The GAGE survey. I. Deep multi-band stellar variability characterization and automated classification toward Baade's window

M. Gholami; M. DallOra; A. Luna; J. Olivares Carvajal; S. Leccia; M. Marengo; G. Bono; V. Braga; A. Calamida; G. De Somma; G. Fiorentino; M. Marconi; D. Minniti; M. Monelli; I. Musella; V. Ripepi; P. B. Stetson; M. Brescia; R. Bonito; M. Di Criscienzo; M. Fabrizio; M. Jones; R. Molinaro; S. Nedhath; C. Salvo-Guajardo; M. Sanchez-Benavente; M. Tantalo

arXiv · 2610.23326

The GAGE survey. I. Deep multi-band stellar variability characterization and automated classification toward Baade's window

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Abstract

Context. Long-term photometric surveys of the Galactic bulge are vital for characterizing its stellar populations and structure, providing a foundation for next-generation facilities. Aims. We present initial results of the GalActic bulGe with plEiadi (GAGE) project, focusing on variable star discovery in Baade's Window. Methods. Using archival DECam (ugriz) data on the Blanco 4-m Telescope spanning six years, we applied high-precision PSF photometry. We developed a pipeline combining Generalized Lomb-Scargle analysis and polynomial light-curve modelling to derive mean multi-band magnitudes and amplitudes. Results. Quality cuts yield 6,304 high-confidence variable sources. We expand multi-band coverage for 4,568 sources in common with OGLE IV and uncover 1,736 (~28%) new candidates absent from OGLE IV. Using a Random Forest classifier, we categorize these sources, finding that 1,391 were also missing from both Gaia DR3 and VVV. This population is concentrated at the fainter end (i >= 17.5 mag), enabled by our deeper detection limits. Conclusions. Our pipeline effectively probes deep, highly crowded fields, expanding the variable star inventory of the inner Galaxy as a benchmark for Rubin-LSST.

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M. Gholami, M. DallOra, A. Luna, J. Olivares Carvajal, S. Leccia, M. Marengo, G. Bono, V. Braga, A. Calamida, G. De Somma, G. Fiorentino, M. Marconi, D. Minniti, M. Monelli, I. Musella, V. Ripepi, P. B. Stetson, M. Brescia, R. Bonito, M. Di Criscienzo, M. Fabrizio, M. Jones, R. Molinaro, S. Nedhath, C. Salvo-Guajardo, M. Sanchez-Benavente, M. Tantalo. 2026-10-16. The GAGE survey. I. Deep multi-band stellar variability characterization and automated classification toward Baade's window. https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.23326

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