Exoplanet Candidate Target List ("xCTL")

The purpose of the exoplanet Candidate Target List ("xCTL" or sometimes just "CTL") is to provide a subset of TIC objects that can be used to select the target stars for TESS two-minute cadence observations in service of the TESS mission’s primary science requirements. The basic consideration is to assemble a list of dwarf stars all over the sky in the temperature range of interest to TESS, bright enough for TESS to observe, and taking extra steps to include the scientifically valuable M dwarfs. The TESS primary mission requirements are: 1. To search >200,000 stars for planets with orbital periods less than 10 days and radii smaller than 2.5 Earth radii. 2. To search for transiting planets with radii smaller than 2.5 Earth radii and with orbital periods up to 120 days among 10,000 stars in the ecliptic pole regions. 3. To determine masses for at least 50 planets with radii smaller than 4 Earth radii.