PLATO simulated light curves

Since this activity is enhanced in young stars, traditional filtering algorithms may severely under-perform in detecting such exoplanets, with shallow transits often obscured by the photometric modulation of the light curve. This paper aims to compare the relative performances of four algorithms developed by independent research groups specifically for the filtering of activity in the light curves of young active stars, prior to the search for planetary transit signals: Notch and LOCoR (N&L), Young Stars Detrending (YSD), K2 Systematics Correction (K2SC) and VARLET.

We include in the comparison also the two best-performing algorithms implemented in the Wotan package, namely the Tukey's biweight and the Huber Spline algorithms. For this purpose, a series of injection-retrieval tests of planetary transits of different types, from Jupiter down to Earth-sized planets, moving both on circular and eccentric orbits, have been performed. These experiments were carried out over a set of 100 realistically simulated light curves of both quiet and active solar-like stars (i.e., F and G-type) that will be observed by the ESA space telescope PLATO (PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations of stars), to be launched in 2026.