Accuracy of the maximum entropy method

Abstract

Although the maximum entropy method is capable of giving the period of a pure sine wave with very few data points, it is very sensitive to noise. The half power width of a spectral peak obtained by this method is proportional to (σn/A)², where σn is the standard deviation of the noise and A is the semiamplitude of the light curve. More serious are the consequences of a systematic shift of the spectral peak, by an amount proportional to the same factor. A simple autocorrelation method that is free of systematic errors is also discussed.