Start year
2013
Organizational Unit
Organizing institutions
Grants related:
General
Description
The search for life in the universe has been driven by recent discoveries of planets around other stars (known as exoplanets), becoming one of the most active fields in modern astrophysics. The growing number of new exoplanets discovered in recent years and the recent advance on the study of their atmospheres are not only providing new valuable information about its physical properties, but also allowing to constrain the properties of the Solar system's planets within a more global context. The field is approaching to the important discovery of the first potentially habitable planets and encouraging more detailed studies of them. With the launching of upcoming related satellites like JWST, CHEOPS, TESS, ARIEL and PLATO, the exoplanets field faces a bright future.
It is for this reason that this field is aid of, and at the same time promotes, the development of increasingly sensitive and stable instrumentation for both, ground-based telescopes and space missions. Our group is particularly prepared for these two fronts. On the one hand, during the last years we have developed observational and reduction techniques of exoplanet transits data for the ORM telescopes, ours being one of the most productive groups in the exploitation of GTC. On the other hand, all ESA space missions (present and future) related to exoplanets have one or more components of the project as CoIs. Within the frame of this project, we intend that IAC researchers maintain an advantageous position regarding the operation of OSIRIS and CanariCam, first light
GTC's instruments, and participate in the construction, commissioning and operation of new instruments such as the high resolution optical spectrograph HORUS at GTC. The exploitation of the photometry and spectroscopy of transits with LIRIS at WHT is also one of our principal interests, especially in preparation for the installation in 2015 of EMIR on the GTC .
To summarize, the project "Exoplanets and Astrobiology" will focus on these four action lines:
1) The characterization of atmospheric and physical properties of exoplanets (GTC, WHT, ARIEL, HARPSN, CARMENES, ESPRESSO, etc. ..)
2) The search and confirmation of exoplanets by transits techniques (CoRoT, Kepler, K2, CHEOPS, XO, LCOGT, W FC, DISH, etc. ..)
3) The search and confirmation of exoplanet by radial velocity techniques (HARPSN, HORUS, LCOGT, SONG, CARMENES)
4) Astrobiology
Members
Principal investigator
Enric
Pallé Bago
Project staff
Hans Jörg
Deeg Deeg
Nicolas Cédric
Lodieu
Javier Andrés
Licandro Goldaracena
Víctor Javier
Sánchez Bejar
Juan Antonio
Belmonte Avilés
Roi
Alonso Sobrino
Grzegorz
Nowak
Patricia
Chinchilla Gallego
A. L. Cabrera Lavers
Felipe Andrés
Murgas Alcaino
Hannu
Parviainen
Collaborators
Dr.
Paulo Miles Paez
Dr.
Maria Rosa Zapatero Osorio
Dr.
M. Mas Hesse
Dr.
M. Deleuil
Dr.
D. Gandolfi
Dr.
M. Fridlund
Dr.
L. Doyle
Dr.
H. Rauer
Dr.
J. Cabrera
Dr.
Sz. Csizmadia
Dr.
D. Pollacco
Dr.
A. Hatzes
Dr.
T. Mazeh
Dr.
T. Boyajian
Dr.
B. Tingley
Dr.
D. Martin
Dr.
A Triaud
Dr.
D. Fabrycky
Antonio Cabrera Lavers
Results
- Detection of He in the atmosphere of an exoplanet from the ground, published in Science
- Detection of a super-earth around Barnard star, published in Nature
- Detection of the first TESS planets, with several papers of high relevance
- Discovery of Na and Halpha features in the spectrum of KELT-20b with TNG
- Publication of the Handbook of Exoplanets, the most extensive work of reference in the field of exoplanets. The Handbook was edited by members of our group, and includes contributions by about 300 experts worldwide, including 12 members of IAC.
Scientific activity
Related publications
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A nearby transiting rocky exoplanet that is suitable for atmospheric investigationSpectroscopy of transiting exoplanets can be used to investigate their atmospheric properties and habitability. Combining radial velocity (RV) and transit data provides additional information on exoplanet physical properties. We detect a transiting rocky planet with an orbital period of 1.467 days around the nearby red dwarf star Gliese 486. TheTrifonov, T. et al.
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32021 -
TIC 168789840: A Sextuply Eclipsing Sextuple Star SystemWe report the discovery of a sextuply eclipsing sextuple star system from TESS data, TIC 168789840, also known as TYC 7037-89-1, the first known sextuple system consisting of three eclipsing binaries. The target was observed in Sectors 4 and 5 during Cycle 1, with lightcurves extracted from TESS Full Frame Image data. It was also previouslyPowell, Brian P. et al.
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The atmosphere of HD 209458b seen with ESPRESSO. No detectable planetary absorptions at high resolutionWe observed two transits of the iconic gas giant HD 209458b between 380 and 780 nm, using the high-resolution ESPRESSO spectrograph. The derived planetary transmission spectrum exhibits features at all wavelengths where the parent star shows strong absorption lines, for example, Na I, Mg I, Fe I, Fe II, Ca I, V I, Hα, and K I. We interpreted theseCasasayas-Barris, N. et al.
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CHEOPS observations of the HD 108236 planetary system: a fifth planet, improved ephemerides, and planetary radiiContext. The detection of a super-Earth and three mini-Neptunes transiting the bright (V = 9.2 mag) star HD 108236 (also known as TOI-1233) was recently reported on the basis of TESS and ground-based light curves. Aims: We perform a first characterisation of the HD 108236 planetary system through high-precision CHEOPS photometry and improve theBonfanti, A. et al.
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22021 -
A Multiwavelength Look at the GJ 9827 System: No Evidence of Extended Atmospheres in GJ 9827b and d from HST and CARMENES DataGJ 9827 is a bright star hosting a planetary system with three transiting planets. As a multiplanet system with planets that sprawl within the boundaries of the radius gap between terrestrial and gaseous planets, GJ 9827 is an optimal target to study the evolution of the atmospheres of close-in planets with a common evolutionary history and theirCarleo, Ilaria et al.
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ESPRESSO high-resolution transmission spectroscopy of WASP-76 bAims: We report on ESPRESSO high-resolution transmission spectroscopic observations of two primary transits of the highly irradiated, ultra-hot Jupiter-sized planet, WASP-76b. We investigated the presence of several key atomic and molecular features of interest that may reveal the atmospheric properties of the planet. Methods: We extracted twoTabernero, H. M. et al.
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22021 -
Improving light curve parameters of exoplanets based on TESS dataWe revise parameters of four transiting hot Jupiter planets discovered by ground-based surveys. We use follow-up observations carried by TESS mission together with PyTransit software. Space telescopes like TESS provide better coverage and photometry precision than ground-based telescopes. PyTransit is fast and user-friendly exoplanet transit lightGajdoš, P. et al.
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12021 -
The CHEOPS missionThe CHaracterising ExOPlanet Satellite (CHEOPS) was selected on October 19, 2012, as the first small mission (S-mission) in the ESA Science Programme and successfully launched on December 18, 2019, as a secondary passenger on a Soyuz-Fregat rocket from Kourou, French Guiana. CHEOPS is a partnership between ESA and Switzerland with importantBenz, W. et al.
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22021 -
Planet cartography with neural learned regularizationAims: Finding potential life harboring exo-Earths with future telescopes is one of the aims of exoplanetary science. Detecting signatures of life in exoplanets will likely first be accomplished by determining the bulk composition of the planetary atmosphere via reflected or transmitted spectroscopy. However, a complete understanding of theAsensio Ramos, A. et al.
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22021 -
Identification and Mitigation of a Vibrational Telescope Systematic with Application to SpitzerWe observed Proxima Centauri with the Spitzer Space Telescope Infrared Array Camera five times in 2016 and 2017 to search for transits of Proxima Centauri b. Following standard analysis procedures, we found three asymmetric, transit-like events that are now understood to be vibrational systematics. This systematic is correlated with the width ofChallener, Ryan C. et al.
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22021 -
Extrasolar Enigmas: From Disintegrating Exoplanets to ExoasteroidsThousands of transiting exoplanets have been discovered to date, thanks in great part to the Kepler space mission. As in all populations, and certainly in the case of exoplanets, one finds unique objects with distinct characteristics. Here we will describe the properties and behaviour of a small group of 'disintegrating' exoplanets discovered overBudaj, Jan et al.
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62020 -
An ultrahot Neptune in the Neptune desertAbout 1 out of 200 Sun-like stars has a planet with an orbital period shorter than one day: an ultrashort-period planet 1,2. All of the previously known ultrashort-period planets are either hot Jupiters, with sizes above 10 Earth radii (R ⊕), or apparently rocky planets smaller than 2 R ⊕. Such lack of planets of intermediate size (the `hot NeptuneJenkins, James S. et al.
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02020 -
Processing GOTO data with the Rubin Observatory LSST Science Pipelines I: Production of coadded framesThe past few decades have seen the burgeoning of wide-field, high-cadence surveys, the most formidable of which will be the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) to be conducted by the Vera C. Rubin Observatory. So new is the field of systematic time-domain survey astronomy; however, that major scientific insights will continue to be obtainedMullaney, J. R. et al.
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12021 -
Planet Hunters TESS II: findings from the first two years of TESSWe present the results from the first two years of the Planet Hunters TESS (PHT) citizen science project, which identifies planet candidates in the TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) data by engaging members of the general public. Over 22 000 citizen scientists from around the world visually inspected the first 26 sectors of TESS data inEisner, N. L. et al.
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ESPRESSO at VLT. On-sky performance and first resultsContext. ESPRESSO is the new high-resolution spectrograph of ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT). It was designed for ultra-high radial-velocity (RV) precision and extreme spectral fidelity with the aim of performing exoplanet research and fundamental astrophysical experiments with unprecedented precision and accuracy. It is able to observe with anyPepe, F. et al.
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12021 -
The TESS-Keck Survey. II. An Ultra-short-period Rocky Planet and Its Siblings Transiting the Galactic Thick-disk Star TOI-561We report the discovery of TOI-561, a multiplanet system in the galactic thick disk that contains a rocky, ultra-short-period planet. This bright (V = 10.2) star hosts three small transiting planets identified in photometry from the NASA TESS mission: TOI-561 b (TOI-561.02, P = 0.44 days, R p = 1.45 ± 0.11 R ⊕), c (TOI-561.01, P = 10.8 days, R p =Weiss, Lauren M. et al.
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22021 -
A planetary system with two transiting mini-Neptunes near the radius valley transition around the bright M dwarf TOI-776We report the discovery and characterization of two transiting planets around the bright M1 V star LP 961-53 (TOI-776, J = 8.5 mag, M = 0.54 ± 0.03 M ☉) detected during Sector 10 observations of the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). Combining the TESS photometry with HARPS radial velocities, as well as ground-based follow-up transitLuque, R. et al.
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12021 -
A Modified Kwee─Van Woerden Method for Eclipse Minimum Timing with Reliable Error EstimatesThe Kwee - van Woerden (KvW) method for the determination of eclipse minimum times has been a staple in eclipsing binary research for decades, due its simplicity and independence of external input parameters, which makes it also well suited to obtain timings of exoplanet transits. However, its estimates of the timing error have been known to be ofDeeg, H. J.
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122020 -
Strong Hα emission in the young planetary mass companion 2MASS J0249-0557 cAims: Our objective is the optical and near-infrared spectroscopic characterisation of 2MASS J0249-0557 c, a recently discovered young planetary mass companion to the β Pictoris (~25 Myr) member 2MASS J0249-0557. Methods: Using the Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy Hemisphere Survey and the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) dataChinchilla, P. et al.
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12021 -
Ultracool dwarfs in deep extragalactic surveys using the virtual observatory: ALHAMBRA and COSMOSUltracool dwarfs (UCDs) encompass a wide variety of compact stellar-like objects with spectra classified as late-M, L, T, and Y. Most of them have been discovered using wide-field imaging surveys. The Virtual Observatory (VO) has proven to be of great utility to efficiently exploit these astronomical resources. We aim to validate a VO methodologySolano, E. et al.
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