DEATHSTAR: A system for confirming planets and identifying false positive signals in TESS data using ground-based time domain surveys

2023/12/13 by Gabrielle Ross, Ross, Gabrielle, Andrew Vanderburg +11 · 2 voices · 1 citation
Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomical Observations and Instrumentation #Astronomy and Astrophysical Research #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #astro-ph.EP #astro-ph.IM #astro-ph.SR

paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2312.08373

openalex publication_date 2023/12/13 · openalex created_date 2023/12/15 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/04

Abstract

We present a technique for verifying or refuting exoplanet candidates from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) mission by searching for nearby eclipsing binary stars using higher-resolution archival images from ground-based telescopes. Our new system is called Detecting and Evaluating A Transit: finding its Hidden Source in Time-domain Archival Records (DEATHSTAR). We downloaded time series of cutout images from two ground-based telescope surveys (the Zwicky Transient Facility, or ZTF, and the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System, or ATLAS), analyzed the images to create apertures and measure the brightness of each star in the field, and plotted the resulting light curves using custom routines. Thus far, we have confirmed on-target transits for 17 planet candidates, and identified 35 false positives and located their actual transit sources. With future improvements to automation, DEATHSTAR will be scaleable to run on the majority of TOIs.

Cited by

• Searching for GEMS: Confirmation of TOI-5573b, a Cool, Saturn-like Planet Orbiting An M-dwarf

Discussions

• As far as acronyms go, this one is a winner. Our new system is called Detecting and Evaluating A Transit: finding its Hidden Source in Time-domain Archival Records (DEATHSTAR). arxiv.org/abs/2312.083 [bsky, 27 points, 0 comments]
• # RevengeOfThe6th ⭐️ Best Star Wars-themed Astro Acronym of the Year, in the Dark Side Category ⭐️ For a system that verifies or refutes exoplanets: DEATHSTAR - Detecting and Evaluating A Transit: fin [mastodon, 0 points, 0 comments]

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