An examination of some characteristics of Kepler short- and long-cadence data

Abstract

A close comparison of Kepler short- and long-cadence data released prior to 2011November1 has shown some subtle differences that make the short-cadence data superior to their long-cadence counterparts. The inevitable results of a faster sampling rate are present: the short-cadence data provide greater time resolution for short-lived events like flares, and have a much higher Nyquist frequency than the long-cadence data; however, they also contain fewer high-amplitude peaks at low frequency and allow a more precise determination of pulsation frequencies, amplitudes and phases. The latter observation indicates that Kepler data are not normally distributed. Moreover, a close inspection of the Pre-search Data Conditioned long-cadence data shows residuals that have increased noise on time-scales important to asteroseismology, but unimportant to planet searches. © 2012 The Authors Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society © 2012 RAS.