Results from the Wide Angle Search for Planets Prototype (WASP0) II: Stellar Variability in the Pegasus Field

Kane, Stephen R.; Lister, T. A.; Cameron, Andrew Collier; Horne, Keith; James, David; Pollacco, Don L.; Street, Rachel A.; Tsapras, Yiannis

Results from the Wide Angle Search for Planets Prototype (WASP0) II: Stellar Variability in the Pegasus Field

Authors

Kane, Stephen R.

Lister, T. A.

Cameron, Andrew Collier

Description

Recent wide-field photometric surveys which target a specific field for long durations are ideal for studying both long and short period stellar variability. Here we report on 75 variable stars detected during observations of a field in Pegasus using the WASP0 instrument, 73 of which are new discoveries. The variables detected include 16 delta Scuti stars, 34 eclipsing binaries, 3 BY Draconis stars, and 4 RR Lyraes. We estimate that the fraction of stars in the field brighter than V ~ 13.5 exhibiting variable behaviour with an amplitude greater than 0.6% rms is ~ 0.4%. These results are compared with other wide-field stellar variability surveys and implications for detecting transits due to extra-solar planets are discussed.
10 pages, 8 figures, published in MNRAS