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1. Citizen ASAS-SN Data Release. I. Variable Star Classification Using Citizen Science

   https://doi.org/10.1088/1538-3873/ac44f0  

   Christy, C. T. ; Jayasinghe, T. ; Stanek, K. Z. ; Kochanek, C. S. ; Way, Z. ; Prieto, J. L. ; Shappee, B. J. ; Holoien, T. W.-S. ; Thompson, T. A. ; Schneider, A. ( February 2022 , Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific)

   Abstract We present the first results from Citizen ASAS-SN, a citizen science project for the All-Sky Automated Survey for Supernovae (ASAS-SN) hosted on the Zooniverse platform. Citizen ASAS-SN utilizes the newer, deeper, higher cadence ASAS-SN g -band data and tasks volunteers to classify periodic variable star candidates based on their phased light curves. We started from 40,640 new variable candidates from an input list of ∼7.4 million stars with δ < −60° and the volunteers identified 10,420 new discoveries which they classified as 4234 pulsating variables, 3132 rotational variables, 2923 eclipsing binaries, and 131 variables flagged as Unknown. They classified known variable stars with an accuracy of 89% for pulsating variables, 81% for eclipsing binaries, and 49% for rotational variables. We examine user performance, agreement between users, and compare the citizen science classifications with our machine learning classifier updated for the g -band light curves. In general, user activity correlates with higher classification accuracy and higher user agreement. We used the user’s “Junk” classifications to develop an effective machine learning classifier to separate real from false variables, and there is a clear path for using this “Junk” training set to significantly improve our primary machine learning classifier. We also illustrate the value of Citizen ASAS-SN for identifying unusual variables with several examples. 

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2. The ASAS-SN catalogue of variable stars IX: The spectroscopic properties of Galactic variable stars

   https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stab114  

   Jayasinghe, T ; Kochanek, C S ; Stanek, K Z ; Shappee, B J ; Holoien, T W-S ; Thompson, Todd A ; Prieto, J L ; Dong, Subo ; Pawlak, M ; Pejcha, O ; et al ( March 2021 , Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society)

   null (Ed.)

   ABSTRACT The All-Sky Automated Survey for Supernovae provides long baseline (∼4 yr) V-band light curves for sources brighter than V≲ 17 mag across the whole sky. We produced V-band light curves for a total of ∼61.5 million sources and systematically searched these sources for variability. We identified ∼426 000 variables, including ∼219 000 new discoveries. Most (${\sim }74{ per\ cent}$) of our discoveries are in the Southern hemisphere. Here, we use spectroscopic information from LAMOST, GALAH, RAVE, and APOGEE to study the physical and chemical properties of these variables. We find that metal-poor eclipsing binaries have orbital periods that are shorter than metal-rich systems at fixed temperature. We identified rotational variables on the main-sequence, red giant branch, and the red clump. A substantial fraction (${\gtrsim }80{ per\ cent}$) of the rotating giants have large $v$rot or large near-ultraviolet excesses also indicative of fast rotation. The rotational variables have unusual abundances suggestive of analysis problems. Semiregular variables tend to be lower metallicity ($\rm [Fe/H]{\sim }-0.5$) than most giant stars. We find that the APOGEE DR16 temperatures of oxygen-rich semiregular variables are strongly correlated with the WRP − WJK colour index for $\rm T_{eff}\lesssim 3800$ K. Using abundance measurements from APOGEE DR16, we find evidence for Mg and N enrichment in the semiregular variables. We find that the Aluminum abundances of the semiregular variables are strongly correlated with the pulsation period, where the variables with $\rm P\gtrsim 60$ d are significantly depleted in Al. 

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3. A Catalog of M-dwarf Flares with ASAS-SN

   https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ab793a  

   Rodríguez Martínez, Romy ; Lopez, Laura A. ; Shappee, Benjamin J. ; Schmidt, Sarah J. ; Jayasinghe, Tharindu ; Kochanek, Christopher S. ; Auchettl, Katie ; Holoien, Thomas W.-S. ( April 2020 , The Astrophysical Journal)
4. V -band photometry of asteroids from ASAS-SN: Finding asteroids with slow spin

   https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202140759  

   Hanuš, J. ; Pejcha, O. ; Shappee, B. J. ; Kochanek, C. S. ; Stanek, K. Z. ; Holoien, T. W.-S. ( October 2021 , Astronomy & Astrophysics)

   We present V -band photometry of the 20 000 brightest asteroids using data from the All-Sky Automated Survey for Supernovae (ASAS-SN) between 2012 and 2018. We were able to apply the convex inversion method to more than 5000 asteroids with more than 60 good measurements in order to derive their sidereal rotation periods, spin axis orientations, and shape models. We derive unique spin state and shape solutions for 760 asteroids, including 163 new determinations. This corresponds to a success rate of about 15%, which is significantly higher than the success rate previously achieved using photometry from surveys. We derive the first sidereal rotation periods for additional 69 asteroids. We find good agreement in spin periods and pole orientations for objects with prior solutions. We obtain a statistical sample of asteroid physical properties that is sufficient for the detection of several previously known trends, such as the underrepresentation of slow rotators in current databases, and the anisotropic distribution of spin orientations driven by the nongravitational forces. We also investigate the dependence of spin orientations on the rotation period. Since 2018, ASAS-SN has been observing the sky with higher cadence and a deeper limiting magnitude, which will lead to many more new solutions in just a few years. 

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5. The ASAS-SN catalogue of variable stars – VII. Contact binaries are different above and below the Kraft break

   https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/staa518  

   Jayasinghe, T ; Stanek, K Z ; Kochanek, C S ; Shappee, B J ; Pinsonneault, M H ; Holoien, T W-S ; Thompson, Todd A ; Prieto, J L ; Pawlak, M ; Pejcha, O ; et al ( April 2020 , Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society)

   ABSTRACT We characterize ${\sim } 71\, 200$ W Ursae Majoris (UMa) type (EW) contact binaries, including ${\sim } 12\, 600$ new discoveries, using All-Sky Automated Survey for SuperNovae (ASAN-SN)V-band all-sky light curves along with archival data from Gaia, 2MASS, AllWISE, LAMOST, GALAH, RAVE, and APOGEE. There is a clean break in the EW period–luminosity relation at $\rm \log (\it P/{\rm d})\,{\simeq }\,{\rm -0.30}$, separating the longer period, early-type EW binaries from the shorter period, late-type systems. The two populations are even more cleanly separated in the space of period and effective temperature, by $T_{\rm eff}=6710\,{\rm K}-1760\,{\rm K}\, \log (P/0.5\,{\rm d})$. Early-type and late-type EW binaries follow opposite trends in Teff with orbital period. For longer periods, early-type EW binaries are cooler, while late-type systems are hotter. We derive period–luminosity relationships in the WJK, V, Gaia DR2 G, J, H, Ks, and W1 bands for the late-type and early-type EW binaries separated by both period and effective temperature, and by period alone. The dichotomy of contact binaries is almost certainly related to the Kraft break and the related changes in envelope structure, winds, and angular momentum loss. 

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