Abstract

Contributed Talk - Splinter ExoPlanets

Wednesday, 17 September 2025, 15:30

Outlier Detection and Detrending of PLATO Light Curves in the Data Analysis Support Tools

Michael Döring, René Heller, Laurent Gizon
Max-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung

PLATO (PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations of stars) is ESA's third medium-class mission, set to launch in December 2026. PLATO will contribute greatly to the detection of exoplanets around bright sun-like stars and to the investigation of stellar oscillations in its sample of over 200,000 stars. The Data Analysis Support Tools (DAST) will be the official platform for members of the PLATO Mission Consortium to inspect the PLATO data products. To give the scientists the best possible light curves for inspection, we develop detrending algorithms that allow the user to remove long term stellar and instrumental variations while leaving short-term effects like transits and stellar activity (such as flares) untouched. In addition to the detrending algorithms, we develop outlier detection algorithms that reduce the effect of cosmic rays (CRs). In particular, CRs from the sun might be enhanced at the beginning of the mission because PLATO is scheduled for launch during a period of solar maximum. Outliers in the light curves produced by CRs need to be filtered out to ensure they do not impact the analysis of transit depths or the noise properties relevant for the study of stellar oscillations.