WASP-4b Arrived Early for the TESS Mission
L. G. Bouma, J. N. Winn, C. Baxter, W. Bhatti, F. Dai, T. Daylan,, J.-M. D\'esert, M. L. Hill, S. R. Kane, K. G. Stassun, J. Villasenor, G. R., Ricker, R. Vanderspek, D. W. Latham, S. Seager, J. M. Jenkins, Z., Berta-Thompson, K. Col\'on, M. Fausnaugh, Ana Glidden, N. Guerrero

TL;DR
The paper reports that the hot Jupiter WASP-4b arrived earlier than predicted in TESS observations, suggesting possible orbital decay or precession, but further data is needed for confirmation.
Contribution
First detection of a significant early transit timing in WASP-4b, indicating potential orbital decay or precession, with implications for exoplanet evolution studies.
Findings
WASP-4b transits arrived 81.6 seconds early.
Orbital period appears to decrease at 12.6 ms/year.
Other hot Jupiters show no such timing anomalies.
Abstract
The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) recently observed 18 transits of the hot Jupiter WASP-4b. The sequence of transits occurred 81.6 11.7 seconds earlier than had been predicted, based on data stretching back to 2007. This is unlikely to be the result of a clock error, because TESS observations of other hot Jupiters (WASP-6b, 18b, and 46b) are compatible with a constant period, ruling out an 81.6-second offset at the 6.4 level. The 1.3-day orbital period of WASP-4b appears to be decreasing at a rate of milliseconds per year. The apparent period change might be caused by tidal orbital decay or apsidal precession, although both interpretations have shortcomings. The gravitational influence of a third body is another possibility, though at present there is minimal evidence for such a body. Further observations are needed to confirm and…
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