An extensive study of the photometric behaviour of RV Tauri variables

Abstract

The project of time series analysis for the photometric observations of a representative group of RV Tauri type stars is described. This class of variables consists of about 100 supergiants in the Milky Way. Their light curves show in general two unequal minima with several individual features which are not explained by now. The complementary methods of periodogram, scalegram and wavelet analysis as well as statistically optimal ts have been applied. This research will result in an atlas of the light curves within the time and phase domains. In addition, a catalog of the observational characteristics of variability including the time and magnitude of the extrema for the program stars will be computed. Statistical correlations between these characteristics will give a strict observational test for the theoretical models explaining the RV Tauri phenomenon.