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For solar-type stars, spots and their associated magnetic regions induce radial velocity perturbations through the Doppler rotation signal and the suppression of convective blueshift, collectively known as rotation modulation. We developed the Rotation–Convection (RC) model: a method of detrending and characterizing rotation modulation using only cross–correlation functions or one-dimensional spectra without the need for continuous high-cadence measurements. The RC method uses a simple model for the anomalous radial velocity induced by an active region and has two inputs: stellar flux (or a flux proxy) and the relative radial velocity between strongly and weakly absorbed wavelengths (analogous to the bisector–inverse slope). On NEID solar data (3 month baseline), the RC model lowers the amplitude of rotationally modulated stellar activity to below the meter–per–second level. For the standard star HD 26965, the RC model detrends the activity signal to the meter–per–second level for HARPS, EXPRES, and NEID observations, even though the temporal density and time span of the observations differ by an order of magnitude between the three data sets. In addition to detrending, the RC model also characterizes the rotation–modulation signal. From comparison with the Solar Dynamics Observatory, we confirmed that the model accurately recovers and separates the rotation and convection radial velocity components. We also mapped the amplitude of the rotation and convection perturbations as a function of height within the stellar atmosphere. Probing stellar atmospheres with our revised spot model will fuel future innovations in stellar activity mitigation, enabling robust exoplanet detection.

We report the discovery of a close-in ( P _orb = 3.349 days) warm Neptune with clear transit timing variations (TTVs) orbiting the nearby ( d = 47.3 pc) active M4 star, TOI-2015. We characterize the planet's properties using Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) photometry, precise near-infrared radial velocities (RVs) with the Habitable-zone Planet Finder Spectrograph, ground-based photometry, and high-contrast imaging. A joint photometry and RV fit yields a radius ${R}_{p}={3.37}_{-0.20}^{+0.15}\ {R}_{\oplus }$ , mass ${m}_{p}={16.4}_{-4.1}^{+4.1}\ {M}_{\oplus }$ , and density ${\rho }_{p}\,={2.32}_{-0.37}^{+0.38}\ {\rm{g}}\ {\mathrm{cm}}^{-3}$ for TOI-2015 b, suggesting a likely volatile-rich planet. The young, active host star has a rotation period of P _rot = 8.7 ± 0.9 days and associated rotation-based age estimate of 1.1 ± 0.1 Gyr. Though no other transiting planets are seen in the TESS data, the system shows clear TTVs of super-period ${P}_{\sup }\approx 430\ \mathrm{days}$ and amplitude ∼100 minutes. After considering multiple likely period-ratio models, we show an outer planet candidate near a 2:1 resonance can explain the observed TTVs while offering a dynamically stable solution. However, other possible two-planet solutions—including 3:2 and 4:3 resonances—cannot be conclusively excluded without further observations. Assuming a 2:1 resonance in the joint TTV-RV modeling suggests a mass of ${m}_{b}={13.3}_{-4.5}^{+4.7}\ {M}_{\oplus }$ for TOI-2015 b and ${m}_{c}={6.8}_{-2.3}^{+3.5}\ {M}_{\oplus }$ for the outer candidate. Additional transit and RV observations will be beneficial to explicitly identify the resonance and further characterize the properties of the system.

We revisit the long-studied radial velocity (RV) target HD 26965 using recent observations from the NASA-NSF “NEID” precision Doppler facility. Leveraging a suite of classical activity indicators, combined with line-by-line RV analyses, we demonstrate that the claimed 45-day signal previously identified as a planet candidate is most likely an activity-induced signal. Correlating the bulk (spectrally averaged) RV with canonical line activity indicators confirms a multiday “lag” between the observed activity indicator time series and the measured RV. When accounting for this lag, we show that much of the observed RV signal can be removed by a linear detrending of the data. Investigating activity at the line-by-line level, we find a depth-dependent correlation between individual line RVs and the bulk RVs, further indicative of periodic suppression of convective blueshift causing the observed RV variability, rather than an orbiting planet. We conclude that the combined evidence of the activity correlations and depth dependence is consistent with an RV signature dominated by a rotationally modulated activity signal at a period of ∼42 days. We hypothesize that this activity signature is due to a combination of spots and convective blueshift suppression. The tools applied in our analysis are broadly applicable to other stars and could help paint a more comprehensive picture of the manifestations of stellar activity in future Doppler RV surveys.

We report the discovery of a hot Jupiter candidate orbiting HS Psc, a K7 (≈0.7 M _⊙ ) member of the ≈130 Myr AB Doradus moving group. Using radial velocities over 4 yr from the Habitable-zone Planet Finder spectrograph at the Hobby–Eberly Telescope, we find a periodic signal of ${P}_{b}={3.986}_{-0.003}^{+0.044}$ days. A joint Keplerian and Gaussian process stellar activity model fit to the radial velocities yields a minimum mass of ${m}_{p}\sin i={1.5}_{-0.4}^{+0.6}$ M _Jup . The stellar rotation period is well constrained by the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite light curve ( P _rot = 1.086 ± 0.003 days) and is not an integer harmonic nor alias of the orbital period, supporting the planetary nature of the observed periodicity. HS Psc b joins a small population of young, close-in giant planet candidates with robust age and mass constraints and demonstrates that giant planets can either migrate to their close-in orbital separations by 130 Myr or form in situ. Given its membership in a young moving group, HS Psc represents an excellent target for follow-up observations to characterize this young hot Jupiter further, refine its orbital properties, and search for additional planets in the system.

Warm Jupiters are close-in giant planets with relatively large planet–star separations (i.e., 10 < a / R _⋆ < 100). Given their weak tidal interactions with their host stars, measurements of stellar obliquity may be used to probe the initial obliquity distribution and dynamical history for close-in gas giants. Using spectroscopic observations, we confirm the planetary nature of TOI-1859b and determine the stellar obliquity of TOI-1859 to be λ = 38.9 ${}_{-2.7}^{+2.8}$ ° relative to its planetary companion using the Rossiter–McLaughlin effect. TOI-1859b is a 64 day warm Jupiter orbiting around a late F dwarf and has an orbital eccentricity of 0.57 ${}_{-0.16}^{+0.12}$ inferred purely from transit light curves. The eccentric and misaligned orbit of TOI-1859b is likely an outcome of dynamical interactions, such as planet–planet scattering and planet–disk resonance crossing.

TOI-2076 b is a sub-Neptune-sized planet ( R = 2.39 ± 0.10 R _⊕ ) that transits a young (204 ± 50 MYr) bright ( V = 9.2) K-dwarf hosting a system of three transiting planets. Using spectroscopic observations obtained with the NEID spectrograph on the WIYN 3.5 m Telescope, we model the Rossiter–McLaughlin effect of TOI-2076 b, and derive a sky-projected obliquity of $\lambda =-{3}_{-15}^{+16^\circ }$ . Using the size of the star ( R = 0.775 ± 0.015 R _⊙ ), and the stellar rotation period ( P _rot = 7.27 ± 0.23 days), we estimate an obliquity of $\psi ={18}_{-9}^{+10^\circ }$ ( ψ < 34° at 95% confidence), demonstrating that TOI-2076 b is in a well-aligned orbit. Simultaneous diffuser-assisted photometry from the 3.5 m telescope at Apache Point Observatory rules out flares during the transit. TOI-2076 b joins a small but growing sample of young planets in compact multi-planet systems with well-aligned orbits, and is the fourth planet with an age ≲300 Myr in a multi-transiting system with an obliquity measurement. The low obliquity of TOI-2076 b and the presence of transit timing variations in the system suggest the TOI-2076 system likely formed via convergent disk migration in an initially well-aligned disk.

Recent improvements in the sensitivity and precision of the radial velocity (RV) method for exoplanets have brought it close, but not quite to, the threshold (∼10 cm s ^−1 ) required to detect Earth-mass and other potentially habitable planets around Sun-like stars. Stellar activity-driven noise in RV measurements remains a significant hurdle to achieving this goal. While various efforts have been made to disentangle this noise from real planetary signals, a greater understanding of the relationship between spectra and stellar activity is crucial to informing stellar activity mitigation. We use a partially automated method to analyze spectral lines in a set of observations of the young, active star ϵ Eridani from the high-precision spectrograph NEID, correlate their features (depth, FWHM, and integrated flux) with known activity indicators, and filter and curate for well-defined lines whose shape changes are sensitive to certain types of stellar activity. We then present a list of nine lines correlated with the S-index in all three line features, including four newly identified activity-sensitive lines, as well as additional lines correlated with the S-index in at least one feature, and discuss the possible implications of the behavior observed in these lines. Our line lists represent a step forward in the empirical understanding of the complex relationships between stellar activity and spectra and illustrate the importance of studying the time evolution of line morphologies with stabilized spectrographs in the overall effort to mitigate activity in the search for small, potentially Earth-like exoplanets.

We confirm the planetary nature of TOI-5344 b as a transiting giant exoplanet around an M0-dwarf star. TOI-5344 b was discovered with the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite photometry and confirmed with ground-based photometry (the Red Buttes Observatory 0.6 m telescope), radial velocity (the Habitable-zone Planet Finder), and speckle imaging (the NN-Explore Exoplanet Stellar Speckle Imager). TOI-5344 b is a Saturn-like giant planet ( ρ = 0.80 ${}_{-0.15}^{+0.17}$ g cm ^−3 ) with a planetary radius of 9.7 ± 0.5 R _⊕ (0.87 ± 0.04 R _Jup ) and a planetary mass of ${135}_{-18}^{+17}\ {M}_{\oplus }$ (0.42 ${}_{-0.06}^{+0.05}\ {M}_{\mathrm{Jup}}$ ). It has an orbital period of ${3.792622}_{-0.000010}^{+0.000010}$ days and an orbital eccentricity of ${0.06}_{-0.04}^{+0.07}$ . We measure a high metallicity for TOI-5344 of [Fe/H] = 0.48 ± 0.12, where the high metallicity is consistent with expectations from formation through core accretion. We compare the metallicity of the M-dwarf hosts of giant exoplanets to that of M-dwarf hosts of nongiants (≲8 R _⊕ ). While the two populations appear to show different metallicity distributions, quantitative tests are prohibited by various sample caveats.

We present an analysis of Sun-as-a-star observations from four different high-resolution, stabilized spectrographs—HARPS, HARPS-N, EXPRES, and NEID. With simultaneous observations of the Sun from four different instruments, we are able to gain insight into the radial velocity precision and accuracy delivered by each of these instruments and isolate instrumental systematics that differ from true astrophysical signals. With solar observations, we can completely characterize the expected Doppler shift contributed by orbiting Solar System bodies and remove them. This results in a data set with measured velocity variations that purely trace flows on the solar surface. Direct comparisons of the radial velocities measured by each instrument show remarkable agreement with residual intraday scatter of only 15–30 cm s ^−1 . This shows that current ultra-stabilized instruments have broken through to a new level of measurement precision that reveals stellar variability with high fidelity and detail. We end by discussing how radial velocities from different instruments can be combined to provide powerful leverage for testing techniques to mitigate stellar signals.

NEID is a high-resolution red–optical precision radial velocity (RV) spectrograph recently commissioned at the WIYN 3.5 m telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory, Arizona, USA. NEID has an extremely stable environmental control system, and spans a wavelength range of 380–930 nm with two observing modes: a High Resolution mode at R ∼ 112,000 for maximum RV precision, and a High Efficiency mode at R ∼ 72,000 for faint targets. In this paper we present a detailed description of the components of NEID’s optical fiber feed, which include the instrument, exposure meter, calibration system, and telescope fibers. Many parts of the optical fiber feed can lead to uncalibratable RV errors, which cannot be corrected for using a stable wavelength reference source. We show how these errors directly cascade down to performance requirements on the fiber feed and the scrambling system. We detail the design, assembly, and testing of each component. Designed and built from the bottom-up with a single-visit instrument precision requirement of 27 cm s ^−1 , close attention is paid to the error contribution from each NEID subsystem. Finally, we include the lab and on-sky tests performed during instrument commissioning to test the illumination stability, and discuss the path to achieving the instrumental stability required to search for a true Earth twin around a solar-type star.

TOI-1899 b is a rare exoplanet, a temperate warm Jupiter orbiting an M dwarf, first discovered by Cañas et al. (2020) from a TESS single-transit event. Using new radial velocities (RVs) from the precision RV spectrographs HPF and NEID, along with additional TESS photometry and ground-based transit follow-up, we are able to derive a much more precise orbital period of $P={29.090312}_{-0.000035}^{+0.000036}$ days, along with a radius of R _p = 0.99 ± 0.03 R _J . We have also improved the constraints on planet mass, M _p = 0.67 ± 0.04 M _J , and eccentricity, which is consistent with a circular orbit at 2 σ ( $e={0.044}_{-0.027}^{+0.029}$ ). TOI-1899 b occupies a unique region of parameter space as the coolest known ( T _eq ≈ 380 K) Jovian-sized transiting planet around an M dwarf; we show that it has great potential to provide clues regarding the formation and migration mechanisms of these rare gas giants through transmission spectroscopy with JWST, as well as studies of tidal evolution.

We perform an in-depth analysis of the recently validated TOI-3884 system, an M4-dwarf star with a transiting super-Neptune. Using high-precision light curves obtained with the 3.5 m Apache Point Observatory and radial velocity observations with the Habitable-zone Planet Finder, we derive a planetary mass of ${32.6}_{-7.4}^{+7.3}\,{M}_{\oplus }$ and radius of 6.4 ± 0.2 R _⊕ . We detect a distinct starspot crossing event occurring just after ingress and spanning half the transit for every transit. We determine this spot feature to be wavelength dependent with the amplitude and duration evolving slightly over time. Best-fit starspot models show that TOI-3884b possesses a misaligned ( λ = 75° ± 10°) orbit that crosses a giant pole spot. This system presents a rare opportunity for studies into the nature of both a misaligned super-Neptune and spot evolution on an active mid-M dwarf.

The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) mission detected a companion orbiting TIC 71268730, categorized it as a planet candidate, and designated the system TOI-5375. Our follow-up analysis using radial-velocity data from the Habitable-zone Planet Finder, photometric data from Red Buttes Observatory, and speckle imaging with NN-EXPLORE Exoplanet Stellar Speckle Imager determined that the companion is a very low mass star near the hydrogen-burning mass limit with a mass of 0.080 ± 0.002 M _☉ (83.81 ± 2.10 M _J ), a radius of ${0.1114}_{-0.0050}^{+0.0048}{R}_{\odot }$ (1.0841 ${}_{0.0487}^{0.0467}{R}_{J}$ ), and brightness temperature of 2600 ± 70 K. This object orbits with a period of 1.721553 ± 0.000001 days around an early M dwarf star (0.62 ± 0.016 M _☉ ). TESS photometry shows regular variations in the host star’s TESS light curve, which we interpreted as an activity-induced variation of ∼2%, and used this variability to measure the host star’s stellar rotation period of ${1.9716}_{-0.0083}^{+0.0080}$ days. The TOI-5375 system provides tight constraints on stellar models of low-mass stars at the hydrogen-burning limit and adds to the population in this important region.

We present the discovery of TOI-5205b, a transiting Jovian planet orbiting a solar metallicity M4V star, which was discovered using Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite photometry and then confirmed using a combination of precise radial velocities, ground-based photometry, spectra, and speckle imaging. TOI-5205b has one of the highest mass ratios for M-dwarf planets, with a mass ratio of almost 0.3%, as it orbits a host star that is just 0.392 ± 0.015 M _⊙ . Its planetary radius is 1.03 ± 0.03 R _J , while the mass is 1.08 ± 0.06 M _J . Additionally, the large size of the planet orbiting a small star results in a transit depth of ∼7%, making it one of the deepest transits of a confirmed exoplanet orbiting a main-sequence star. The large transit depth makes TOI-5205b a compelling target to probe its atmospheric properties, as a means of tracing the potential formation pathways. While there have been radial-velocity-only discoveries of giant planets around mid-M dwarfs, this is the first transiting Jupiter with a mass measurement discovered around such a low-mass host star. The high mass of TOI-5205b stretches conventional theories of planet formation and disk scaling relations that cannot easily recreate the conditions required to form such planets.