Skip to main content
Log in

A pipeline for the ROTSE–IIId archival data

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Experimental Astronomy Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

We have constructed a new, fast, robust and reliable pipeline to detect variable stars from the ROTSE-IIId archival data. Turkish share of ROTSE-III archive contains approximately one million objects from a large field of view (1.85°) and it considerably covers a large portion of northern sky (δ > − 25°). The unfiltered ROTSE-III magnitude of the objects ranges from 7.7 to 16.9. The main stages of the new pipeline are as follows: Source extraction, astrometry of the objects, light curve generation and inhomogeneous ensemble photometry. A high performance computing (HPC) algorithm has also been implemented into the pipeline where we had a good performance even on a personal computer. Running the algorithms of the pipeline on a cluster decreases analysis time significantly from weeks to hours. The pipeline is especially tested against long period variable stars with periods of a few hundred days (e.g Mira and SR) and variables having periods starting from a few days to a few hundred days were detected.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. http://rotse.net/information/world/

  2. TUG: http://www.tug.tubitak.gov.tr/

  3. http://www.mcs.anl.gov/research/projects/mpich2/

References

  1. Akerlof, C.W., Kehoe, R.L., McKay, T.A., Rykoff, E.S., Smith, D.A., Casperson, D.E., McGowan, K.E., Vestrand, W.T., Wozniak, P.R., Wren, J.A., Ashley, M.C.B., Phillips, M.A., Marshall, S.L., Epps, H.W., Schier, J.A.: The ROTSE-III robotic telescope system. Publ. Astron. Soc. Pac. 115, 132–140 (2003)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  2. Baykal, A., Kızıloǧlu, Ü., Kızıloǧlu, N., Balman, Ş., Inam, S.Ç.: X-ray outburst of 4U 0115+634 and ROTSE observations of its optical counterpart V635 Cas. Astron. Astrophys. 439, 1131–1134 (2005)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  3. Bertin, E: Automatic Astrometric and Photometric Calibration with SCAMP. In: Astronomical Data Analysis Software and Systems XV, Astronomical Society of the Pacific Conference Series, vol. 351, pp 112–115 (2006)

  4. Bertin, E., Arnouts, S.: SExtractor: Software for source extraction. Astron. Astrophys. Suppl. 117, 393–404 (1996)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  5. Bilir, S., Güver, T., Aslan, M.: Separation of dwarf and giant stars with ROTSE-IIId. Astron. Nachr. 327, 693–697 (2006)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  6. Dikicioğlu, E.: Multiple periods for semiregular (SR) variable stars. Master’s thesis, Atatürk University, Erzurum, Turkey (2011)

  7. Güçsav, B.B.: Detection of different types of celestial objects from robotic telescope archives. Master’s thesis, Ankara University, Ankara, Turkey (2010)

  8. Henden, A.A., Kaitchuck, R.H.: Astronomical Photometry: A Text and Handbook for the Advanced Amateur and Professional Astronomer (1990)

  9. Honeycutt, R.K.: CCD ensemble photometry on an inhomogeneous set of exposures. Astron. Soc. Pac. 104, 435–440 (1992)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  10. Kızıloǧlu, Ü., Kızıloǧlu, N., Baykal, A.: ROTSE observations of the young cluster IC 348. Astron. J. 130, 2766–2777 (1995)

    Google Scholar 

  11. Kızıloǧlu, Ü., Ozbilgen, S., Kızıloǧlu, N., Baykal, A.: Optical and X-ray outbursts of Be/X-ray binary system SAX J2103.5+4545. Astron. Astrophys. 508, 895–900 (2009)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  12. Lomb, N.R.: Least-squares frequency analysis of unequally spaced data. Astrophys. Space Sci. 39, 447–462 (1976)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  13. Monet, D.G.: The 526,280,881 objects in the USNO-A2.0 catalog. Bull. Am. Astron. Soc. 30, 1427 (1998)

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  14. Monet, D.G., Levine, S.E., Canzian, B., Ables, H.D., Bird, A.R., Dahn, C.C., Guetter, H.H., Harris, H.C., Henden, A.A., Leggett, S.K., Levison, H.F., Luginbuhl, C.B., Martini, J., Monet, A.K.B., Munn, J.A., Pier, J.R., Rhodes, A.R., Riepe, B., Sell, S., Stone, R.C., Vrba, F.J., Walker, R.L., Westerhout, G., Brucato, R.J., Reid, I.N., Schoening, W., Hartley, M., Read, M.A., Tritton, S.B.: The USNO-B catalog. Astron. J. 125, 984–993 (2005)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  15. Reegen, P.: SigSpec. I. Frequency- and phase-resolved significance in Fourier space. Astron. Astrophys. 467, 1353–1371 (2007)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  16. Rykoff, E.S., Aharonian, F., Akerlof, C.W., Alatalo, K., Ashley, M.C.B., Güver, T., Horns, D., Kehoe, R.L., Kiziloǧlu, Ü., McKay, T.A., Özel, M., Phillips, A., Quimby, R.M., Schaefer, B.E., Smith, D.A., Swan, H.F., Vestrand, W.T., Wheeler, J.C., Wren, J., Yost, S.A.: A search for untriggered GRB afterglows with ROTSE-III. Astrophys. J. 631, 1032–1038 (2005)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  17. Saesen, S., Carrier, F., Pigulski, A., Aerts, C., Handler, G., Narwid, A., Fu, J.N., Zhang, C., Jiang, X.J., Vanautgaerden, J., Kopacki, G., Steslicki, M., Acke, B., Poretti, E., Uytterhoeven, K., Gielen, C., Ostensen, R., De Meester, W., Reed, M.D., Kolaczkowski, Z., Michalska, G., Schmidt, E., Yakut, K., Leitner, A., Kalomeni, B., Cherix, M., Spano, M., Prins, S., van Helshoecht, V., Zima, W., Huygen, R., Vandenbussche, B., Lenz, P., Ladjal, D., Puga Antolin, E., Verhoelst, T., De Ridder, J., Niarchos, P., Liakos, A., Lorenz, D., Dehaes, S., Reyniers, M., Davignon, G., Kim, S.L., Kim, D.H., Lee, Y.J., Lee, C.U., Kwon, J.H., Broeders, E., van Winckel, H., Vanhollebeke, E., Waelkens, C., Raskin, G., Blom, Y., Eggen, J.R., Degroote, P., Beck, P., Puschnig, J., Schmitzberger, L., Gelven, G.A., Steininger, B., Blommaert, J., Drummond, R., Briquet, M., Debosscher, J.: Photometric multi-site campaign on the open cluster NGC 884. I. Detection of the variable stars. Astron. Astrophys. 515, A16 (2010)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  18. Scargle, J.D.: Studies in astronomical time series analysis. II—Statistical aspects of spectral analysis of unevenly spaced data. Astrophys. J. 263, 835–853 (1982)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  19. Stellingwerf, R.F.: Period determination using phase dispersion minimization. Astrophys. J. 224, 953–960 (1978)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  20. Wozniak, P.R., Williams, S.J., Vestrand, W.T., Gupta, V.: Identifying red variables in the northern sky variability survey. Astron. J. 128, 2965–2976 (2004)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  21. Yeşilyaprak, C., Yerli, S., Güçsav, B., Aksaker, N., Dikicioğlu, E., Helvacı, M., Çoker, D., Aydın, M., Dinçel, B., Uzun, N.: Long-term variations and periods of Mira stars from ROTSE–IIId. New Astron. (2011). doi:10.1016/j.newast.2011.11.010

    Google Scholar 

  22. Young, A.T., Genet, R.M., Boyd, L.J., Borucki, W.J., Lockwood, G.W., Henry, G.W., Hall, D.S., Smith, D.P., Baliumas, S.L., Donahue, R., Epand, D.H.: Precise automatic differential stellar photometry. Astron. Soc. Pac. 103, 221–242 (1991)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This project utilizes data obtained by the Robotic Optical Transient Search Experiment (ROTSE). ROTSE is a collaboration of Lawrence Livermore National Lab, Los Alamos National Lab and the University of Michigan (http://www.rotse.net).

All observations were made with the ROTSE–IIId telescope and the archival data of ROTSE–IIId obtained at the TÜBİTAK (Turkish Scientific and Research Council) National Observatory (TUG), so we thank to ROTSE–III Collaboration and TUG for the optical and archival facilities (TUG - ROTSE–IIId projects of Turkish observers).

We also thank Prof. Dr. Ü. Kızıloğlu for consulting, suggestions and helps.

This study was supported by TÜBİTAK with the project TBAG–108T475.

This research has made use of the SIMBAD database, operated at CDS, Strasbourg, France and cdsclient tool located at CDS and NASA Astrophysics Data System Bibliographic Services.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Cahit Yeşilyaprak.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Güçsav, B.B., Yeşilyaprak, C., Yerli, S.K. et al. A pipeline for the ROTSE–IIId archival data. Exp Astron 33, 197–209 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10686-011-9283-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10686-011-9283-9

Keywords

Navigation