![Sky positions of the TESS M&M sample (shown in a full-sky Mollweide projection), with number of single-sector TESS light curves through Year 6 as colorbar. -- [astro-ph.EP]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/The-Occurrence.png?fit=1200%2C672&ssl=1)
[astro-ph.EP] We present the first determination of the occurrence of transiting circumbinary planets (CBPs) in TESS data. Since tight binaries represent a constrained environment relative to single stars, CBPs contribute to our understanding of planet formation and evolution.
We applied our custom single-transit detection algorithm to the recently-published sample of TESS eclipsing binaries containing two M-dwarfs (M&Ms), finding only one signal attributable to a new candidate planet-sized object.
We further performed sensitivity analysis and applied corrections to account for the TESS window function to arrive at our survey completeness. We find a 95% confidence level (CL) upper limit on the occurrence rate of coplanar CBPs with sizes in the range 2−16R⊕ and with orbital periods up to 600 days of 33.0%.
If the mutual inclinations of CBPs are isotropically distributed with respect to the binaries, the occurrence rate upper limit increases to 40.2%. Our occurrence rate estimates are limited in part by the misalignment of our short-period binaries relative to the line of sight.
Dominic Oddo, Diana Dragomir, David V. Martin, Wata Tubthong, Te Han
Comments: 20 pages (plus references), 11 figures, submitted to AAS journals
Subjects: Earth and Planetary Astrophysics (astro-ph.EP)
Cite as: arXiv:2610.22625 [astro-ph.EP] (or arXiv:2610.22625v1 [astro-ph.EP] for this version)
https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2610.22625
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Submission history
From: Dominic Oddo
[v1] Thu, 15 Oct 2026 20:27:11 UTC (1,631 KB)
https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.22625
Astrobiology,
