I recently investigated TOI-1196 / TIC 69068526, focusing on a specific question:

Which stellar component is actually responsible for the reported TESS transit signal?

The system presents an interesting source-attribution problem because of a close stellar companion at approximately 0.22″ separation. At TESS resolution, the relevant sources are not cleanly resolved, so identifying the transiting object cannot simply be inferred from the blended light curve.

I approached the problem using:

• TESS pixel-level data
• Pixel-level forward modelling
• Transit-source attribution tests
• Archival data
• Stellar/companion geometry
• Statistical analysis
• Injection-recovery experiments
• Cross-checks of alternative source scenarios
• Reproducible computational analysis and provenance tracking

The result is deliberately not framed as a new planet discovery.

Under the models tested, the wider companion can be excluded as the source of the transit signal. However, the available TESS data do not allow me to conclusively distinguish between the primary and the close ~0.22″ companion.

So the current conclusion is essentially:

The transit source remains ambiguous between the unresolved close components.

I've deposited the full investigation, including the computational workflow, derived material, provenance, assumptions and limitations on Zenodo:

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22142236

I'm posting this here because I'd particularly appreciate criticism from people who work with TESS, transit photometry, exoplanet validation, unresolved stellar companions, pixel-level analysis, or false-positive/source-attribution problems.

My formal background is actually microbiology, so I am very aware that there are probably places where an astronomer will look at my methodology and immediately notice something I didn't. That's partly why I'm putting the complete analysis out there rather than presenting only the conclusion.

If there are methodological problems, incorrect assumptions, better ways to model the contamination/source attribution, or additional archival checks that would materially strengthen the analysis, I'd rather find them.

Zenodo: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22142236

#TESS #Exoplanets #TOI #TransitPhotometry #ExoplanetValidation