A Specialized Searching Algorithm Towards the Improvement in Detection of Single-Transit and Long-Period Exoplanets in Brightness Time-Series Data

Overview

The advent of space telescopes such as TESS and Kepler has led to transit photometry becoming the most prolific method for finding exoplanets. However, it tends to have a bias towards short period exoplanets (P < 27.4 d), as it is those planets that have the largest signal strength and highest frequency in time-series data. Finding long-period planets allows for a more complete picture of planet population, however, the transits of these planets are often lost in noise. In this paper, a specialized searching algorithm for single-transit and long-period planets is created through a modified version of a basic searching algorithm. Subsequently, the specialized searching algorithm is tested against the original algorithm on a dataset of randomly-generated lightcurves mimicking TESS data, in order to determine the effectiveness of each algorithm for finding single-transit and long-period planets. It is found that the specialized searching algorithm has nearly double the effectiveness of the original algorithm, making it a powerful new method to find single-transit and long-period planets. This finding will help advance our understanding of planet and system formation through an increased ability to detect single-transit and long-period planets in brightness time-series data.

Competition history

• ISEF 2022 Physics and Astronomy · Entry PHYS058 · Atlanta, Georgia, United States

Resources

• ISEF abstract page ↗

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