Eric B. Ford
YOU?
Author Swipe
View article: Discovery of a Nearby Habitable Zone Super-Earth Candidate Amenable to Direct Imaging
Discovery of a Nearby Habitable Zone Super-Earth Candidate Amenable to Direct Imaging Open
We present the discovery of GJ 251 c, a candidate super-Earth orbiting in the habitable zone (HZ) of its M dwarf host star. Using high-precision Habitable-zone Planet Finder and NEID RVs, in conjunction with archival RVs from the Keck I Hi…
View article: The NEID Earth Twin Survey. III. Survey Performance after Three Years on Sky
The NEID Earth Twin Survey. III. Survey Performance after Three Years on Sky Open
The NEID Earth Twin Survey (NETS) has been delivering a rich set of precise radial velocity (RV) measurements for 41 bright, nearby main-sequence stars. Here, we describe the status of the survey after 3 yr on sky, and we present the full …
View article: The Future of Artificial Intelligence and the Mathematical and Physical Sciences (AI+MPS)
The Future of Artificial Intelligence and the Mathematical and Physical Sciences (AI+MPS) Open
This community paper developed out of the NSF Workshop on the Future of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Mathematical and Physics Sciences (MPS), which was held in March 2025 with the goal of understanding how the MPS domains (Astronom…
View article: Searching for Low-mass Exoplanets amid Stellar Variability with a Fixed Effects Linear Model of Line-by-line Shape Changes
Searching for Low-mass Exoplanets amid Stellar Variability with a Fixed Effects Linear Model of Line-by-line Shape Changes Open
The radial velocity (RV) method, also known as Doppler spectroscopy, is a powerful technique for exoplanet discovery and characterization. In recent years, progress has been made thanks to the improvements in the quality of spectra from ne…
View article: An Earth-Sized Planet in a 5.4h Orbit Around a Nearby K dwarf
An Earth-Sized Planet in a 5.4h Orbit Around a Nearby K dwarf Open
We present the discovery and confirmation of the ultra-short period (USP) planet TOI-2431 b orbiting a nearby ($d\sim36$ pc) late K star ($T_{\mathrm{eff}}$ = $4109 \pm 28 \, {\rm K}$) using observations from the Transiting Exoplanet Surve…
View article: TOI-1259Ab: A Warm Jupiter Orbiting a K-dwarf White-Dwarf Binary is on a Well-aligned Orbit
TOI-1259Ab: A Warm Jupiter Orbiting a K-dwarf White-Dwarf Binary is on a Well-aligned Orbit Open
The evolution of one member of a stellar binary into a white dwarf has been proposed as a mechanism that triggers the formation of close-in gas giant planets. The star's asymmetric mass loss during the AGB stage gives it a "kick" that can …
View article: Time-resolved <i>p</i>-mode Oscillations for Subgiant HD 142091 with NEID at WIYN
Time-resolved <i>p</i>-mode Oscillations for Subgiant HD 142091 with NEID at WIYN Open
Detections of Earth-analog planets in radial velocity (RV) observations are limited by stellar astrophysical variability occurring on a variety of timescales. Current state-of-the-art methods to disentangle potential planet signals from in…
View article: The NEID Earth Twin Survey. III. Survey Performance After Three Years on Sky
The NEID Earth Twin Survey. III. Survey Performance After Three Years on Sky Open
The NEID Earth Twin Survey (NETS) has been delivering a rich set of precise radial velocity (RV) measurements for 41 bright, nearby main sequence stars. Here, we describe the status of the survey after three years on sky and we present the…
View article: Searching for GEMS: Confirmation of TOI-5573b, a Cool, Saturn-like Planet Orbiting An M-dwarf
Searching for GEMS: Confirmation of TOI-5573b, a Cool, Saturn-like Planet Orbiting An M-dwarf Open
We present the confirmation of TOI-5573b, a Saturn-sized exoplanet on an 8.79-day orbit around an early M-dwarf (3790 K, 0.59 R$\odot$, 0.61 M$\odot$, 12.30 J mag). TOI-5573b has a mass of $112^{+18}_{-19}$ M$\oplus$ (0.35$\pm$0.06 M$\math…
View article: Searching for Low-Mass Exoplanets Amid Stellar Variability with a Fixed Effects Linear Model of Line-by-Line Shape Changes
Searching for Low-Mass Exoplanets Amid Stellar Variability with a Fixed Effects Linear Model of Line-by-Line Shape Changes Open
The radial velocity (RV) method, also known as Doppler spectroscopy, is a powerful technique for exoplanet discovery and characterization. In recent years, progress has been made thanks to the improvements in the quality of spectra from ne…
View article: The NEID Earth Twin Survey. I. Confirmation of a 31 Day Planet Orbiting HD 86728
The NEID Earth Twin Survey. I. Confirmation of a 31 Day Planet Orbiting HD 86728 Open
With close to 3 yr of observations in hand, the NEID Earth Twin Survey (NETS) is starting to unearth new astrophysical signals for a curated sample of bright, radial velocity (RV)-quiet stars. We present the discovery of the first NETS exo…
View article: The NEID Earth Twin Survey. I. Confirmation of a 31-day planet orbiting HD 86728
The NEID Earth Twin Survey. I. Confirmation of a 31-day planet orbiting HD 86728 Open
With close to three years of observations in hand, the NEID Earth Twin Survey (NETS) is starting to unearth new astrophysical signals for a curated sample of bright, radial velocity (RV)-quiet stars. We present the discovery of the first N…
View article: Quiet Please: Detrending Radial Velocity Variations from Stellar Activity with a Physically Motivated Spot Model
Quiet Please: Detrending Radial Velocity Variations from Stellar Activity with a Physically Motivated Spot Model Open
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…
View article: Utilizing Photometry from Multiple Sources to Mitigate Stellar Variability in Precise Radial Velocities: A Case Study of Kepler-21
Utilizing Photometry from Multiple Sources to Mitigate Stellar Variability in Precise Radial Velocities: A Case Study of Kepler-21 Open
We present a new analysis of Kepler-21, the brightest ( V = 8.5) Kepler system with a known transiting exoplanet, Kepler-21 b. Kepler-21 b is a radius valley planet ( R = 1.6 ± 0.2 R ⊕ ) with an Earth-like composition (8.38 ± 1.62 g cm –3 …
View article: Astrometry and Precise Radial Velocities Yield a Complete Orbital Solution for the Nearby Eccentric Brown Dwarf LHS 1610 b
Astrometry and Precise Radial Velocities Yield a Complete Orbital Solution for the Nearby Eccentric Brown Dwarf LHS 1610 b Open
The LHS 1610 system consists of a nearby ( d = 9.7 pc) M5 dwarf hosting a candidate brown dwarf companion in a 10.6 days, eccentric ( e ∼ 0.37) orbit. We confirm this brown dwarf designation and estimate its mass ( M Jup ) and in…
View article: Data-Driven Modeling of Telluric Features and Stellar Variability with StellarSpectraObservationFitting.jl
Data-Driven Modeling of Telluric Features and Stellar Variability with StellarSpectraObservationFitting.jl Open
A significant barrier to achieving the radial velocity (RV) measurement accuracy and precision required to characterize terrestrial mass exoplanets is the existence of time-variable features in the measured spectra, from both telluric abso…
View article: Earths within Reach: Evaluation of Strategies for Mitigating Solar Variability using 3.5 years of NEID Sun-as-a-Star Observations
Earths within Reach: Evaluation of Strategies for Mitigating Solar Variability using 3.5 years of NEID Sun-as-a-Star Observations Open
We present the results of Sun-as-a-star observations by the NEID Solar Telescope at WIYN Observatory, spanning January 1, 2021 through June 30, 2024. We identify 117,060 observations which are unlikely to be significantly affected by weath…
View article: Quiet Please: Detrending Radial Velocity Variations from Stellar Activity with a Physically Motivated Spot Model
Quiet Please: Detrending Radial Velocity Variations from Stellar Activity with a Physically Motivated Spot Model Open
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 develop…
View article: Utilizing Photometry from Multiple Sources to Mitigate Stellar Variability in Precise Radial Velocities: A Case Study of Kepler-21
Utilizing Photometry from Multiple Sources to Mitigate Stellar Variability in Precise Radial Velocities: A Case Study of Kepler-21 Open
We present a new analysis of Kepler-21, the brightest (V = 8.5) Kepler system with a known transiting exoplanet, Kepler-21 b. Kepler-21 b is a radius valley planet ($R = 1.6\pm 0.2 R_{\oplus}$) with an Earth-like composition (8.38$\pm$1.62…
View article: GRASS. II. Simulations of Potential Granulation Noise Mitigation Methods
GRASS. II. Simulations of Potential Granulation Noise Mitigation Methods Open
We present an updated version of the GRanulation And Spectrum Simulator (GRASS) which now uses an expanded library of 22 solar lines to empirically model time-resolved spectral variations arising from solar granulation. We show that our sy…
View article: Updated Catalog of Kepler Planet Candidates: Focus on Accuracy and Orbital Periods
Updated Catalog of Kepler Planet Candidates: Focus on Accuracy and Orbital Periods Open
We present a new catalog of Kepler planet candidates that prioritizes accuracy of planetary dispositions and properties over uniformity. This catalog contains 4376 transiting planet candidates, including 1791 residing within 709 multiplane…
View article: Paths to Robust Exoplanet Science Yield Margin for the Habitable Worlds Observatory
Paths to Robust Exoplanet Science Yield Margin for the Habitable Worlds Observatory Open
The Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) will seek to detect and characterize potentially Earth-like planets around other stars. To ensure that the mission achieves the Astro2020 Decadal's recommended goal of 25 exoEarth candidates (EECs), w…
View article: The Death of Vulcan: NEID Reveals That the Planet Candidate Orbiting HD 26965 Is Stellar Activity*
The Death of Vulcan: NEID Reveals That the Planet Candidate Orbiting HD 26965 Is Stellar Activity* Open
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…
View article: Searching for Giant Exoplanets around M-dwarf Stars (GEMS) I: Survey Motivation
Searching for Giant Exoplanets around M-dwarf Stars (GEMS) I: Survey Motivation Open
Recent discoveries of transiting giant exoplanets around M-dwarf stars (GEMS), aided by the all-sky coverage of TESS, are starting to stretch theories of planet formation through the core-accretion scenario. Recent upper limits on their oc…
View article: Searching for Giant Exoplanets around M-dwarf Stars (GEMS) I: Survey Motivation
Searching for Giant Exoplanets around M-dwarf Stars (GEMS) I: Survey Motivation Open
Recent discoveries of transiting giant exoplanets around M-dwarf stars (GEMS), aided by the all-sky coverage of TESS, are starting to stretch theories of planet formation through the core-accretion scenario. Recent upper limits on their oc…
View article: A Neptune-mass exoplanet in close orbit around a very low-mass star challenges formation models
A Neptune-mass exoplanet in close orbit around a very low-mass star challenges formation models Open
Theories of planet formation predict that low-mass stars should rarely host exoplanets with masses exceeding that of Neptune. We used radial velocity observations to detect a Neptune-mass exoplanet orbiting LHS 3154, a star that is nine ti…
View article: The magnetically quiet solar surface dominates HARPS-N solar RVs during low activity
The magnetically quiet solar surface dominates HARPS-N solar RVs during low activity Open
Using images from the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager aboard the \textit{Solar Dynamics Observatory} (SDO/HMI), we extract the radial-velocity (RV) signal arising from the suppression of convective blue-shift and from bright faculae and d…
View article: The magnetically quiet solar surface dominates HARPS-N solar RVs during low activity
The magnetically quiet solar surface dominates HARPS-N solar RVs during low activity Open
Using images from the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager aboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory, we extract the radial velocity (RV) signal arising from the suppression of convective blueshift and from bright faculae and dark sunspots transit…
View article: Updated Catalog of Kepler Planet Candidates: Focus on Accuracy and Orbital Periods
Updated Catalog of Kepler Planet Candidates: Focus on Accuracy and Orbital Periods Open
We present a new catalog of Kepler planet candidates that prioritizes accuracy of planetary dispositions and properties over uniformity. This catalog contains 4376 transiting planet candidates, including 1791 residing within 709 multi-plan…