Assessing the Impact of High-resolution Imaging on Statistical Validation of TESS Planet Candidates

@article{collier2026assessing,
  title = {{Assessing the Impact of High-resolution Imaging on Statistical Validation of TESS Planet Candidates}},
  author = {Michael Collier and Steven Giacalone and Brian Derfer and David R. Ciardi and Catherine A. Clark and Ian J. M. Crossfield and Sarah Deveny and Sergio B. Fajardo-Acosta and Elise Furlan and Emily A. Gilbert and Steve B. Howell and Adam L. Kraus and Rachel A. Matson and Joshua E. Schlieder and Julian C. van Eyken and David Baker and Khalid Barkaoui and Özgür Baştürk and Mario Basilicata and Izuru Fukuda and Akihiko Fukui and Mourad Ghachoui and Michaël Gillon and Emmanuel Jehin and Jerome de Leon and Luigi Mancini and Francesca Manni and Gabriel Murawski and Bob Massey and Luca Naponiello and Norio Narita and Justus Randolph and Roberto Zambelli and Richard P. Schwarz and Abderahmane Soubkiou and Gregor Srdoc and Chris Stockdale and Toshi Suganuma and Jiaqi Wang and Francis P. Wilkin and Selçuk Yalçınkaya},
  journal = {The Astronomical Journal},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.3847/1538-3881/aea4aa},
  url = {https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-3881/aea4aa},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}

TY  - JOUR
TI  - Assessing the Impact of High-resolution Imaging on Statistical Validation of TESS Planet Candidates
AU  - Michael Collier
AU  - Steven Giacalone
AU  - Brian Derfer
AU  - David R. Ciardi
AU  - Catherine A. Clark
AU  - Ian J. M. Crossfield
AU  - Sarah Deveny
AU  - Sergio B. Fajardo-Acosta
AU  - Elise Furlan
AU  - Emily A. Gilbert
AU  - Steve B. Howell
AU  - Adam L. Kraus
AU  - Rachel A. Matson
AU  - Joshua E. Schlieder
AU  - Julian C. van Eyken
AU  - David Baker
AU  - Khalid Barkaoui
AU  - Özgür Baştürk
AU  - Mario Basilicata
AU  - Izuru Fukuda
AU  - Akihiko Fukui
AU  - Mourad Ghachoui
AU  - Michaël Gillon
AU  - Emmanuel Jehin
AU  - Jerome de Leon
AU  - Luigi Mancini
AU  - Francesca Manni
AU  - Gabriel Murawski
AU  - Bob Massey
AU  - Luca Naponiello
AU  - Norio Narita
AU  - Justus Randolph
AU  - Roberto Zambelli
AU  - Richard P. Schwarz
AU  - Abderahmane Soubkiou
AU  - Gregor Srdoc
AU  - Chris Stockdale
AU  - Toshi Suganuma
AU  - Jiaqi Wang
AU  - Francis P. Wilkin
AU  - Selçuk Yalçınkaya
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/05
JO  - The Astronomical Journal
DO  - 10.3847/1538-3881/aea4aa
UR  - https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-3881/aea4aa
AB  - High-resolution imaging is widely used to constrain false positive scenarios in exoplanet validation, but it is a finite follow-up resource that reaches only a subset of candidates, and its population-level impact on validation outcomes has not been quantified through controlled removal experiments. Using an automated pipeline built on TRICERATOPS , we compute the false positive probability (FPP) of 443 TESS planet candidates. For the 264 planet candidates with high-resolution imaging observations, we compute FPP with and without the corresponding contrast curves, allowing us to quantify the impact of the additional data. We find that 72% of 68 contrast-curve-bearing validated planets would fail validation without their adopted contrast curves. The fraction requiring imaging decreases with increasing planet size, from 100% below 1.7 R ⊕ to 33% above 4 R ⊕ : within our sample and TRICERATOPS -based analysis, the availability of high-resolution imaging directly limits the yield of small-planet validation and the supply of validated targets for atmospheric characterization. Our analysis statistically validates 64 new TESS planets with sizes spanning 0.94 to 7.83 R ⊕ across hosts of spectral types: M through F. Four of these are highly amenable to JWST observations based on the transmission and emission spectroscopy metrics, and each achieves validation only with its imaging constraint.
SN  - 0004-6256
SN  - 1538-3881
ER  -