Abstract
We discuss some of the basic steps of the analysis for the detection and description of short periodicities in the photon counting regime (typical of gamma-ray astronomy), focusing the attention to those aspects where a certain degree of subjectivity by the analyst may lead to erroneous conclusions. As a statistical test for the detection of the periodic signal, the use of the Hm-test is suggested in ail exploratory cases when information on the expected light curve shape is lacking. The bin free kernel density estimator (KDE) and cluster analysis are used for the description of intensities, the location and significance of structures on the light curve and are proposed as alternatives to the histogram technique which is easy to use, but since the construction of the histogram is largely based on subjective considerations, it may lead to wrong interpretations especially in the case of weak signal and low counting statistics.
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© 1989 Kluwer Academic Publishers
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Buccheri, R., De Jager, O.C. (1989). Detection and Description of Periodicities in Sparse Data Suggested Solutions to Some Basic Problems. In: Ögelman, H., van den Heuvel, E.P.J. (eds) Timing Neutron Stars. NATO ASI Series, vol 262. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-2273-0_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-2273-0_5
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