Optimising Detrending and Transit-Search Methods for Exoplanet Detection in KELT-South Light Curves

Project Description:

This project will investigate how best to prepare and analyse KELT-South light curves for the detection of exoplanet transit signals. The student will compare different detrending approaches for removing systematic noise and then test two widely used transit-search methods, Box Least Squares and Transit Least Squares, to determine which combination performs best. Using real survey data and synthetic signal injection tests, the project will introduce the student to time-series analysis, exoplanet detection methods, and the careful quantitative evaluation of scientific algorithms.

Research Area:

Astronomy

Project Level:

Honours

This Project Is Offered At The Following Node(s):

(UCT)

Special Requirements:

Familiarity with the Linux command line and Bash scripting. Python programming. Familiarity with FITS files, source extraction and lightcurve reduction methods.