Pm. Cincotta et al., ASTRONOMICAL TIME-SERIES ANALYSIS .1. A SEARCH FOR PERIODICITY USING INFORMATION ENTROPY, The Astrophysical journal, 449(1), 1995, pp. 231-235
In this paper we present the application of a new algorithm that takes
advantage of the information entropy's properties for the search of p
eriodicity in astronomical time series. It is based on the idea that t
he light curve constructed using the correct period is ordered, while
all the other light curves are not. All other methods based on statist
ical analysis of the ''appearance'' of the light curve lack in mathema
tical proofs; on the contrary, the one presented here has a consistent
mathematical formulation, while it is computationally very fast, simp
le, and intuitive. In this paper we show the results of applying this
algorithm to synthetic data and to real observations of two variable s
tars.