Astronomical Time Series Analysis. I. A Search for Periodicity Using Information Entropy

Abstract

In this paper we present the application of a new algorithm that takes advantage of the information entropy's properties for the search of periodicity in astronomical time series. It is based on the idea that the light curve constructed using the correct period is ordered, while all the other light curves are not. All other methods based on statistical analysis of the "appearance" of the light curve lack in mathematical proofs; on the contrary, the one presented here has a consistent mathematical formulation, while it is computationally very fast, simple, and intuitive. In this paper we show the results of applying this algorithm to synthetic data and to real observations of two variable stars.