2006ApJ...652..610P -
Astrophys. J., 652, 610-628 (2006/November-3)
Bayesian estimation of hardness ratios: modeling and computations.
PARK T., KASHYAP V.L., SIEMIGINOWSKA A., VAN DYK D.A., ZEZAS A., HEINKE C. and WARGELIN B.J.
Abstract (from CDS):
A commonly used measure to summarize the nature of a photon spectrum is the so-called hardness ratio, which compares the numbers of counts observed in different passbands. The hardness ratio is especially useful to distinguish between and categorize weak sources as a proxy for detailed spectral fitting. However, in this regime classical methods of error propagation fail, and the estimates of spectral hardness become unreliable. Here we develop a rigorous statistical treatment of hardness ratios that properly deals with detected photons as independent Poisson random variables and correctly deals with the non-Gaussian nature of the error propagation. The method is Bayesian in nature and thus can be generalized to carry out a multitude of source-population-based analyses. We verify our method with simulation studies and compare it with the classical method. We apply this method to real-world examples, such as the identification of candidate quiescent low-mass X-ray binaries in globular clusters and tracking the time evolution of a flare on a low-mass star.
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Journal keyword(s):
Methods: Statistical - Stars: Flare - X-Rays: Binaries
Simbad objects:
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