Related papers: Variable classification in the LSST era: Exploring…

In preparation for the era of the time-domain astronomy with upcoming large-scale surveys, we propose a state-space representation of a multivariate damped random walk process as a tool to analyze irregularly-spaced multi-filter light…

A damped random walk is a stochastic process, defined by an exponential covariance matrix that behaves as a random walk for short time scales and asymptotically achieves a finite variability amplitude at long time scales. Over the last few…

The optical light curves of many quasars show variations of tenths of a magnitude or more on time scales of months to years. This variation often cannot be described well by a simple deterministic model. We perform a Bayesian comparison of…

The damped random walk (DRW) model is increasingly used to model the variability in quasar optical light curves, but it is still uncertain whether the DRW model provides an adequate description of quasar optical variability across all time…

Periodic light curve behavior predicted for some binary black hole systems might be detected in large samples, such as the multi-million quasar sample expected from the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST). We investigate the false-alarm…

We model the time variability of ~9,000 spectroscopically confirmed quasars in SDSS Stripe 82 as a damped random walk. Using 2.7 million photometric measurements collected over 10 years, we confirm the results of Kelly et al. (2009) and…

Studies have shown that UV/optical light curves of quasars can be described with the prevalent damped random walk (DRW, also known as Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process) model. A white noise power spectral density (PSD) is expected at low frequency…

Strong lensed quasi-stellar objects (QSOs) are valuable probes of the universe in numerous aspects. Two of these applications, reverberation mapping and measuring time delays for determining cosmological parameters, require the source QSOs…

Robust fast methods to classify variable light curves in large sky surveys are becoming increasingly important. While it is relatively straightforward to identify common periodic stars and particular transient events (supernovae, novae,…

Many astrophysical phenomena are time-varying, in the sense that their brightness change over time. In the case of periodic stars, previous approaches assumed that changes in period, amplitude, and phase are well described by either…

We use the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System 1 Survey (Pan-STARRS1, PS1) data to extend the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Stripe 82 quasar light curves. Combining PS1 and SDSS light curves provides a 15 yr baseline for…

Context. Lightcurve variability is well-suited for characterising objects in surveys with high cadence and long baseline. This is especially relevant in view of the large datasets to be produced by the Vera C. Rubin Observatory Legacy…

Quasars are bright and unobscured active galactic nuclei (AGN) thought to be powered by the accretion of matter around supermassive black holes at the centers of galaxies. The temporal variability of a quasar's brightness contains valuable…

There have recently been several reports of apparently periodic variations in the light curves of quasars, e.g. PG 1302-102 by Graham et al. (2015a). Any quasar showing periodic oscillations in brightness would be a strong candidate to be a…

Variable stars play a key role in understanding the Milky Way and the universe. The era of astronomical big data presents new challenges for quick identification of interesting and important variable stars. Accurately estimating the periods…

We present a machine learning package for the classification of periodic variable stars. Our package is intended to be general: it can classify any single band optical light curve comprising at least a few tens of observations covering…

We present the use of continuous-time autoregressive moving average (CARMA) models as a method for estimating the variability features of a light curve, and in particular its power spectral density (PSD). CARMA models fully account for…

We study the optical $gri$ photometric variability of a sample of 190 quasars within the SDSS Stripe 82 region that have long-term photometric coverage during $\sim 1998-2020$ with SDSS, PanSTARRS-1, the Dark Energy Survey, and dedicated…

We describe the construction of a highly reliable sample of approximately 7,000 optically faint periodic variable stars with light curves obtained by the asteroid survey LINEAR across 10,000 sq.deg of northern sky. Majority of these…

We present variability and multi-wavelength photometric information for the 933 known quasars in the QUEST Variability Survey. These quasars are grouped into variable and non-variable populations based on measured variability confidence…