摘要：Aims. We search for signs of falling evaporating bodies (FEBs, also known as exocomets) in photometric time series obtained forβPictoris after fitting and removing itsδScuti-type pulsation frequencies.Methods. Using photometric data obtained by the TESS satellite we determined the pulsational properties of the exoplanet host starβPictoris through frequency analysis. We then pre-whitened the 54 identifiedδScutip-modes and investigated the residual photometric time series for the presence of FEBs.Results. We identify three distinct dipping events in the light curve ofβPictoris over a 105-day period. These dips have depths from 0.5 to 2 millimagnitudes and durations of up to 2 days for the largest dip. These dips are asymmetric in nature and are consistent with a model of an evaporating comet with an extended tail crossing the disc of the starConclusions. We present the first broadband detections of exocomets crossing the disc ofβPictoris, complementing the predictions made 20 years earlier by Lecavelier Des Etangs et al. (1999, A&A, 343, 916). No periodic transits are seen in this time series. These observations confirm the spectroscopic detection of exocomets in calcium H and K lines that have been seen in high resolution spectroscopy.
