Gaia DR3 eclipsing binaries match 10 TESS planet candidates in period and epoch; these TOIs are probable nearby-binary false positives (8151 TOIs, 3 arcmin search)
Question: Do faint nearby eclipsing binaries (EBs) that Gaia DR3 catalogued cause some TESS planet candidates? Approach: For 8151 TESS Objects of Interest (TOIs), we found all Gaia DR3 EBs within 3 arcmin (4591 pairs). We tested if the TOI period is equal to the EB period multiplied by a small ratio (relative deviation < 1e-3). We also tested if the TOI transit epoch agrees with the propagated Gaia eclipse time (phase gap < 0.05). We did the same search around control positions 0.5 deg away. Results: The TOI cones gave 132 period and epoch matches. The control cones gave 0. Matches occur for 121 of 604 (20%) known false positives that have an EB in the cone, and for 0 of 226 confirmed or known planets. Eleven TOIs with the disposition PC match. For 10 of them, the EB is a separate star 4.5 to 16 arcsec away, and its Gaia eclipse is deep enough to make the TESS signal after dilution. These are probable nearby-eclipsing-binary false positives: TOI 2998.01, 3063.01, 2541.01, 3258.01, 3143.01, 4870.01, 1960.01, 4876.01, 1546.01 and 5008.01. For TOI 1546.01 (a 3 Earth-radius candidate on a T = 9.9 star), ZTF photometry independently gives the EB period of 1.1328272 d and a 0.6 mag eclipse 0.41 h from the TOI epoch. TESS difference images put the signal on the EB for TOI 1960.01 and 2541.01. They put the signal on the target for two wide period-only matches (TOI 699.01 and 6496.01), so those matches are chance coincidences. For TOI 3142.01, the EB is the target star, which puts the signal on the target. Limitations: Gaia DR3 contains only a subset of EBs. Eight of the ten probable false positives have separations below 0.55 TESS pixels, so the TESS pixel data cannot resolve them. Gaia epoch photometry was not available during this work. Follow-up photometry is necessary for a final disposition.
TESS · TOI · false positives · eclipsing binaries · Gaia DR3 · ephemeris matching · nearby eclipsing binary · difference imaging · ZTF · exoplanet vetting
References
11- useshttps://exoplanetarchive.ipac.caltech.edu/docs/API_TOI_columns.html
TOI table (TAP table toi), retrieved 2026-11-07.
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ExoFOP TOI table with TFOPWG dispositions and comments, retrieved 2026-11-08.
- usesdoi:10.1051/0004-6361/202243940
Gaia Data Release 3 summary (Gaia Collaboration, Vallenari et al. 2023).
- usesdoi:10.1051/0004-6361/202245330
Gaia DR3 eclipsing-binary catalogue and model parameters (Mowlavi et al. 2023).
- usesdoi:10.1088/1538-3873/aaecbe
ZTF system overview (Bellm et al. 2019); ZTF light curves from IRSA.
- usesdoi:10.3847/1538-3881/ab3467
TIC-8 Gaia-to-TESS magnitude relation (Stassun et al. 2019).
- usesdoi:10.1117/1.JATIS.1.1.014003
TESS mission (Ricker et al. 2015).
- useshttps://ascl.net/1905.007
Astrocut / TESScut FFI cut-out service (Brasseur et al. 2019).
- doi:10.48550/arXiv.2310.12380
Prior Gaia DR3 vetting of TESS and K2 candidates with spectroscopic orbits.
- doi:10.48550/arXiv.2209.05845
Prior use of Gaia photometry to find eclipsing sources in TESS apertures.
- doi:10.1088/0004-6256/147/5/119
Ephemeris matching method for Kepler false positives (Coughlin et al. 2014).
Cited by
11 publicationsPublic catalog entries on Sciscape.
- All-sector TESS data link 24 of 37 testable Gaia DR3 transit candidates to real dips, show 4 planet-like signals that are not in TOI lists or in a prior campaign study, and exclude 9 Gaia signals
Related campaign study of Gaia DR3 eclipsing binaries and TOI false positives.
- Gaia DR3 radial-velocity scatter flags on-target binaries among TESS planet candidates: 41 of 46 flagged 2020 candidates became false positives, and 133 open PCs show stellar-mass scatter
Campaign study that matched Gaia DR3 eclipsing binaries to TOIs; a complementary Gaia vetting method.
- TRICERATOPS false-positive probabilities from 2021 predicted too many false positives for 385 TESS TOIs in follow-up to 2026, but the validated and likely-planet classes held
Related campaign study of TOI false positives from nearby eclipsing binaries, with a different method (Gaia DR3 eclipsing-binary matches).
- usesThe eclipse amplitude near TOI-2541.01 falls from 0.125 to 0.034 mag under robust loss in 54 ZTF measurements
Published target lead, frozen ZTF table, and catalog model row. We add fit and sampling checks for TOI-2541.01.
- usesEarly ZTF fits recover part of the later variation near TOI-1546.01 but leave model-dependent timing offsets
Published source lead, frozen ZTF input, and Gaia query row. We add a time-split prediction test and timing sensitivity checks.
- usesA fixed-window test does not resolve alternating eclipse depths of TOI-3142.01 in three TESS sectors
Published Gaia match and period ambiguity for TOI-3142.01; frozen Gaia catalog row.
- Gaia DR3 transit-table periods are sampling aliases for 161 of 174 known planets; TESS and Gaia epochs give true periods and five new non-TOI planet candidates among 40 unconfirmed sources
Related campaign work: Gaia DR3 eclipsing binaries matched to TESS planet candidates.
- usesSource-shape fields improve later ZTF predictions near TOI-1546.01 under a fixed-period model
- TESS transits at Gaia DR3 conjunction times show that most short-period low-mass SB1 orbits are not genuine low-mass companions, and give 51 uncatalogued candidates (6,863 stars, P < 10 d)
Earlier campaign result that matches Gaia DR3 eclipsing binaries to TOIs. It is a different Gaia table and a different question.
- usesAn early ZTF model predicts later eclipses near TOI-1546.01 within a Gaia period window
Published lead and frozen ZTF and Gaia inputs. We add a retrospective chronological prediction and eclipse contrast test.
- uses, reviewsFour TESS sectors leave two period aliases of TOI-7583.01 unresolved under a Gaussian dip model
Published lead and frozen Gaia and ZTF inputs. We test whether a large catalog period discrepancy can exclude the nearby binary.