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Benjamin T. Montet

Publications and source records attributed to Benjamin T. Montet.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Revisiting physical parameters of the benchmark brown dwarf LHS 6343 C through a HST/WFC3 secondary eclipse observation

The LHS 6343 system consists of a resolved M-dwarf binary with an evolved, negligibly irradiated brown dwarf, LHS 6343 C, orbiting the primary star. Such brown dwarf eclipsing binaries present rare and unique opportunities to calibrate sub-stellar evolutionary and atmosphere models since mass, radius, temperature and luminosity can be directly measured. We update this brown dwarf's mass (62.6+/-2.2 MJup) and radius (0.788+/-0.043 RJup) using empirical stellar relations and a Gaia DR3 distance. We use Hubble Space Telescope/WFC3 observations of an LHS 6343 C secondary eclipse to obtain a NIR emission spectrum, which matches to a spectral type of T1.5+/-1. We combine this spectrum with existing Kepler and Spitzer/IRAC secondary eclipse photometry to perform atmospheric characterization using the ATMO-2020, Sonora-Bobcat and BT-Settl model grids. ATMO-2020 models with strong non-equilibrium chemistry yield the best fit to observations across all modelled bandpasses while predicting physical parameters consistent with Gaia-dependant analogs. BT-Settl predicts values slightly more consistent with such analogs but offers a significantly poorer fit to the WFC3 spectrum. Finally, we obtain a semi-empirical measurement of LHS 6343 C's apparent luminosity by integrating its observed and modelled spectral energy distribution. Applying knowledge of the system's distance yields a bolometric luminosity of log(Lbol/Lsun) = -4.77+/-0.03 and, applying the Stefan-Boltzmann law for the known radius, an effective temperature of 1303+/-29 K. We also use the ATMO-2020 and Sonora-Bobcat evolutionary model grids to infer an age for LHS 6343 C of 2.86 +0.40-0.33 Gyr and 3.11 +0.50-0.38 Gyr respectively.

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The metallicity and carbon-to-oxygen ratio of the ultra-hot Jupiter WASP-76b from Gemini-S/IGRINS

Measurements of the carbon-to-oxygen (C/O) ratios of exoplanet atmospheres can reveal details about their formation and evolution. Recently, high-resolution cross-correlation analysis has emerged as a method of precisely constraining the C/O ratios of hot Jupiter atmospheres. We present two transits of the ultra-hot Jupiter WASP-76b observed between 1.4-2.4 $μ$m with Gemini-S/IGRINS. We detected the presence of H$_{2}$O, CO, and OH at signal-to-noise ratios of 6.93, 6.47, and 3.90, respectively. We performed two retrievals on this data set. A free retrieval for abundances of these three species retrieved a volatile metallicity of $\left[\frac{\mathrm{C}+\mathrm{O}} {\mathrm{H}}\right]=-0.70^{+1.27}_{-0.93}$, consistent with the stellar value, and a super-solar carbon-to-oxygen ratio of C/O$=0.80^{+0.07}_{-0.11}$. We also ran a chemically self-consistent grid retrieval, which agreed with the free retrieval within $1σ$ but favored a slightly more sub-stellar metallicity and solar C/O ratio ($\left[\frac{\mathrm{C}+\mathrm{O}} {\mathrm{H}}\right]=-0.74^{+0.23}_{-0.17}$ and C/O$=0.59^{+0.13}_{-0.14}$). A variety of formation pathways may explain the composition of WASP-76b. Additionally, we found systemic ($V_{sys}$) and Keplerian ($K_{p}$) velocity offsets which were broadly consistent with expectations from 3D general circulation models of WASP-76b, with the exception of a redshifted $V_{sys}$ for H$_{2}$O. Future observations to measure the phase-dependent velocity offsets and limb differences at high resolution on WASP-76b will be necessary to understand the H$_{2}$O velocity shift. Finally, we find that the population of exoplanets with precisely constrained C/O ratios generally trends toward super-solar C/O ratios. More results from high-resolution observations or JWST will serve to further elucidate any population-level trends.

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Asteroseismology of the young open cluster NGC 2516 I: Photometric and spectroscopic observations

Asteroseismic modelling of isolated star presents significant challenges due to the difficulty in accurately determining stellar parameters, particularly the stellar age. These challenges can be overcomed by observing stars in open clusters, whose coeval members share an initial chemical composition. The light curves by TESS allow us to investigate and analyse stellar variations in clusters with an unprecedented level. We aim to detect gravity-mode oscillations in the early-type main-sequence members of the young open cluster NGC 2516. We selected the 301 member stars as our sample and analysed the TESS FFI light curves. We also collected high-resolution spectra using the FEROS for the g-mode pulsators. By fitting the theoretical isochrones to the colour-magnitude diagram (CMD) of a cluster, we determined an age of 102 $\pm$ 15 Myr and inferred the extinction at 550 nm ($A_0$) is 0.53 $\pm$ 0.04 mag. We identified 147 stars with surface brightness modulations, 24 with g-mode pulsations ($γ$ Doradus or Slowly Pulsating B stars), and 35 with p-mode pulsations ($δ$ Sct stars). When sorted by colour index, the amplitude spectra of the $δ$ Sct stars show a distinct ordering and reveal a discernible frequency-temperature relationship. The near-core rotation rates, measured from period spacing patterns in two SPB and nine $γ$ Dor stars, reach up to 3/d . This is at the high end of the values found from Kepler data of field stars of similar variability type. The $γ$ Dor stars have internal rotation rates as high as 50% of their critical value, whereas the SPB stars exhibit rotation rates close to their critical rate. We did not find long-term brightness and colour variations in the mid-infrared, which suggests that there are no disk or shell formation events in our sample. We also discussed the results of our spectroscopic observations for the g-mode pulsators.

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The role of carbon in red giant spectro-seismology

Although red clump stars function as reliable standard candles, their surface characteristics (i.e. $T_\text{eff}$, $\log g$, and [Fe/H]) overlap with those of red giant branch stars, which are not standard candles. Recent results have revealed that spectral features containing carbon (e.g. CN molecular bands) carry information correlating with the "gold-standard" asteroseismic classifiers that distinguish red clump from red giant branch stars. However, the underlying astrophysical processes driving the correlation between these spectroscopic and asteroseismic quantities in red giants remain inadequately explored. This study aims to enhance our understanding of this "spectro-seismic" effect, by refining the list of key spectral features predicting red giant evolutionary state. In addition, we conduct further investigation into those key spectral features to probe the astrophysical processes driving this connection. We employ the data-driven The Cannon algorithm to analyse high-resolution ($R\sim80,000$) Veloce Rosso spectra from the Anglo-Australian Telescope for 301 red giant stars (where asteroseismic classifications from the TESS mission are known for 123 of the stars). The results highlight molecular spectroscopic features, particularly those containing carbon (e.g. CN), as the primary indicators of the evolutionary states of red giant stars. Furthermore, by investigating CN isotopic pairs (that is, $^{12}$C$^{14}$N and $^{13}$C$^{14}$N) we find suggestions of statistically significant differences in the reduced equivalent widths of such lines, suggesting that physical processes that change the surface abundances and isotopic ratios in red giant stars, such as deep mixing, are the driving forces of the "spectro-seismic" connection of red giants.

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Transiting Exoplanet Yields for the Roman Galactic Bulge Time Domain Survey Predicted from Pixel-Level Simulations

The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope (Roman) is NASA's next astrophysics flagship mission, expected to launch in late 2026. As one of Roman's core community science surveys, the Galactic Bulge Time Domain Survey (GBTDS) will collect photometric and astrometric data for over 100 million stars in the Galactic bulge to search for microlensing planets. To assess the potential with which Roman can detect exoplanets via transit, we developed and conducted pixel-level simulations of transiting planets in the GBTDS. From these simulations, we predict that Roman will find between $\sim$60,000 and $\sim$200,000 transiting planets, over an order of magnitude more planets than are currently known. While the majority of these planets will be giants ($R_p>4R_\oplus$) on close-in orbits ($a<0.3$ au), the yield also includes between $\sim$7,000 and $\sim$12,000 small planets ($R_p<4 R_\oplus$). The yield for small planets depends sensitively on the observing cadence and season duration, with variations on the order of $\sim$10-20% for modest changes in either parameter, but is generally insensitive to the trade between surveyed area and cadence given constant slew/settle times. These predictions depend sensitively on the Milky Way's metallicity distribution function, highlighting an opportunity to significantly advance our understanding of exoplanet demographics, particularly across stellar populations and Galactic environments.

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A close-in giant planet escapes engulfment by its star

When main-sequence stars expand into red giants, they are expected to engulf close-in planets. Until now, the absence of planets with short orbital periods around post-expansion, core-helium-burning red giants has been interpreted as evidence that short-period planets around Sun-like stars do not survive the giant expansion phase of their host stars. Here we present the discovery that the giant planet 8 Ursae Minoris b orbits a core-helium-burning red giant. At a distance of only 0.5 au from its host star, the planet would have been engulfed by its host star, which is predicted by standard single-star evolution to have previously expanded to a radius of 0.7 au. Given the brief lifetime of helium-burning giants, the nearly circular orbit of the planet is challenging to reconcile with scenarios in which the planet survives by having a distant orbit initially. Instead, the planet may have avoided engulfment through a stellar merger that either altered the evolution of the host star or produced 8 Ursae Minoris b as a second-generation planet. This system shows that core-helium-burning red giants can harbour close planets and provides evidence for the role of non-canonical stellar evolution in the extended survival of late-stage exoplanetary systems.

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Transit Depth Variations Reveal TOI-216 b to be a Super-Puff

The planets of the TOI-216 system have been previously observed to exhibit large transit timing variations (TTVs), which enabled precise mass characterization of both transiting planets. In the first year of TESS observations, TOI-216 b exhibited grazing transits, precluding a measurement of its radius. In new observations, we demonstrate the orbit of the planet has precessed and it is now fully transiting, so we can accurately measure its radius. TOI-216 b is a puffy Neptune-mass planet, with a much larger radius that is now well constrained to $7.84^{+0.21}_{-0.19}$ $R_{\oplus}$ and a density of $0.201\pm0.017$ g cm$^{-3}$. We numerically integrate the system across the TESS observations to update and refine the masses and orbits of both planets, finding the uncertainty in the masses are now dominated by uncertainties in the stellar parameters. TOI-216 b represents a growing class of super-puff planets in orbital resonances and with a companion in a nearly circular orbit, suggesting these planets early evolution is driven by smooth disk migration.

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The Effect of Stellar Contamination on Low-resolution Transmission Spectroscopy: Needs Identified by NASA's Exoplanet Exploration Program Study Analysis Group 21

Study Analysis Group 21 (SAG21) of NASA's Exoplanet Exploration Program Analysis Group (ExoPAG) was organized to study the effect of stellar contamination on space-based transmission spectroscopy, a method for studying exoplanetary atmospheres by measuring the wavelength-dependent radius of a planet as it transits its star. Transmission spectroscopy relies on a precise understanding of the spectrum of the star being occulted. However, stars are not homogeneous, constant light sources but have temporally evolving photospheres and chromospheres with inhomogeneities like spots, faculae, plages, granules, and flares. This SAG brought together an interdisciplinary team of more than 100 scientists, with observers and theorists from the heliophysics, stellar astrophysics, planetary science, and exoplanetary atmosphere research communities, to study the current research needs that can be addressed in this context to make the most of transit studies from current NASA facilities like HST and JWST. The analysis produced 14 findings, which fall into three Science Themes encompassing (1) how the Sun is used as our best laboratory to calibrate our understanding of stellar heterogeneities ("The Sun as the Stellar Benchmark"), (2) how stars other than the Sun extend our knowledge of heterogeneities ("Surface Heterogeneities of Other Stars") and (3) how to incorporate information gathered for the Sun and other stars into transit studies ("Mapping Stellar Knowledge to Transit Studies"). In this invited review, we largely reproduce the final report of SAG21 as a contribution to the peer-reviewed literature.

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Superflares on solar-like stars: A new method for identifying the true flare sources in photometric surveys

Over the past years, thousands of stellar flares have been detected by harvesting data from large photometric surveys. These detections, however, do not account for potential sources of contamination such as background stars appearing in the same aperture as the primary target. We present a new method for identifying the true flare sources in large photometric surveys using data from the Kepler mission. Potential flares are identified in two steps: first, we search the light curves for at least two subsequent data points exceeding a 5σ threshold above the running mean. For these two cadences, we subtract the "quiet" stellar flux from the Kepler pixel data to obtain new images where the potential flare is the main light source. In the second step, we use a Bayesian approach to fit the point spread function of the instrument to determine the most likely location of the flux excess on the detector. We applied our method to 5862 main-sequence stars with near-solar effective temperatures. We found 2274 events exceeding the 5-sigma in at least two consecutive points in the light curves. Applying the second step reduced this number to 342 superflares. Of these, 283 flares happened on 178 target stars, 47 events are associated with fainter background stars, and in 10 cases, the flare location cannot be distinguished between the target and a background star. We also present cases where flares have been reported previously but our technique could not attribute them to the target star. We conclude that 1) identifying outliers in the light curves alone is insufficient to attribute them to stellar flares and 2) flares can only be uniquely attributed to a certain star when the instrument pixel-level data together with the point spread function are taken into account. As a consequence, previous flare statistics are likely contaminated by instrumental effects and unresolved astrophysical sources.

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Discovery of post-mass-transfer helium-burning red giants using asteroseismology

A star expands to become a red giant when it has fused all the hydrogen in its core into helium. If the star is in a binary system, its envelope can overflow onto its companion or be ejected into space, leaving a hot core and potentially forming a subdwarf-B star. However, most red giants that have partially transferred envelopes in this way remain cool on the surface and are almost indistinguishable from those that have not. Among $\sim$7000 helium-burning red giants observed by NASA's Kepler mission, we use asteroseismology to identify two classes of stars that must have undergone dramatic mass loss, presumably due to stripping in binary interactions. The first class comprises about 7 underluminous stars with smaller helium-burning cores than their single-star counterparts. Theoretical models show that these small cores imply the stars had much larger masses when ascending the red giant branch. The second class consists of 32 red giants with masses down to 0.5 M$_\odot$, whose implied ages would exceed the age of the universe had no mass loss occurred. The numbers are consistent with binary statistics, and our results open up new possibilities to study the evolution of post-mass-transfer binary systems.

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The unpopular Package: a Data-driven Approach to De-trend TESS Full Frame Image Light Curves

The majority of observed pixels on the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) are delivered in the form of full frame images (FFI). However, the FFIs contain systematic effects such as pointing jitter and scattered light from the Earth and Moon that must be removed before downstream analysis. We present unpopular, an open-source Python package to de-trend TESS FFI light curves based on the causal pixel model method. Under the assumption that shared flux variations across multiple distant pixels are likely to be systematics, unpopular removes these common (i.e., popular) trends by modeling the systematics in a given pixel's light curve as a linear combination of light curves from many other distant pixels. To prevent overfitting we employ ridge regression and a train-and-test framework where the data points being de-trended are separated from those used to obtain the model coefficients. We also allow for simultaneous fitting with a polynomial model to capture any long-term astrophysical trends. We validate our method by de-trending different sources (e.g., supernova, tidal disruption event, exoplanet-hosting star, fast rotating star) and comparing our light curves to those obtained by other pipelines when appropriate. We also show that unpopular is able to preserve sector-length astrophysical signals, allowing for the extraction of multi-sector light curves from the FFI data. The unpopular source code and tutorials are freely available online.

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V1298 Tau with TESS: Updated Ephemerides, Radii, and Period Constraints from a Second Transit of V1298 Tau e

V1298 Tau is a young (20-30 Myr) solar-mass K star hosting four transiting exoplanets with sizes between 0.5 - 0.9 $R_J$. Given the system's youth, it provides a unique opportunity to understand the evolution of planetary radii at different separations in the same stellar environment. V1298 Tau was originally observed 6 years ago during K2 Campaign 4. Now, V1298 Tau has been re-observed during the extended mission of NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). Here, we present new photometric observations of V1298 Tau from the 10-minute TESS Full-Frame Images. We use the TESS data to update the ephemerides for V1298 Tau bcde as well as compare newly observed radii to those measured from the K2 light curve, finding shallower transits for V1298 Tau bcd in the redder TESS bandpass at the $1-2σ$ level. We suspect the difference in radii is due to starspot-crossing events or contamination from nearby faint stars on the same pixels as V1298 Tau. Additionally, we catch a second transit of V1298 Tau e and present a new method for deriving the marginalized posterior probability of a planet's period from two transits observed years apart. We find the highest probability period for V1298 Tau e to be in a near 2:1 mean motion resonance with V1298 Tau b which, if confirmed, could make V1298 Tau bcde a 4 planet resonant chain. V1298 Tau is the target of several ongoing and future observations. These updated ephemerides will be crucial for scheduling future transit observations and interpreting future Doppler tomographic or transmission spectroscopy signals.

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Evidence for Centrifugal Breakout around the Young M Dwarf TIC 234284556

Magnetospheric clouds have been proposed as explanations for depth-varying dips in the phased light curves of young, magnetically active stars such as $σ$ Ori E and RIK-210. However, the stellar theory that first predicted magnetospheric clouds also anticipated an associated mass-loss mechanism known as centrifugal breakout for which there has been limited empirical evidence. In this paper, we present data from TESS, LCO, ASAS-SN, and Veloce on the 45 Myr M3.5 star TIC 234284556, and propose that it is a candidate for the direct detection of centrifugal breakout. In assessing this hypothesis, we examine the sudden ($\sim$1-day timescale) disappearance of a previously stable ($\sim$1-month timescale) transit-like event. We also interpret the presence of an anomalous brightening event that precedes the disappearance of the signal, analyze rotational amplitudes and optical flaring as a proxy for magnetic activity, and estimate the mass of gas and dust present immediately prior to the potential breakout event. After demonstrating that our spectral and photometric data support a magnetospheric clouds and centrifugal breakout model and disfavor alternate scenarios, we discuss the possibility of a coronal mass ejection (CME) or stellar wind origin of the corotating material and we introduce a reionization mechanism as a potential explanation for more gradual variations in eclipse parameters. Finally, after comparing TIC 234284556 with previously identified "flux-dip" stars, we argue that TIC 234284556 may be an archetypal representative of a whole class of young, magnetically active stars.

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H-alpha and Ca II Infrared Triplet Variations During a Transit of the 23 Myr Planet V1298 Tau c

Young transiting exoplanets (< 100 Myr) provide crucial insight into atmospheric evolution via photoevaporation. However, transmission spectroscopy measurements to determine atmospheric composition and mass loss are challenging due to the activity and prominent stellar disk inhomogeneities present on young stars. We observed a full transit of V1298 Tau c, a 23 Myr, 5.59$R_\oplus$ planet orbiting a young K0-K1.5 solar analogue with GRACES on Gemini-North. We were able to measure the Doppler tomographic signal of V1298 Tau c using the Ca II infrared triplet (IRT) and find a projected obliquity of $λ= 5^\circ \pm 15^\circ$. The tomographic signal is only seen in the chromospherically driven core of the Ca II IRT, which may be the result of star-planet interactions. Additionally, we find that excess absorption of the H-alpha line decreases smoothly during the transit. While this could be a tentative detection of hot gas escaping the planet, we find this variation is consistent with similar timescale observations of other young stars that lack transiting planets over similar timescales. We show this variation can also be explained by the presence of starspots with surrounding facular regions. More observations both in- and out-of the transits of V1298 Tau c are required to determine the nature of the Ca II IRT and H-alpha line variations.

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C/2014 UN271 (Bernardinelli-Bernstein): the nearly spherical cow of comets

C/2014 UN271 (Bernardinelli-Bernstein) is a comet incoming from the Oort cloud which is remarkable in having the brightest (and presumably largest) nucleus of any well-measured comet, and having been discovered at heliocentric distance $r_h\approx29$ au farther than any Oort-cloud member. We describe the properties that can be inferred from images recorded until the first reports of activity in June 2021. The orbit has $i=95^\circ,$ with perihelion of 10.97 au to be reached in 2031, and previous aphelion at $40,400\pm260$ au. Backwards integration of the orbit under a standard Galactic tidal model and known stellar encounters suggests this is a pristine new comet, with a perihelion of $q\approx18$ au on its previous perihelion passage 3.5 Myr ago. The photometric data show an unresolved nucleus with absolute magnitude $H_r=8.0,$ colors that are typical of comet nuclei or Damocloids, and no secular trend as it traversed the range 34--23 au. For $r$-band geometric albedo $p_r,$ this implies a diameter of $150 (p_r/0.04)^{-0.5}$ km. There is strong evidence of brightness fluctuations at $\pm0.2$ mag level, but no rotation period can be discerned. A coma consistent with a ``stationary' $1/ρ$ surface-brightness distribution grew in scattering cross-section at an exponential rate from $A f ρ\approx1$ m to $\approx150$ m as the comet approached from 28 to 20 au. The activity is consistent with a simple model of sublimation of a surface species in radiative equilibrium with the Sun. The inferred enthalpy of sublimation matches those of $CO_2$ and $NH_3$. More-volatile species -- $N_2,$ $CH_4,$ and $CO$ -- must be far less abundant on the sublimating surfaces.

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TIC 172900988: A Transiting Circumbinary Planet Detected in One Sector of TESS Data

We report the first discovery of a transiting circumbinary planet detected from a single sector of TESS data. During Sector 21, the planet TIC 172900988b transited the primary star and then 5 days later it transited the secondary star. The binary is itself eclipsing, with a period of P = 19.7 days and an eccentricity of e = 0.45. Archival data from ASAS-SN, Evryscope, KELT, and SuperWASP reveal a prominent apsidal motion of the binary orbit, caused by the dynamical interactions between the binary and the planet. A comprehensive photodynamical analysis of the TESS, archival and follow-up data yields stellar masses and radii of M1 = 1.2384 +/- 0.0007 MSun and R1 = 1.3827 +/- 0.0016 RSun for the primary and M2 = 1.2019 +/- 0.0007 MSun and R2 = 1.3124 +/- 0.0012 RSun for the secondary. The radius of the planet is R3 = 11.25 +/- 0.44 REarth (1.004 +/- 0.039 RJup). The planet's mass and orbital properties are not uniquely determined - there are six solutions with nearly equal likelihood. Specifically, we find that the planet's mass is in the range of 824 < M3 < 981 MEarth (2.65 < M3 < 3.09 MJup), its orbital period could be 188.8, 190.4, 194.0, 199.0, 200.4, or 204.1 days, and the eccentricity is between 0.02 and 0.09. At a V = 10.141 mag, the system is accessible for high-resolution spectroscopic observations, e.g. Rossiter-McLaughlin effect and transit spectroscopy.

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A search for transits among the δ Scuti variables in Kepler

We search for transits around all known pulsating δ Sct variables (6500 K < Teff < 10 000 K) in the long-cadence Kepler data after subtracting the pulsation signal through an automated routine. To achieve this, we devise a simple and computationally inexpensive method for distinguishing between low-frequency pulsations and transits in light curves. We find 3 new candidate transit events that were previously hidden behind the pulsations, but caution that they are likely to be false positive events. We also examined the Kepler Objects of Interest catalog and identify 13 additional host stars which show δ Sct pulsations. For each star in our sample, we use the non-detection of pulsation timing variations for a planet that is known to be transiting a δ Sct variable to obtain both an upper limit on the mass of the planet and the expected radial velocity semi-amplitude of the host star. Simple injection tests of our pipeline imply 100% recovery for planets of 0.5 RJup or greater. Extrapolating our number of Kepler δ Sct stars, we expect 12 detectable planets above 0.5 RJup in TESS. Our sample contains some of the hottest known transiting planets around evolved stars, and is the first complete sample of transits around δ Sct variables. We make available our code and pulsation-subtracted light curves to facilitate further analysis.

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TOI-1259Ab -- a gas giant planet with 2.7% deep transits and a bound white dwarf companion

We present TOI-1259Ab, a 1.0 Rjup gas giant planet transiting a 0.71 Rsun K-dwarf on a 3.48 day orbit. The system also contains a bound white dwarf companion TOI-1259B with a projected distance of approximately 1600 AU from the planet host. Transits are observed in nine TESS sector and are 2.7 per cent deep - among the deepest known - making TOI-1259Ab a promising target for atmospheric characterization. Our follow-up radial velocity measurements indicate a variability of semiamplitude K = 71 m/s, implying a planet mass of 0.44 Mjup. By fitting the spectral energy distribution of the white dwarf we derive a total age of 4.08 (+1.21 -0.53) Gyr for the system. The K-dwarf's light curve reveals a rotational variability with a period of 28 days, which implies a gyrochronology age broadly consistent with the white dwarf's total age.

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