Using data collected from the Kepler space telescope, we sequentially re-binned data three times to investigate the SNR improvement of lower frequency (< 17 microHz) variability in white dwarf KIC 8626021. We found that the SNR at approximately 5.8 microHz greatly improved through this process, and we postulate that this frequency is linked to the rotation of KIC 8626021.