/pdf/stellar-flares-from-the-first-tess-data-release-exploring-a-5b5of9qit3.pdf

Stellar Flares from the First Tess Data Release: Exploring a New Sample of M-dwarfs

We present a new method to detect planetary transits from time-series photometry, the transit least squares (TLS) algorithm. TLS searches for transit-like features while taking the stellar limb darkening and planetary ingress and egress into account. We have optimized TLS for both signal detection efficiency (SDE) of small planets and computational speed. TLS analyses the entire, unbinned phase-folded light curve. We compensated for the higher computational load by (i.) using algorithms such as “Mergesort” (for the trial orbital phases) and by (ii.) restricting the trial transit durations to a smaller range that encompasses all known planets, and using stellar density priors where available. A typical K2 light curve, including 80 d of observations at a cadence of 30 min, can be searched with TLS in ∼10 s real time on a standard laptop computer, as fast as the widely used box least squares (BLS) algorithm. We perform a transit injection-retrieval experiment of Earth-sized planets around sun-like stars using synthetic light curves with 110 ppm white noise per 30 min cadence, corresponding to a photometrically quiet K P  = 12 star observed with Kepler . We determine the SDE thresholds for both BLS and TLS to reach a false positive rate of 1% to be SDE = 7 in both cases. The resulting true positive (or recovery) rates are ∼93% for TLS and ∼76% for BLS, implying more reliable detections with TLS. We also test TLS with the K2 light curve of the TRAPPIST-1 system and find six of seven Earth-sized planets using an iterative search for increasingly lower signal detection efficiency, the phase-folded transit of the seventh planet being affected by a stellar flare. TLS is more reliable than BLS in finding any kind of transiting planet but it is particularly suited for the detection of small planets in long time series from Kepler , TESS, and PLATO. We make our python implementation of TLS publicly available.

https://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/pdf/2019/03/aa34672-18.pdf

Optimized transit detection algorithm to search for periodic transits of small planets

We perform a study of stellar flares for the 24,809 stars observed with 2 minute cadence during the first two months of the TESS mission. Flares may erode exoplanets' atmospheres and impact their habitability, but might also trigger the genesis of life around small stars. TESS provides a new sample of bright dwarf stars in our galactic neighborhood, collecting data for thousands of M-dwarfs that might host habitable exoplanets. Here, we use an automated search for flares accompanied by visual inspection. Then, our public allesfitter code robustly selects the appropriate model for potentially complex flares via Bayesian evidence. We identify 1228 flaring stars, 673 of which are M-dwarfs. Among 8695 flares in total, the largest superflare increased the stellar brightness by a factor of 16.1. Bolometric flare energies range from 10^31.0 to 10^36.9 erg, with a median of 10^33.1 erg. Furthermore, we study the flare rate and energy as a function of stellar type and rotation period. We solidify past findings that fast rotating M-dwarfs are the most likely to flare, and that their flare amplitude is independent of the rotation period. Finally, we link our results to criteria for prebiotic chemistry, atmospheric loss through coronal mass ejections, and ozone sterilization. Four of our flaring M dwarfs host exoplanet candidates alerted on by TESS, for which we discuss how these effects can impact life. With upcoming TESS data releases, our flare analysis can be expanded to almost all bright small stars, aiding in defining criteria for exoplanet habitability.

/pdf/stellar-flares-from-the-first-tess-data-release-exploring-a-1fnky96pnt.pdf

We present a new method to detect planetary transits from time-series photometry, the Transit Least Squares (TLS) algorithm. TLS searches for transit-like features while taking the stellar limb darkening and planetary ingress and egress into account. We have optimized TLS for both signal detection efficiency (SDE) of small planets and computational speed. TLS analyses the entire, unbinned phase-folded light curve. We compensate for the higher computational load by (i.) using algorithms like "Mergesort" (for the trial orbital phases) and by (ii.) restricting the trial transit durations to a smaller range that encompasses all known planets, and using stellar density priors where available. A typical K2 light curve, including 80d of observations at a cadence of 30min, can be searched with TLS in ~10s real time on a standard laptop computer, as fast as the widely used Box Least Squares (BLS) algorithm. We perform a transit injection-retrieval experiment of Earth-sized planets around sun-like stars using synthetic light curves with 110ppm white noise per 30min cadence, corresponding to a photometrically quiet KP=12 star observed with Kepler. We determine the SDE thresholds for both BLS and TLS to reach a false positive rate of 1% to be SDE~7 in both cases. The resulting true positive (or recovery) rates are ~93% for TLS and ~76% for BLS, implying more reliable detections with TLS. We also test TLS with the K2 light curve of the TRAPPIST-1 system and find six of seven Earth-sized planets using an iterative search for increasingly lower signal detection efficiency, the phase-folded transit of the seventh planet being affected by a stellar flare. TLS is more reliable than BLS in finding any kind of transiting planet but it is particularly suited for the detection of small planets in long time series from Kepler, TESS, and PLATO. We make our Python implementation of TLS publicly available.

/pdf/transit-least-squares-optimized-transit-detection-algorithm-4s15n9r15d.pdf

Transit Least Squares: Optimized transit detection algorithm to search for periodic transits of small planets

TESS is finding transiting planet candidates around bright, nearby stars across the entire sky. The large field-of-view, however, results in low spatial resolution, therefore multiple stars contribute to almost every TESS light curve. High-angular resolution imaging can detect the previously unknown companions to planetary candidate hosts that dilute the transit depths, lead to host star ambiguity, and in some cases are the source of false-positive transit signals. We use speckle imaging on SOAR to search for companions to 542 TESS planet candidate hosts in the Southern sky. We provide correction factors for the 117 systems with resolved companions due to photometric contamination. The contamination in TESS due to close binaries is similar to that found in surveys of Kepler planet candidates. For the solar-type population, we find a deep deficit of close binary systems with projected stellar separations less than 100 AU among planet candidate hosts (44 observed binaries compared to 124 expected based on field binary statistics). The close binary suppression among TESS planet candidate hosts is similar to that seen for the more distant Kepler population. We also find a large surplus of the TESS planet candidates in wide binary systems, detected in both SOAR and Gaia DR2 (119 observed binaries compared to 77 expected). These wide binaries host almost exclusively giant planets, however, suggesting orbital migration, caused by perturbations from the stellar companion, may lead to planet-planet scattering and suppress the population of small planets in wide binaries. Both trends are also apparent in the M-dwarf planet candidate hosts.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-3881/ab55e9/pdf

SOAR TESS Survey. I. Sculpting of TESS Planetary Systems by Stellar Companions

The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) will conduct a search for Earth's closest cousins starting in early 2018 and is expected to discover approximately 1,000 small planets with R(sub p) less than 4 (solar radius) and measure the masses of at least 50 of these small worlds. The Science Processing Operations Center (SPOC) is being developed at NASA Ames Research Center based on the Kepler science pipeline and will generate calibrated pixels and light curves on the NASA Advanced Supercomputing Division's Pleiades supercomputer. The SPOC will also search for periodic transit events and generate validation products for the transit-like features in the light curves. All TESS SPOC data products will be archived to the Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes (MAST).

/pdf/the-tess-science-processing-operations-center-2gbobhrrvn.pdf

Cory Heiges

Papers

The TESS Science Processing Operations Center