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VaTEST III: Validation of eight potential super-earths from TESS data

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 April 2024

Priyashkumar Mistry*
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology, Surat, Gujarat, India School of Physics, Faculty of Science, University of New South Wales, Kensington, Sydney, NSW, Australia
Aniket Prasad
Affiliation:
Department of Earth and Space Science, Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram, India
Mousam Maity
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, Presidency University, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Kamlesh Pathak
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology, Surat, Gujarat, India
Sarvesh Gharat
Affiliation:
Centre for Machine Intelligence and Data Science, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, India
Georgios Lekkas
Affiliation:
Department of Computer Science, International Hellenic University, Kavala, Greece
Surendra Bhattarai
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata, Mohanpur, West Bengal, India
Dhruv Kumar
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, National Institute of Technology Agartala, Agartala, Tripura, India
Jack J. Lissauer
Affiliation:
NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, USA
Joseph D. Twicken
Affiliation:
NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, USA SETI Institute, Mountain View, CA, USA
Abderahmane Soubkiou
Affiliation:
Oukaimeden Observatory, High Energy Physics and Astrophysics Laboratory, Cadi Ayyad University, Marrakech, Morocco
Francisco J. Pozuelos
Affiliation:
Astrobiology Research Unit, Université de Liège, Liège, Belgium Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (IAA-CSIC), Granada, Spain
Jon Jenkins
Affiliation:
NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, USA
Keith Horne
Affiliation:
SUPA Physics and Astronomy, University of St. Andrews, Fife, UK
Steven Giacalone
Affiliation:
Department of Astronomy, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
Khalid Barkaoui
Affiliation:
Astrobiology Research Unit, Université de Liège, Liège, Belgium Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain
Mathilde Timmermans
Affiliation:
Astrobiology Research Unit, Université de Liège, Liège, Belgium
Cristilyn N. Watkins
Affiliation:
Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, Cambridge, MA, USA
Ramotholo Sefako
Affiliation:
South African Astronomical Observatory, Cape Town, South Africa
Karen A. Collins
Affiliation:
Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, Cambridge, MA, USA
David R. Ciardi
Affiliation:
NASA Exoplanet Science Institute, IPAC, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
Catherine A. Clark
Affiliation:
NASA Exoplanet Science Institute, IPAC, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
Boris S. Safonov
Affiliation:
Sternberg Astronomical Institute, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
Avi Shporer
Affiliation:
Department of Physics and Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
Joshua E. Schlieder
Affiliation:
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
Zouhair Benkhaldoun
Affiliation:
Oukaimeden Observatory, High Energy Physics and Astrophysics Laboratory, Cadi Ayyad University, Marrakech, Morocco
Chris Stockdale
Affiliation:
Hazelwood Observatory, Churchill, Australia
Carl Ziegler
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, Engineering and Astronomy, Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, TX, USA
Emily A. Gilbert
Affiliation:
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
Jehin Emmanuël
Affiliation:
Space Sciences, Technologies and Astrophysics Research (STAR) Institute, Université de Liège, Liège, Belgium
Felipe Murgas
Affiliation:
Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain Departamento de Astrofísica, Universidad de La Laguna (ULL), La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain
Ian J. M. Crossfield
Affiliation:
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA
Martin Paegert
Affiliation:
Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, Cambridge, MA, USA
Michael B. Lund
Affiliation:
NASA Exoplanet Science Institute, IPAC, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
Norio Narita
Affiliation:
Komaba Institute for Science, The University of Tokyo, Meguro, Tokyo, Japan Astrobiology Center, Mitaka, Tokyo, Japan Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias (IAC), La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain
Richard P. Schwarz
Affiliation:
Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, Cambridge, MA, USA
Robert F. Goeke
Affiliation:
Department of Physics and Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
Sergio B. Fajardo-Acosta
Affiliation:
Caltech/IPAC, Pasadena, CA, USA
Steve B. Howell
Affiliation:
NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, USA
Thiam-Guan Tan
Affiliation:
Perth Exoplanet Survey Telescope, Perth, WA, Australia
Thomas Barclay
Affiliation:
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
Yugo Kawai
Affiliation:
Department of Multi-Disciplinary Sciences, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Meguro, Tokyo, Japan
*
Corresponding author: Priyashkumar Mistry; Email: priyashmistry10@gmail.com

Abstract

NASA’s all-sky survey mission, the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), is specifically engineered to detect exoplanets that transit bright stars. Thus far, TESS has successfully identified approximately 400 transiting exoplanets, in addition to roughly 6 000 candidate exoplanets pending confirmation. In this study, we present the results of our ongoing project, the Validation of Transiting Exoplanets using Statistical Tools (VaTEST). Our dedicated effort is focused on the confirmation and characterisation of new exoplanets through the application of statistical validation tools. Through a combination of ground-based telescope data, high-resolution imaging, and the utilisation of the statistical validation tool known as TRICERATOPS, we have successfully discovered eight potential super-Earths. These planets bear the designations: TOI-238b (1.61$^{+0.09} _{-0.10}$ R$_\oplus$), TOI-771b (1.42$^{+0.11} _{-0.09}$ R$_\oplus$), TOI-871b (1.66$^{+0.11} _{-0.11}$ R$_\oplus$), TOI-1467b (1.83$^{+0.16} _{-0.15}$ R$_\oplus$), TOI-1739b (1.69$^{+0.10} _{-0.08}$ R$_\oplus$), TOI-2068b (1.82$^{+0.16} _{-0.15}$ R$_\oplus$), TOI-4559b (1.42$^{+0.13} _{-0.11}$ R$_\oplus$), and TOI-5799b (1.62$^{+0.19} _{-0.13}$ R$_\oplus$). Among all these planets, six of them fall within the region known as ‘keystone planets’, which makes them particularly interesting for study. Based on the location of TOI-771b and TOI-4559b below the radius valley we characterised them as likely super-Earths, though radial velocity mass measurements for these planets will provide more details about their characterisation. It is noteworthy that planets within the size range investigated herein are absent from our own solar system, making their study crucial for gaining insights into the evolutionary stages between Earth and Neptune.

Information

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Astronomical Society of Australia

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