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

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.