TESS QLP Star List Files

Part I. Introduction

This document describes how to install a TESS QLP star list file for a sector and then use it to build a TESS QLP light curve directory with LcGenerator. Only stars observed at a 30-minute cadence or at a 10-minute cadence are available in a star list file. Stars observed at a 2-minute cadence or at a 20-second cadence are omitted. If you have any questions, please contact the LcTools author at aschmitt@comcast.net.

Part II. Installing a TESS QLP Star List File

1. If star list directory "<drive>:\Stars_TESS_QLP" does not exist, create it. Any target drive can be used. For example, "C:\Stars_TESS_QLP".

2. Using the tables below, find the star list ZIP file you wish to access. Note that there is one table for high numbered star IDs (those with 6 or more digits) and one table for low numbered star IDs (those with 3-5 digits). High numbered star IDs can be used with LcTools V18.3 and above. Low numbered star IDs can only be used with LcTools V19.0 and above. Using a version below 19.0 on low numbered star IDs will cause runtime errors. 

Right-click on the file link and select “Open link in new window” from the pop-up menu. Move the window so you can still see these instructions.

Primary TESS QLP Star List ZIP Files (High Numbered Star IDs -- 6+ digits) 

Supplementary TESS QLP Star List ZIP Files (Low Numbered Star IDs -- 3-5 digits) 

3. You will be taken to Google Drive on the Web. Click on the Download icon located in the top right corner of the page. The icon should look like this:

4. Once your Web browser has downloaded the ZIP file, click on the file to open it. Then extract (unzip) all the star list files into directory "<drive>:\Stars_TESS_QLP". Note that each star list file in the directory contains up to 25,000 sequentially numbered star IDs for a part of a sector. Files have the name "Stars_S<xxx>_P<yy>.txt" where <xxx> is the 3-digit sector number and <yy> is the 2-digit part number within the sector.

Part III. Using LcGenerator to Build a TESS QLP Light Curve Directory

1. Start LcGenerator.

2. In the "Lightcurve Directory" field, type in pathname "<drive>:\Lightcurves_TESS_QLP_S<xxx>_P<yy>" where <drive> is replaced with a target drive letter, <xxx> is replaced with a 3-digit 0 padded sector number and <yy> is replaced with a 2-digit 0 padded part number. For example, "C:\Lightcurves_TESS_QLP_S026_P01".

3. In the Project field, select TESS_QLP from the drop-down list.

4. Under the "Star List File" field, click the Select button. In the subsequent dialog box, navigate to directory "<drive>:\Stars_TESS_QLP" then select star list file "Stars_S<xxx>_P<yy>.txt". The sector and part numbers in the star list file must match the sector and part numbers in the light curve directory. For example, "Stars_S026_P01.txt".

5. In the Periods group box, click the Select radio button then type in the target sector number. The sector number must match the sector number in the light curve directory and star list file excluding the leading "0"s. For example, "26".

6. Select an applicable cadence (Long or Short). Long is the default. If Short is selected, choose a bin size from the drop-down list. If you intend to run LcSignalFinder later on, a value of 2 points per hour is recommended. 

7. Select an applicable quality filter. For optimal results, the second button is strongly recommended.

8. Click the "Start Job" button to begin building light curve files in the specified directory. A sample LcGenerator window is shown below:

See the "LcGenerator User Guide" for details. The document can be opened within LcGenerator by selecting "Help→User Guide" from the menu bar.

9. While the job is executing, you can use LcViewer to view the light curve files built thus far by LcGenerator. See section "Using Work Groups" in the "LcViewer User Guide". The document can be opened within LcViewer by selecting "Help→User Guide" from the menu bar.