Exoplanetology: Exoplanets & Exomoons

Validation Of Up To Seven TESS Planet Candidates Through Multi-colour Transit Photometry Using MuSCAT2 Data

By Keith Cowing
Status Report
astro-ph.EP
September 12, 2024
Filed under , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Validation Of Up To Seven TESS Planet Candidates Through Multi-colour Transit Photometry Using MuSCAT2 Data
Location of the validated and non-validated planet candidates in the period-radius diagram. The red polygons show the non-validated candidates, the dark-green polygons show the validated planets, and the orange polygons show the candidates which validation status is only suggestive. The grey circles show the population of all validated planets with radius uncertainties below 10%, and the blue circles highlight those planets orbiting M-type stars. The blue-shaded region shows the Neptune desert as defined by Mazeh et al. (2016). However, in recent years, this region has become more populated, and the boundaries of the desert do not match the typical definitions any longer. Thus, we suggest the pink-shaded area, where the scarcity of planets is noteworthy, as an updated definition of the Neptune desert based on the current population of known planets. — astro-ph.EP

The TESS mission searches for transiting exoplanets by monitoring the brightness of hundreds of thousands of stars across the entire sky.

M-type planet hosts are ideal targets for this mission due to their smaller size and cooler temperatures, which makes it easier to detect smaller planets near or within their habitable zones. Additionally, M~dwarfs have a smaller contrast ratio between the planet and the star, making it easier to measure the planet’s properties accurately.

Here, we report the validation analysis of 13 TESS exoplanet candidates orbiting around M dwarfs. We studied the nature of these candidates through a multi-colour transit photometry transit analysis using several ground-based instruments (MuSCAT2, MuSCAT3, and LCO-SINISTRO), high-spatial resolution observations, and TESS light curves. We present the validation of five new planetary systems: TOI-1883b, TOI-2274b, TOI2768b, TOI-4438b, and TOI-5319b, along with compelling evidence of a planetary nature for TOIs 2781b and 5486b.

We also present an empirical definition for the Neptune desert boundaries. The remaining six systems could not be validated due to large true radius values overlapping with the brown dwarf regime or, alternatively, the presence of chromaticity in the MuSCAT2 light curves.

A. Peláez-Torres, E. Esparza-Borges, E. Pallé, H. Parviainen, F. Murgas, G. Morello, M.R. Zapatero-Osorio, J. Korth, N. Narita, A. Fukui, I. Carleo, R. Luque, N. Abreu García, K. Barkaoui, A. Boyle, V.J.S. Béjar, Y. Calatayud-Borras, D.V. Cheryasov, J.L. Christiansen, D.R. Ciardi, G. Enoc, Z. Essack, I. Fukuda, G. Furesz, D. Galán, S. Geraldía-González, S. Giacalone, H. Gill, E.J. Gonzales, Y. Hayashi, K. Ikuta, K. Isogai, T. Kagetani, Y. Kawai, K. Kawauchi, P. Klagyvik, T. Kodama, N. Kusakabe, A. Laza-Ramos, J.P. de Leon, J.H. Livingston, M.B. Lund, A. Madrigal-Aguado, P. Meni, M. Mori, S. Muñoz Torres, J. Orell-Miquel, M. Puig, G. Ricker, M. Sánchez-Benavente, A.B. Savel, J.E. Schlieder, R.P. Schwarz, R. Sefako, P. Sosa-Guillén, M. Stangret, C. Stockdale, M. Tamura, Y. Terada, J.D. Twicken, N. Watanabe, J. Winn, S.G. Zheltoukhov, C. Ziegler, Y. Zou

Subjects: Earth and Planetary Astrophysics (astro-ph.EP)
Cite as: arXiv:2409.07400 [astro-ph.EP] (or arXiv:2409.07400v1 [astro-ph.EP] for this version)
https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2409.07400
Focus to learn more
Submission history
From: Alberto Peláez Torres
[v1] Wed, 11 Sep 2024 16:40:00 UTC (151 KB)
https://arxiv.org/abs/2409.07400
Astrobiology, Astronomy,

Keith Cowing

Explorers Club Fellow, ex-NASA Space Station Payload manager/space biologist, Away Teams, Journalist, Lapsed climber, Synaesthete, Na’Vi-Jedi-Freman-Buddhist-mix, ASL, Devon Island and Everest Base Camp veteran, (he/him) 🖖🏻

Follow on Twitter
MORE FROM Exoplanetology: Exoplanets & Exomoons