Multiband neural network classification of ZTF light curves as LSST proxies

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Main Authors: Szklenár, Tamás, Bódi, Attila, Szabó, Róbert
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Szklenár, Tamás
Bódi, Attila
Szabó, Róbert
author_facet Szklenár, Tamás
Bódi, Attila
Szabó, Róbert
contents In this project we use data obtained by Zwicky Transient Facility to develop and test a neural-network-based, multiband classification algorithm to classify periodic variable stars (i.e. pulsating variable stars and eclipsing binaries). The aim is to utilize the algorithm on LSST data once they become available. Phase-folded light curve images and period information were used from five different variable star types: Classical and Type II Cepheids, δ Scuti stars, eclipsing binaries, and RR Lyrae stars. The data is taken from the 17th data release of ZTF, from which we used two passbands, g and r in this project. The periods were calculated from the raw data and this information was used as an additional numerical input in the neural network. For the training and testing process a supervised machine learning method was created, the neural network contains Convolutional Neural Networks concatenated with Fully Connected Layers. During the training-validation process the training accuracy reached 99% and the validation accuracy peaked at 95.6%. At the test classification phase three variable star types out of the 5 classes were classified with around 99% of accuracy, the other two also had very high accuracy, 89.6% and 93.6%.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2512_13395
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Multiband neural network classification of ZTF light curves as LSST proxies
Szklenár, Tamás
Bódi, Attila
Szabó, Róbert
Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
In this project we use data obtained by Zwicky Transient Facility to develop and test a neural-network-based, multiband classification algorithm to classify periodic variable stars (i.e. pulsating variable stars and eclipsing binaries). The aim is to utilize the algorithm on LSST data once they become available. Phase-folded light curve images and period information were used from five different variable star types: Classical and Type II Cepheids, δ Scuti stars, eclipsing binaries, and RR Lyrae stars. The data is taken from the 17th data release of ZTF, from which we used two passbands, g and r in this project. The periods were calculated from the raw data and this information was used as an additional numerical input in the neural network. For the training and testing process a supervised machine learning method was created, the neural network contains Convolutional Neural Networks concatenated with Fully Connected Layers. During the training-validation process the training accuracy reached 99% and the validation accuracy peaked at 95.6%. At the test classification phase three variable star types out of the 5 classes were classified with around 99% of accuracy, the other two also had very high accuracy, 89.6% and 93.6%.
title Multiband neural network classification of ZTF light curves as LSST proxies
topic Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.13395