Wide-field photometric transit surveys for Jupiter-sized planets are
inundated by astrophysical false positives, namely systems that contain an
eclipsing binary and mimic the desired photometric signature. We discuss
several examples of such false alarms. These systems were initially identified
as candidates by the PSST instrument at Lowell Observatory. For three of the
examples, we present follow-up spectroscopy that demonstrates that these
systems consist of (1) an M-dwarf in eclipse in front of a larger star, (2) two
main-sequence stars presenting grazing-incidence eclipses, and (3) the blend of
an eclipsing binary with the light of a third, brighter star. For an additional
candidate, we present multi-color follow-up photometry during a subsequent time
of eclipse, which reveals that this candidate consists of a blend of an
eclipsing binary and a physically unassociated star. We discuss a couple
indicators from publicly-available catalogs that can be used to identify which
candidates are likely giant stars, a large source of the contaminants in such
surveys.Comment: 10 pages, 9 figures, to appear in AIP Conf Proc: The Search for Other
Worlds, eds. S. S. Holt & D. Demin