J/A+A/705/A5 TTV analysis of single-planet TESS systems (Naponiello, 2026)
A homogeneous transit-timing-variation investigation of all TESS systems with
a confirmed single-transiting planet.
Naponiello L.
<Astron. Astrophys. 705, A5 (2026)>
=2026A&A...705A...5N 2026A&A...705A...5N (SIMBAD/NED BibCode)
ADC_Keywords: Stars, double and multiple ; Exoplanets ; Optical ;
Binaries, orbits
Keywords: methods: data analysis - techniques: photometric -
planets and satellites: detection -
planets and satellites: dynamical evolution and stability -
planets and satellites: fundamental parameters
Abstract:
Transit-Timing Variations (TTVs) are a powerful tool for detecting
unseen companions in systems with known transiting exoplanets and for
characterizing their masses and orbital properties.
Large-scale and homogeneous TTV analyses are a valuable method to
complement the demographics of planetary systems and understand the
role of dynamical interactions.
We present the results of a systematic TTV analysis of 423 systems
covering 16000 transits, each with a single transiting planet first
discovered by the NASA TESS mission and then confirmed or validated by
follow-up studies. The primary aim of this survey is to identify the
most promising candidates for dynamically active systems that warrant
further investigation.
Our analysis is performed in a two-stage pipeline. In the first stage,
precise measurements of individual transit times are extracted from
the TESS light curves for each system in an homogeneous way. In the
second stage, we apply a two-tiered decision framework to classify
candidates by analyzing the resulting transit variations. Based on
excess timing scatter and the difference in Bayesian Information
Criterion of periodic models over linear ones, the TTVs are classified
as significant, marginal, or non-detections.
We find 11 systems with significant TTVs, 5 of which were announced in
previous works, and 10 more systems with marginal evidence in our
sample. We present three-panel diagnostic plots for all the
candidates, showing phase-folded light curves, the transit variations
over time, and the same variations folded on the recovered TTV period.
A comprehensive summary table detailing the fitted parameters and TTV
significance for the entire survey sample is also provided.
This survey constitutes the largest homogeneous TTV analysis of TESS
systems to date. We provide the community with updated ephemerides and
a catalogue of high-quality TTV candidates, enabling targeted
follow-up observations and detailed dynamical modelling to uncover the
nature of unseen companions and study system architectures
Description:
This catalogue contains the results of the timing analysis performed
on TESS systems hosting a single confirmed transiting planet. The
table provides the best-fit parameters obtained from the TTV model
comparison, together with statistical indicators and stellar density
constraints. The dataset corresponds to the table included in the
paper.
The table lists, for each TOI, the outcome of the TTV fit, including
the model quality improvement relative to a linear ephemeris, the
derived TTV period and amplitude when applicable, and the best-fit
orbital and planetary parameters. Values reported without
uncertainties correspond to parameters fixed during the fit
(typically: e=0, omega=90°). Dashes indicate that the parameter
is not constrained by the model. The field TTVs marks detections
as Yes, Weak or No.
File Summary:
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FileName Lrecl Records Explanations
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ReadMe 80 . This file
tablea1.dat 261 434 TTV analysis results for TESS TOIs
oc-list.dat 59 16398 O-C list for each planet
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See also:
IV/39 : TESS Input Catalog version 8.2 (TIC v8.2) (Paegert+, 2021)
Byte-by-byte Description of file: tablea1.dat
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Bytes Format Units Label Explanations
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1- 7 A7 --- TOI TESS Object of Interest ID (NNNN.NN)
9- 12 A4 --- TTVs TTV detection flag (Yes/No/Weak)
14- 17 F4.1 --- chi2mod ?=- chi2 of best-fitting TTV model
19- 25 F7.1 --- DBIC ?=- ΔBIC relative to linear ephemeris
27- 33 F7.1 d PTTV ?=- TTV period
35- 39 F5.1 min ATTV ?=- TTV amplitude
41- 54 F14.9 d Porb Orbital period
57- 67 F11.9 d E_Porb Orbital period upper error
70- 80 F11.9 d e_Porb [] Orbital period lower error
82- 93 F12.7 d T0 Transit reference epoch (TBJD)
95-102 F8.6 d E_T0 Transit reference epoch (TBJD) upper error
105-112 F8.6 d e_T0 [] Transit reference epoch (TBJD) lower error
114-121 F8.6 --- Rp/Rs Planet-to-star radius ratio
124-131 F8.6 --- E_Rp/Rs Planet-to-star radius ratio upper error
134-141 F8.6 --- e_Rp/Rs [] Planet-to-star radius ratio lower error
143-148 F6.4 --- b Impact parameter
151-156 F6.4 --- E_b Impact parameter upper error
159-164 F6.4 --- e_b [] Impact parameter lower error
166-172 F7.5 --- e ?=0 Orbital eccentricity
175-181 F7.5 --- E_e ?=- Orbital eccentricity upper error
184-190 F7.5 --- e_e []?=- Orbital eccentricity lower error
192-200 F9.4 deg omega Argument of periastron
202-209 F8.4 deg E_omega ? Argument of periastron upper error
211-218 F8.4 deg e_omega []? Argument of periastron lower error
219-229 F11.4 g/cm3 rhostar Stellar density
234-243 F10.4 g/cm3 E_rhostar Stellar density upper error
248-257 F10.4 g/cm3 e_rhostar [] Stellar density upper error lower error
259-261 I3 --- Ntr Number of observed transits
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Byte-by-byte Description of file: oc-list.dat
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Bytes Format Units Label Explanations
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1- 8 A8 --- TOI TESS Object of Interest ID (TOI-NNNN)
10- 25 F16.8 d TimePred Predicted Time (BJD )
27- 37 E11.8 d O-C Observed minus calculated
39- 48 E10.8 d E_O-C Upper error on Observed minus calculated
50- 59 E10.8 d e_O-C Lower error on Observed minus calculated
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Acknowledgements:
Luca Naponiello, luca.naponiello(at)inaf.it
(End) Luca Naponiello [INAF-OATo, Italy], Patricia Vannier [CDS] 21-Nov-2025