A uniform transit survey of 461 ExoFOP M-dwarf TOI hosts: Follow-up prioritization and new transit candidates

Abstract

Context. M dwarfs are favorable hosts for small transiting planets. A transit-detection and statistical-validation pipeline was previously developed and validated at the photometric noise frontier, on M3-M6 dwarfs observed in few sectors. Aims. That pipeline is applied uniformly to the full active ExoFOP M-dwarf TOI population, 461 hosts (M0-M6) each hosting a confirmed planet (CP) or planet candidate (PC), to test its recovery and classification of the cataloged signals and to prioritize the candidates for follow-up. Methods. The pipeline chains two complementary blind searches merged per host, a full-baseline transit-least-squares scan and a segmented, semi-coherent search across the gapped multiyear baseline. It adds an event-time-coherence test that rejects signals with incoherent per-transit timing (window-function aliases of stellar variability), all-sector TRICERATOPS false-positive probabilities, and Gaia DR3 background and aperture-localization analysis. Results. Of 193 in-range CP, 165 (85.5%) are re-detected, none rejected as a false positive, and 147 (76.2%) reach a Gaia-verified disposition. Of 286 in-range PC, 225 (78.7%) are re-detected, of which 11 are flagged as false positives and 87 ranked as planet candidates for follow-up. Beyond the catalog, 13 new transit candidates of 0.7-2.0 Earth radii emerge, including two new members of a compact, dynamically stable near-resonant three-planet candidate system; four cataloged single- or dual-transit TOIs have their orbital periods determined, two of them in the optimistic habitable zone. Conclusions. The recoveries and new candidates are released as a uniform, prioritized follow-up target list.