Spring Seminar Series - April 29, 2003
University of Minnesota
School of Statistics
College of Liberal Arts
BUEHLER-MARTIN DISTINGUISHED LECTURER SERIES
Nonparametric Methods for Estimating Light Curves for Periodic
Variable Stars
Peter Hall
Australian National University
Tuesday, April 29, 2003
4:00 PM, 2-620
Moos Tower
Minneapolis, East Bank
Campus
Social at 3:30 PM,
300
Ford Hall
Abstract
As
technology improves, very large quantities of data are becoming available
on the emission of radiation from sources in the heavens. Work is underway
to classify stars according to the nature of this radiation. The radiation
from some stars varies periodically with time. Period lengths range from
a few hours to many years. The first periodic variable star was discovered
more than 400 years ago; today a great many are known, as well as many more
of which the light curves seem to be representable as sums of periodic functions
with different periods. We shall discuss ways of estimating the periods,
and light curves, from noisy data.