Classification of Variable Star Light Curves with Convolutional Neural Network

The classification of variable stars is essential for understanding stellar evolution and dynamics. With the growing volume of light curve data from extensive surveys, there is a need for automated and accurate classification methods. Traditional methods often rely on manual feature extraction and s...

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Main Authors: Almat Akhmetali, Timur Namazbayev, Gulnur Subebekova, Marat Zaidyn, Aigerim Akniyazova, Yeskendyr Ashimov, Nurzhan Ussipov
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-11-01
Series:Galaxies
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4434/12/6/75
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author Almat Akhmetali
Timur Namazbayev
Gulnur Subebekova
Marat Zaidyn
Aigerim Akniyazova
Yeskendyr Ashimov
Nurzhan Ussipov
author_facet Almat Akhmetali
Timur Namazbayev
Gulnur Subebekova
Marat Zaidyn
Aigerim Akniyazova
Yeskendyr Ashimov
Nurzhan Ussipov
author_sort Almat Akhmetali
collection DOAJ
description The classification of variable stars is essential for understanding stellar evolution and dynamics. With the growing volume of light curve data from extensive surveys, there is a need for automated and accurate classification methods. Traditional methods often rely on manual feature extraction and selection, which can be time-consuming and less adaptable to large datasets. In this work, we present an approach using a convolutional neural network (CNN) to classify variable stars using only raw light curve data and their known periods, without the need for manual feature extraction or hand-selected data preprocessing. Our method utilizes phase-folding to organize the light curves and directly learns the variability patterns crucial for classification. Trained and tested on the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment (OGLE) dataset, our model demonstrates an average accuracy of 88% and an F1 score of 0.89 across five well-known classes of variable stars. We also compared our classification model with the Random Forest (RF) classifier and showed that our model gives better results across all of the classification metrics. By leveraging CNN, our approach does not need manual feature extraction and can handle diverse light curve shapes and sampling cadences. This automated, data-driven method offers a powerful tool for classifying variable stars, enabling efficient processing of large datasets from current and future sky surveys.
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spelling doaj-art-fd94c6eeaed4469d9307b79cc94436032024-12-27T14:27:34ZengMDPI AGGalaxies2075-44342024-11-011267510.3390/galaxies12060075Classification of Variable Star Light Curves with Convolutional Neural NetworkAlmat Akhmetali0Timur Namazbayev1Gulnur Subebekova2Marat Zaidyn3Aigerim Akniyazova4Yeskendyr Ashimov5Nurzhan Ussipov6Department of Electronics and Astrophysics, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, 050040 Almaty, KazakhstanDepartment of Electronics and Astrophysics, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, 050040 Almaty, KazakhstanDepartment of Electronics and Astrophysics, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, 050040 Almaty, KazakhstanDepartment of Electronics and Astrophysics, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, 050040 Almaty, KazakhstanDepartment of Electronics and Astrophysics, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, 050040 Almaty, KazakhstanDepartment of Electronics and Astrophysics, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, 050040 Almaty, KazakhstanDepartment of Electronics and Astrophysics, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, 050040 Almaty, KazakhstanThe classification of variable stars is essential for understanding stellar evolution and dynamics. With the growing volume of light curve data from extensive surveys, there is a need for automated and accurate classification methods. Traditional methods often rely on manual feature extraction and selection, which can be time-consuming and less adaptable to large datasets. In this work, we present an approach using a convolutional neural network (CNN) to classify variable stars using only raw light curve data and their known periods, without the need for manual feature extraction or hand-selected data preprocessing. Our method utilizes phase-folding to organize the light curves and directly learns the variability patterns crucial for classification. Trained and tested on the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment (OGLE) dataset, our model demonstrates an average accuracy of 88% and an F1 score of 0.89 across five well-known classes of variable stars. We also compared our classification model with the Random Forest (RF) classifier and showed that our model gives better results across all of the classification metrics. By leveraging CNN, our approach does not need manual feature extraction and can handle diverse light curve shapes and sampling cadences. This automated, data-driven method offers a powerful tool for classifying variable stars, enabling efficient processing of large datasets from current and future sky surveys.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4434/12/6/75variable starlight curvemachine learningconvolutional neural networkrandom forest
spellingShingle Almat Akhmetali
Timur Namazbayev
Gulnur Subebekova
Marat Zaidyn
Aigerim Akniyazova
Yeskendyr Ashimov
Nurzhan Ussipov
Classification of Variable Star Light Curves with Convolutional Neural Network
Galaxies
variable star
light curve
machine learning
convolutional neural network
random forest
title Classification of Variable Star Light Curves with Convolutional Neural Network
title_full Classification of Variable Star Light Curves with Convolutional Neural Network
title_fullStr Classification of Variable Star Light Curves with Convolutional Neural Network
title_full_unstemmed Classification of Variable Star Light Curves with Convolutional Neural Network
title_short Classification of Variable Star Light Curves with Convolutional Neural Network
title_sort classification of variable star light curves with convolutional neural network
topic variable star
light curve
machine learning
convolutional neural network
random forest
url https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4434/12/6/75
work_keys_str_mv AT almatakhmetali classificationofvariablestarlightcurveswithconvolutionalneuralnetwork
AT timurnamazbayev classificationofvariablestarlightcurveswithconvolutionalneuralnetwork
AT gulnursubebekova classificationofvariablestarlightcurveswithconvolutionalneuralnetwork
AT maratzaidyn classificationofvariablestarlightcurveswithconvolutionalneuralnetwork
AT aigerimakniyazova classificationofvariablestarlightcurveswithconvolutionalneuralnetwork
AT yeskendyrashimov classificationofvariablestarlightcurveswithconvolutionalneuralnetwork
AT nurzhanussipov classificationofvariablestarlightcurveswithconvolutionalneuralnetwork