I have sets of data of different deep sky objects. My job is to check for any periodicity.
I use IDL to run an FFT and wavelet methods to check for a signal. To test my code I ran the IDL built in FFT operation on a sine wave, my code works.
I then add noise to the sine wave and increase the noise until I cant distinguish the frequency peak in the FFT output.
My question is what mathematical method can I use to say 'yes there is a signal and this is its frequency' or 'no there is no signal' ? Can or should I get a percent of certainty ?
This post is very close to what I'm asking, but I only have one data set for an object so how could I make a ROC curve?: What statistic is used to determine presence of a signal in noise?
Also I think I dont want a ROC curve. I will respond to any question you may have about my question. Thank you very much for your help. I am currently do research at UC Santa Cruz as an undergraduate.