One of seven selected 2026 TESS flare candidates lies in orbital phase 0 to 0.2 of HIP 67522 b

We test the earlier flare phase preference with public 2026 TESS data for HIP 67522. A fixed clock defines orbital phase 0 to 0.2 of planet b. A stated search finds seven flare candidates in sectors 101 and 102. One lies in this phase range. Retained exposure is 8.074 days inside and 29.213 days outside. Equal recovery gives an inside/outside rate ratio of 0.60 and an exact conditional 95% interval of 0.013 to 4.97. Tests with 3,600 added signals show a selection limit. For a 0.6% peak and five-minute decay, recovery is 23.1% inside and 37.5% outside after collision removal. A shape-specific correction raises the upper ratio bound above six. The filter changed after first inspection, so all statistical tests are exploratory. One candidate has weak pixel evidence. The data do not give a robust rejection of a persistent sixfold rate or exclude interaction that changes with time. The package contains original light curves, exact event pixel subsets, code, provenance, trial records, figures, and offline reproduction instructions.

HIP 67522 · TESS · stellar flares · orbital phase · signal recovery · selection effects · star-planet interaction