Characterization of the Compact Multi-planet System TOI-789: Validation of Three Terrestrial Planets, Dynamical Characterization, and Detection of a Fourth Temperate Candidate

We present the validation and dynamical characterization of TOI-789 (TIC 300710077), a compact multi-planet system around an M3 dwarf at 43 pc. Using 7 yr of TESS photometry (42 sectors), public ground-based follow-up (LCOGT, MEarth), and high-resolution imaging (Gemini/Zorro, SOAR), we statistically validate three terrestrial planets with TRICERATOPS: TOI-789 b (Rp = 1.18 Rearth, P = 5.45 d), c (1.15 Rearth, 8.04 d), and d (1.40 Rearth, 12.97 d), with false-positive and nearby-false-positive probabilities below the validation thresholds once resolved neighbours are excluded using the on-target ground-based photometry. Through an iterative Transit Least Squares search we identify a fourth, previously uncatalogued planet candidate (P = 19.74 d, Rp 0.88 Rearth), the outermost and most temperate member (S = 1.71 Searth, Teq 292 K); its low signal-to-noise ratio precludes formal validation, so we report it as a candidate pending confirmation. A dynamical analysis (SPOCK and N-body integrations) indicates a dynamically cold, near-resonant system, stable only for low eccentricities (e < 0.05), eccentricity rather than mass limiting stability; including the fourth candidate tightens this further. The four objects span the Earth-Venus transition across the Venus zone, two validated planets falling in the temperate regime under the equilibrium-temperature criterion, making the system a potential comparative-planetology laboratory anchored on confirmed planets. The low TSM (3-5) and moderate host brightness place atmospheric characterization beyond reach. TOI-789 exemplifies the numerically dominant population of compact terrestrial-planet systems around M dwarfs whose characterization is limited by host brightness, for which dynamical characterization offers a complementary route.