DIAmante TESS AutoRegressive Planet Search (DTARPS): Results from the DTARPS-S Catalog

The AutoRegressive Planet Search method was applied to DIAmante extracted light curves from TESS Year 1 and Year 2 Full Frame Images identifying a high purity set of DTARPS candidates.  Several lines of evidence, including limited reconnaissance spectroscopy and stellar youth, indicate that at least half are true planets rather than False Positives. Approximately half of the DTARPS candidates are hot Neptunes, populating the ‘Neptune desert’ found in Kepler planet samples; careful analysis indicates that this overabundance of candidates is a characteristic of the TESS data.  Several newly confirmed TESS planets in the ‘Neptune desert’ have indicated that it may be a ‘Neptune savannah’. Recent studies indicate a higher prevalence of hot Neptunes for young stellar hosts which agrees with the median ages of the TESS and the Kepler fields. DTARPS methodology is sufficiently well-characterized at each step that preliminary planet occurrence rates can be estimated. Except for the increase in hot Neptunes, DTARPS-S planet occurrence rates are consistent with Kepler rates. DTARPS methodology provides highly reliable catalogs of exoplanet candidates that can improve both our current understanding and be applied to future missions.