Lines of research: Exoplanetary Systems & Solar System (SEYSS)

Exoplanetary Systems & Solar System (SEYSS)

The area of planetary and solar systems involves several research groups working on Exoplanets, Solar System and Cultural Astronomy. Our main objectives are:

  • The detection and characterization of giant and rocky planets around nearby stars using the most advanced instruments (CARMENES, ESPRESSO, HARPS Norte y Sur, SONG, LCO, MUSCAT2) and space missions (CoRoT, Kepler K2, CHEOPS, TESS and PLATO). The group is particularly interested in the study of terrestrial planets in the habitable zone of their host stars where water can be in liquid form.
  • The characterization of the atmospheres of planets to know their structure and composition, both by transits and direct imaging, using ground-based telescopes such as GTC and space missions such as CHEOPS.
  • Investigate the formation of exoplanet systems by studying the chemical composition of planet host stars, and the dynamical evolution of exoplanets at their early stages of formation.
  • Study the physical properties of different families of minor bodies of the Solar System (asteroids, comets, trans-neptunian objects, etc.) to understand the origin and evolution of Solar System with GTC and space missions such as OSIRIS-REx.
  • The study of ancient cosmologies through cultural astronomy and the defense of cultural heritage through the astronomy.
  • Publication
    AGB Stars and Their Circumstellar Envelopes. I. the VULCAN Code
    The interplay between AGB interiors and their outermost layers, where molecules and dust form, is a problem of high complexity. As a consequence, physical...
  • Publication
    AGB Stars and Their Circumstellar Envelopes: An Operative Approach to Computing Their Atmospheres
    The study of AGB stars necessarily covers a wide range of topics, from the primary astronomical observations to their interpretation in terms of fundamental...
  • Publication
    AGB stars in the SMC: evolution and dust properties based on Spitzer observations
    We study the population of asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) by means of full evolutionary models of stars of mass 1 M⊙ ≤...
  • Publication
    Age-resolved chemistry of red giants in the solar neighbourhood
    In the age of high-resolution spectroscopic stellar surveys of the Milky Way, the number of stars with detailed abundances of multiple elements is rapidly...
  • Publication
    Albedo and atmospheric constraints of dwarf planet Makemake from a stellar occultation
    Pluto and Eris are icy dwarf planets with nearly identical sizes, comparable densities and similar surface compositions as revealed by spectroscopic studies...
  • Publication
    Alignment determination of the Hayabusa2 laser altimeter (LIDAR)
    In this study, we determined the alignment of the laser altimeter aboard Hayabusa2 with respect to the spacecraft using in-flight data. Since the laser...
  • News
    Allande Stars: beyond the stars, closer to our culture
    The Allande Stars project, funded and supported by the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), is bringing Astronomy to more than 300 people to the zone of...
  • Publication
    Alternative Strategies to Solve the Stellar Atmosphere Problem
    At the heart of the computation of model atmospheres there is the so-called Stellar Atmosphere Problem, which consists of the self-consistent solution of the...
  • Publication
    Amino acids in comets and meteorites: stability under gamma radiation and preservation of the enantiomeric excess
    Amino acids in Solar system bodies may have played a key role in the chemistry that led to the origin of life on Earth. We present laboratory studies testing...