Planet Hunters X: Searching for Nearby Neighbors of 75 Planet and Eclipsing Binary Candidates from the K2 Kepler Extended Mission

We present high-resolution observations of a sample of 75 K2 targets from Campaigns 1-3 using speckle interferometry on the Southern Astrophysical Research (SOAR) telescope and adaptive optics (AO) imaging at the Keck II telescope. The median SOAR $I$-band and Keck $K_s$-band detection limits at 1" were $\Delta m_{I}=4.4$~mag and $\Delta m_{K_s}=6.1$~mag, respectively. This sample includes 37 stars likely to host planets, 32 targets likely to be eclipsing binaries (EBs), and 6 other targets previously labeled as likely planetary false positives. We find nine likely physically bound companion stars within 3" of three candidate transiting exoplanet host stars and six likely EBs. Six of the nine detected companions are new discoveries; one of the six, EPIC 206061524, is associated with a planet candidate. Among the EB candidates, companions were only found near the shortest period ones ($P<3$ days), which is in line with previous results showing high multiplicity near short-period binary stars. This high-resolution data, including both the detected companions and the limits on potential unseen companions, will be useful in future planet vetting and stellar multiplicity rate studies for planets and binaries.Comment: Accepted in A

Planet Hunters. VIII. Characterization of 41 Long-Period Exoplanet Candidates from Kepler Archival Data

The census of exoplanets is incomplete for orbital distances larger than 1 AU. Here, we present 41 long-period planet candidates in 38 systems identified by Planet Hunters based on Kepler archival data (Q0-Q17). Among them, 17 exhibit only one transit, 14 have two visible transits and 10 have more than three visible transits. For planet candidates with only one visible transit, we estimate their orbital periods based on transit duration and host star properties. The majority of the planet candidates in this work (75%) have orbital periods that correspond to distances of 1-3 AU from their host stars. We conduct follow-up imaging and spectroscopic observations to validate and characterize planet host stars. In total, we obtain adaptive optics images for 33 stars to search for possible blending sources. Six stars have stellar companions within 4". We obtain high-resolution spectra for 6 stars to determine their physical properties. Stellar properties for other stars are obtained from the NASA Exoplanet Archive and the Kepler Stellar Catalog by Huber et al. (2014). We validate 7 planet candidates that have planet confidence over 0.997 (3-{\sigma} level). These validated planets include 3 single-transit planets (KIC-3558849b, KIC-5951458b, and KIC-8540376c), 3 planets with double transits (KIC-8540376b, KIC-9663113b, and KIC-10525077b), and 1 planet with 4 transits (KIC-5437945b). This work provides assessment regarding the existence of planets at wide separations and the associated false positive rate for transiting observation (17%-33%). More than half of the long-period planets with at least three transits in this paper exhibit transit timing variations up to 41 hours, which suggest additional components that dynamically interact with the transiting planet candidates. The nature of these components can be determined by follow-up radial velocity and transit observations.Comment: Published on ApJ, 815, 127 Notations of validated planets are changed in accordance with naming convention of NASA Exoplanet Archiv

A Population of Dipper Stars from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite Mission

Dipper stars are a classification of young stellar objects that exhibit dimming variability in their light curves, dropping in brightness by 10-50%, likely induced by occultations due to circumstellar disk material. This variability can be periodic, quasi-periodic, or aperiodic. Dipper stars have been discovered in young stellar associations via ground-based and space-based photometric surveys. We present the detection and characterization of the largest collection of dipper stars to date: 293 dipper stars, including 234 new dipper candidates. We have produced a catalog of these targets, which also includes young stellar variables that exhibit predominately bursting-like variability and symmetric variability (equal parts bursting and dipping). The total number of catalog sources is 414. These variable sources were found in a visual survey of TESS light curves, where dipping-like variability was observed. We found a typical age among our dipper sources of <5 Myr, with the age distribution peaking at ~2 Myr, and a tail of the distribution extending to ages older than 20 Myr. Regardless of the age, our dipper candidates tend to exhibit infrared excess, which is indicative of the presence of disks. TESS is now observing the ecliptic plane, which is rich in young stellar associations, so we anticipate many more discoveries in the TESS dataset. A larger sample of dipper stars would enhance the census statistics of light curve morphologies and dipper ages.Comment: 19 pages, 11 figures, 1 table (included in latex source), accepted for publication in ApJ

101 Eclipsing Quadruple Star Candidates Discovered in TESS Full Frame Images

We present our second catalog of quadruple star candidates, containing 101 systems discovered in TESS Full-Frame Image data. The targets were initially detected as eclipsing binary stars with the help of supervised machine learning methods applied to sectors Sectors 1 through 54. A dedicated team of citizen scientists subsequently identified through visual inspection two sets of eclipses following two different periods. All 101 systems presented here pass comprehensive photocenter motion tests confirming that both sets of eclipses originate from the target star. Some of the systems exhibit prominent eclipse time variations suggesting dynamical interactions between the two component binary stars. One target is an eclipsing quintuple candidate with a (2+1)+2 hierarchical configuration, such that the (2+1) subsystem produces eclipses on the triple orbit as well. Another has recently been confirmed as the second shortest period quadruple reported to date. This catalog provides ephemerides, eclipse depths and durations, sample statistics, and highlights potentially interesting targets for future studies.Comment: 38 pages, 21 figures, 2 tables. Table with targets available online at MNRA

A Compact Multi-Planet System With A Significantly Misaligned Ultra Short Period Planet

We report the discovery of a compact multi-planet system orbiting the relatively nearby (78pc) and bright ($K=8.9$) K-star, K2-266 (EPIC248435473). We identify up to six possible planets orbiting K2-266 with estimated periods of P$_b$ = 0.66, P$_{.02}$ = 6.1, P$_c$ = 7.8, P$_d$ = 14.7, P$_e$ = 19.5, and P$_{.06}$ = 56.7 days and radii of R$_P$ = 3.3 R$_{\oplus}$, 0.646 R$_{\oplus}$, 0.705 R$_{\oplus}$, 2.93 R$_{\oplus}$, 2.73 R$_{\oplus}$, and 0.90 R$_{\oplus}$, respectively. We are able to confirm the planetary nature of two of these planets (d & e) from analyzing their transit timing variations ($m_d= 8.9_{-3.8}^{+5.7} M_\oplus$ and $m_e=14.3_{-5.0}^{+6.4} M_\oplus$), confidently validate the planetary nature of two other planets (b & c), and classify the last two as planetary candidates (K2-266.02 & .06). From a simultaneous fit of all 6 possible planets, we find that K2-266 b's orbit has an inclination of 75.32$^{\circ}$ while the other five planets have inclinations of 87-90$^{\circ}$. This observed mutual misalignment may indicate that K2-266 b formed differently from the other planets in the system. The brightness of the host star and the relatively large size of the sub-Neptune sized planets d and e make them well-suited for atmospheric characterization efforts with facilities like the Hubble Space Telescope and upcoming James Webb Space Telescope. We also identify an 8.5-day transiting planet candidate orbiting EPIC248435395, a co-moving companion to K2-266.Comment: 18 pages, 12 figures, 7 tables, Accepted for Publication in the Astronomical Journa

BU Canis Minoris -- the Most Compact Known Flat Doubly Eclipsing Quadruple System

We have found that the 2+2 quadruple star system BU CMi is currently the most compact quadruple system known, with an extremely short outer period of only 121 days. The previous record holder was TIC 219006972 (Kostov et al. 2023), with a period of 168 days. The quadruple nature of BU CMi was established by Volkov et al. (2021), but they misidentified the outer period as 6.6 years. BU CMi contains two eclipsing binaries (EBs), each with a period near 3 days, and a substantial eccentricity of about 0.22. All four stars are within about 0.1 solar mass of 2.4 solar masses. Both binaries exhibit dynamically driven apsidal motion with fairly short apsidal periods of about 30 years, thanks to the short outer orbital period. The outer period of 121 days is found both from the dynamical perturbations, with this period imprinted on the eclipse timing variations (ETV) curve of each EB by the other binary, and by modeling the complex line profiles in a collection of spectra. We find that the three orbital planes are all mutually aligned to within 1 degree, but the overall system has an inclination angle near 83.5 degrees. We utilize a complex spectro-photodynamical analysis to compute and tabulate all the interesting stellar and orbital parameters of the system. Finally, we also find an unexpected dynamical perturbation on a timescale of several years whose origin we explore. This latter effect was misinterpreted by Volkov et al. (2021) and led them to conclude that the outer period was 6.6 years rather than the 121 days that we establish here.Comment: 19 pages, 8 pages, accepted to MNRA

Photodynamical analysis of the triply eclipsing hierarchical triple system EPIC 249432662

Using Campaign 15 data from the K2 mission, we have discovered a triply eclipsing triple star system: EPIC 249432662. The inner eclipsing binary system has a period of 8.23 d, with shallow ∼3 per cent eclipses. During the entire 80-d campaign, there is also a single eclipse event of a third body in the system that reaches a depth of nearly 50 per cent and has a total duration of 1.7 d, longer than for any previously known third-body eclipse involving unevolved stars. The binary eclipses exhibit clear eclipse timing variations. A combination of photodynamical modeling of the light curve, as well as seven follow-up radial velocity measurements, has led to a prediction of the subsequent eclipses of the third star with a period of 188 d. A campaign of follow-up ground-based photometry was able to capture the subsequent pair of third-body events as well as two further 8-d eclipses. A combined photo-spectro-dynamical analysis then leads to the determination of many of the system parameters. The 8-d binary consists of a pair of M stars, while most of the system light is from a K star around which the pair of M stars orbits