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A Search for Persistent Rotational Modulation in the Dedicated TESS Observations of Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS

Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: We analyze the dedicated postperihelion observations of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS obtained by the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) during Sector 1751 on 2026 January 15–22. We search for coherent photometric modulation using both the public TESS Science Support Center aperture light curves and an independent, segment-centered aperture extraction from the released background-corrected image cubes. Candidate excursions are vetted at the pixel level, and periodic signals are evaluated using an exploratory 1–48 hr search, irregularly sampled Ornstein–Uhlenbeck simulations, segment-wise moving-block bootstraps, exact tests of eight previously reported periods, cross-product phase comparisons, and sinusoidal injection–recovery experiments. No candidate satisfies the predeclared family-wise, both-null, cross-product criterion. In particular, none of the reported approximately 7–8 or 15–17 hr period hypotheses is recovered as a statistically significant, phase-coherent modulation. The provider photometry reaches targeted 95% recovery thresholds of 19.0–25.0 ppt peak to peak at the literature periods, while the independent extraction reaches 29.5–38.6 ppt. No reviewed isolated excursion is securely attributable to the comet, and no statistically supported aperture-dilution signature is found. The TESS data therefore exclude a persistent coherent modulation comparable to the much larger amplitudes reported during parts of the preperihelion campaign, while remaining compatible with coma dilution, evolving activity morphology, nonstationary modulation, or non-principal-axis rotation.
DOI: 10.3847/psj/aeac2c
Language: English
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,800
OpenAlex ID: W7223171497
FWCI:
Cites: 27
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Related to: 10