Validation of a Third Earth-sized Planet in the TOI-2267 Binary System (2512.10007v1)

Abstract: We report the validation of a third terrestrial exoplanet in the nearby (22 pc) TOI-2267 system. TOI-2267 is a binary system with stellar components TOI-2267A (M5, 3030 K) and TOI-2267B (M6, 2930 K), with an on-sky separation of 0.$^{\prime\prime}$384 (8 au projected separation). TOI-2267 hosts two Earth-sized planets (TOI-2267 b, $1.00\pm0.11 R_{\oplus}$, and TOI-2267 c, $1.14\pm0.13 R_{\oplus}$, if orbiting the primary star; or $1.22\pm0.29 R_{\oplus}$ and $1.36\pm0.33 R_{\oplus}$, respectively, if orbiting the secondary star) with orbital periods of 2.3 and 3.5 days. This system also contains a third Earth-sized planet candidate with an orbital period of 2.0 days that was previously identified as a likely planet with a low false-positive probability, but could not be firmly validated due to the lack of independent observations beyond TESS data. We combine two new transit observations from the 5.1m Hale Telescope at Palomar Observatory with archival TESS data and high-resolution imaging to statistically validate the planetary nature of TOI-2267 d ($0.98\pm0.09 R_{\oplus}$ if orbiting the primary star, or $1.77\pm0.43 R_{\oplus}$ if orbiting the secondary star) using the updated TRICERATOPS+ pipeline. We attempt to determine the host star for TOI-2267 d using transit shape stellar density analysis, but are unable to conclusively assign a host. Our validation of TOI-2267 d suggests that TOI-2267 is either the first known double transiting M dwarf binary system, or hosts three planets in an extremely compact orbital configuration.