SIMBAD references

Upon its discovery, the low-density transiting Neptune HAT-P-26b showed a 2.1σ detection drift in its spectroscopic data, while photometric data showed a weak curvature in the timing residuals, the confirmation of which required further follow-up observations. To investigate this suspected variability, we observed 11 primary transits of HAT-P-26b between March, 2015, and July, 2018. For this, we used the 2.15m Jorge Sahade Telescope placed in San Juan, Argentina, and the 1.2m STELLA and the 2.5m Nordic Optical Telescope, both located in the Canary Islands, Spain. To add to valuable information on the transmission spectrum of HAT-P-26b, we focused our observations in the R-band only. To contrast the observed timing variability with possible stellar activity, we carried out a photometric follow-up of the host star over three years. We carried out a global fit to the data and determined the individual mid-transit times focusing specifically on the light curves that showed complete transit coverage. Using bibliographic data corresponding to both ground and space-based facilities, plus our new characterized mid-transit times derived from parts-per-thousand precise photometry, we observed indications of transit timing variations in the system, with an amplitude of ∼4-min and a periodicity of ∼270 epochs. The photometric and spectroscopic follow-up observations of this system will be continued in order to rule out any aliasing effects caused by poor sampling and the long-term periodicity.