Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Guzik, Joyce A., Whitley, Claire, Moore, Nova, Marshall, Madeline, Jackiewicz, Jason
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.02421
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866908861415292928
author Guzik, Joyce A.
Whitley, Claire
Moore, Nova
Marshall, Madeline
Jackiewicz, Jason
author_facet Guzik, Joyce A.
Whitley, Claire
Moore, Nova
Marshall, Madeline
Jackiewicz, Jason
contents The Alpha Cygni (ACYG) variables are blue-white supergiants which display low-amplitude brightness variations of around 0.1 magnitude. The prototype Deneb shows quasi-periodic variations of around 12 days, interrupted by intervals of erratic variability, and occasionally large excursions in amplitude. To gain insight on the behavior of these variables, we examined 27-day light curves from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) for 75 ACYG variables south of the ecliptic plane which are being revisited by TESS in 2025-2026. We use the web-based TESS Extractor app for screening TESS light curves. We identified ten stars with similarities to Deneb that may be good candidates for ground-based monitoring. We approximated the location of these stars on the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, and find most lie below the Luminous Blue Variables, are cooler than the beta Cephei variables, and are hotter than the RV Tauri stars. We also compare light curves processed with several different pipelines available on the Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes (MAST) and comment on their utility for ACYG stars.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2603_02421
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Alpha Cygni Variables as Seen from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite
Guzik, Joyce A.
Whitley, Claire
Moore, Nova
Marshall, Madeline
Jackiewicz, Jason
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
The Alpha Cygni (ACYG) variables are blue-white supergiants which display low-amplitude brightness variations of around 0.1 magnitude. The prototype Deneb shows quasi-periodic variations of around 12 days, interrupted by intervals of erratic variability, and occasionally large excursions in amplitude. To gain insight on the behavior of these variables, we examined 27-day light curves from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) for 75 ACYG variables south of the ecliptic plane which are being revisited by TESS in 2025-2026. We use the web-based TESS Extractor app for screening TESS light curves. We identified ten stars with similarities to Deneb that may be good candidates for ground-based monitoring. We approximated the location of these stars on the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, and find most lie below the Luminous Blue Variables, are cooler than the beta Cephei variables, and are hotter than the RV Tauri stars. We also compare light curves processed with several different pipelines available on the Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes (MAST) and comment on their utility for ACYG stars.
title Alpha Cygni Variables as Seen from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite
topic Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.02421