The TESS Faint Star Search: 1,617 TOIs from the TESS Primary Mission

Abstract: We present the detection of 1,617 new transiting planet candidates, identified in the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) full-frame images (FFIs) observed during the Primary Mission (Sectors 1 - 26). These candidates were initially detected by the Quick-Look Pipeline (QLP), which extracts FFI lightcurves for and searches all stars brighter than TESS magnitude T = 13.5 mag in each sector. However, QLP heavily relies on manual inspection for the identification of planet candidates, limiting vetting efforts to planet-hosting stars brighter than T = 10.5 mag and leaving millions of potential transit signals un-vetted. We describe an independent vetting pipeline applied to QLP transit search results, incorporating both automated vetting tests and manual inspection to identify promising planet candidates around these fainter stars. The new candidates discovered by this ongoing project will allow TESS to significantly improve the statistical power of demographics studies of giant, close-in exoplanets.