Exoplanets and Astrobiology

    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

    Principal investigator
    Project staff
    1. Detection of He in the atmosphere of an exoplanet from the ground, published in Science
    2. Detection of a super-earth around Barnard star, published in Nature
    3. Detection of the first TESS planets, with several papers of high relevance
    4. Discovery of Na and Halpha features in the spectrum of KELT-20b with TNG
    5. 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.

    Related publications

    • The CARMENES search for exoplanets around M dwarfs. High-resolution optical and near-infrared spectroscopy of 324 survey stars
      The CARMENES radial velocity (RV) survey is observing 324 M dwarfs to search for any orbiting planets. In this paper, we present the survey sample by publishing one CARMENES spectrum for each M dwarf. These spectra cover the wavelength range 520-1710 nm at a resolution of at least R >80 000, and we measure its RV, Hα emission, and projected
      Reiners, A. et al.

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      4
      2018
      Citations
      213
    • MASCARA-2 b. A hot Jupiter transiting the mV = 7.6 A-star HD 185603
      In this paper we present MASCARA-2 b, a hot Jupiter transiting the mV = 7.6 A2 star HD 185603. Since early 2015, MASCARA has taken more than 1.6 million flux measurements of the star, corresponding to a total of almost 3000 h of observations, revealing a periodic dimming in the flux with a depth of 1.3%. Photometric follow-up observations were
      Talens, G. J. J. et al.

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      4
      2018
      Citations
      59
    • The discovery of WASP-151b, WASP-153b, WASP-156b: Insights on giant planet migration and the upper boundary of the Neptunian desert
      To investigate the origin of the features discovered in the exoplanet population, the knowledge of exoplanets' mass and radius with a good precision (≲10%) is essential. To achieve this purpose the discovery of transiting exoplanets around bright stars is of prime interest. In this paper, we report the discovery of three transiting exoplanets by
      Demangeon, O. D. S. et al.

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      3
      2018
      Citations
      48
    • The Lithium Depletion Boundary and the Age of the Hyades Cluster
      Determination of the lithium depletion boundary (LDB), i.e., the observational limit below which the cores of very low-mass objects do not reach high enough temperatures for Li destruction, has been used to obtain ages for several open clusters and stellar associations younger than 200 Myr—which until now has been considered the practical upper
      Martín, E. L. et al.

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      3
      2018
      Citations
      85
    • Non-grey dimming events of KIC 8462852 from GTC spectrophotometry
      We report ground-based spectrophotometry of KIC 8462852 obtained during its first dimming events since the end of the Kepler mission. The dimmings show a clear colour signature and are deeper in visual blue than in red wavelengths. The wavelength dependency of the flux loss can be described with an absorption Ångström coefficient of 2.19 ± 0.45
      Deeg, H. J. et al.

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      2
      2018
      Citations
      15
    • K2-155: A Bright Metal-poor M Dwarf with Three Transiting Super-Earths
      We report on the discovery of three transiting super-Earths around K2-155 (EPIC 210897587), a relatively bright early M dwarf (V = 12.81 mag) observed during Campaign 13 of the NASA K2 mission. To characterize the system and validate the planet candidates, we conducted speckle imaging and high-dispersion optical spectroscopy, including radial
      Hirano, T. et al.

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      3
      2018
      Citations
      19
    • Exoplanets around Low-mass Stars Unveiled by K2
      We present the detection and follow-up observations of planetary candidates around low-mass stars observed by the K2 mission. Based on light-curve analysis, adaptive-optics imaging, and optical spectroscopy at low and high resolution (including radial velocity measurements), we validate 16 planets around 12 low-mass stars observed during K2
      Hirano, T. et al.

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      3
      2018
      Citations
      77
    • The CARMENES search for exoplanets around M dwarfs. HD147379 b: A nearby Neptune in the temperate zone of an early-M dwarf
      We report on the first star discovered to host a planet detected by radial velocity (RV) observations obtained within the CARMENES survey for exoplanets around M dwarfs. HD 147379 (V = 8.9 mag, M = 0.58 ± 0.08 M⊙), a bright M0.0 V star at a distance of 10.7 pc, is found to undergo periodic RV variations with a semi-amplitude of K = 5.1 ± 0.4 m s-1
      Reiners, A. et al.

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      2
      2018
      Citations
      55
    • Three Small Planets Transiting a Hyades Star
      We present the discovery of three small planets transiting K2-136 (LP 358 348, EPIC 247589423), a late K dwarf in the Hyades. The planets have orbital periods of 7.9757 ± 0.0011, {17.30681}-0.00036+0.00034, and {25.5715}-0.0040+0.0038 {days}, and radii of 1.05 ± 0.16, 3.14 ± 0.36, and {1.55}-0.21+0.24 {R}\oplus , respectively. With an age of 600
      Livingston, J. H. et al.

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      3
      2018
      Citations
      51
    • The CARMENES search for exoplanets around M dwarfs . First visual-channel radial-velocity measurements and orbital parameter updates of seven M-dwarf planetary systems
      Context. The main goal of the CARMENES survey is to find Earth-mass planets around nearby M-dwarf stars. Seven M dwarfs included in the CARMENES sample had been observed before with HIRES and HARPS and either were reported to have one short period planetary companion (GJ 15 A, GJ 176, GJ 436, GJ 536 and GJ 1148) or are multiple planetary systems
      Trifonov, T. et al.

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      2
      2018
      Citations
      127
    • The First Post-Kepler Brightness Dips of KIC 8462852
      We present a photometric detection of the first brightness dips of the unique variable star KIC 8462852 since the end of the Kepler space mission in 2013 May. Our regular photometric surveillance started in 2015 October, and a sequence of dipping began in 2017 May continuing on through the end of 2017, when the star was no longer visible from Earth
      Boyajian, T. S. et al.

      Advertised on:

      1
      2018
      Citations
      43
    • Spectrum radial velocity analyser (SERVAL). High-precision radial velocities and two alternative spectral indicators
      Context. The CARMENES survey is a high-precision radial velocity (RV) programme that aims to detect Earth-like planets orbiting low-mass stars. Aims: We develop least-squares fitting algorithms to derive the RVs and additional spectral diagnostics implemented in the SpEctrum Radial Velocity AnaLyser (SERVAL), a publicly available python code
      Zechmeister, M. et al.

      Advertised on:

      1
      2018
      Citations
      325
    • The GTC exoplanet transit spectroscopy survey. VIII. Flat transmission spectrum for the warm gas giant WASP-80b
      Aims: We set out to study the atmosphere of WASP-80b, a warm inflated gas giant with an equilibrium temperature of 800 K, using ground-based transmission spectroscopy covering the spectral range from 520 to 910 nm. The observations allow us to probe the existence and abundance of K and Na in WASP-80b's atmosphere, existence of high-altitude clouds
      Parviainen, H. et al.

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      1
      2018
      Citations
      19
    • The optical + infrared L dwarf spectral sequence of young planetary-mass objects in the Upper Scorpius association
      We present the results of photometric and spectroscopic follow-ups of the lowest mass member candidates in the nearest OB association, Upper Scorpius (∼5-10 Myr; 145 ± 17 pc), with the Gran Telescopio de Canarias (GTC) and European Southern Observatory (ESO) Very Large Telescope (VLT). We confirm the membership of the large majority (>80 per cent)
      Lodieu, N. et al.

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      1
      2018
      Citations
      39
    • A dearth of small particles in the transiting material around the white dwarf WD 1145+017
      White dwarf WD 1145+017 is orbited by several clouds of dust, possibly emanating from actively disintegrating bodies. These dust clouds reveal themselves through deep, broad, and evolving transits in the star's light curve. Here, we report two epochs of multiwavelength photometric observations of WD 1145+017, including several filters in the
      Xu, S. et al.

      Advertised on:

      3
      2018
      Citations
      36
    • K2-137 b: an Earth-sized planet in a 4.3-h orbit around an M-dwarf
      We report the discovery in K2's Campaign 10 of a transiting terrestrial planet in an ultra-short-period orbit around an M3-dwarf. K2-137 b completes an orbit in only 4.3 h, the second shortest orbital period of any known planet, just 4 min longer than that of KOI 1843.03, which also orbits an M-dwarf. Using a combination of archival images
      Smith, A. M. S. et al.

      Advertised on:

      3
      2018
      Citations
      43
    • Confirming the least massive members of the Pleiades star cluster
      We present optical photometry (i and Z band) and low-resolution spectroscopy (640-1015 nm) of very faint candidate members (J = 20.2-21.2 mag) of the Pleiades star cluster (120 Myr). The main goal is to address their cluster membership via photometric, astrometric, and spectroscopic studies, and to determine the properties of the least massive
      Zapatero Osorio, M. R. et al.

      Advertised on:

      3
      2018
      Citations
      7
    • Detection of sodium in the atmosphere of WASP-69b
      Context. Transit spectroscopy is one of the most commonly used methods to characterize exoplanets' atmospheres. From the ground, these observations are very challenging due to the terrestrial atmosphere and its intrinsic variations, but high-spectral-resolution observations overcome this difficulty by resolving the spectral lines and taking
      Casasayas-Barris, N. et al.

      Advertised on:

      12
      2017
      Citations
      81
    • K2-106, a system containing a metal-rich planet and a planet of lower density
      Aims: Planets in the mass range from 2 to 15 M⊕ are very diverse. Some of them have low densities, while others are very dense. By measuring the masses and radii, the mean densities, structure, and composition of the planets are constrained. These parameters also give us important information about their formation and evolution, and about possible
      Guenther, E. W. et al.

      Advertised on:

      12
      2017
      Citations
      61
    • The δ Scuti pulsations of β Pictoris as observed by ASTEP from Antarctica
      Aims: The Antarctica Search for Transiting Extrasolar Planets (ASTEP), an automatized 400 mm telescope located at Concordia station in Antarctica, monitored β Pictoris continuously to detect any variability linked to the transit of the Hill sphere of its planet β Pictoris b. The long observation sequence, from March to September 2017, combined with
      Mékarnia, D. et al.

      Advertised on:

      12
      2017
      Citations
      20

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