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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TESS-Keck Survey. V. Twin Sub-Neptunes Transiting the Nearby G Star HD 63935We present the discovery of two nearly identically sized sub-Neptune transiting planets orbiting HD 63935, a bright (V = 8.6 mag), Sun-like (T eff = 5560 K) star at 49 pc. TESS identified the first planet, HD 63935 b (TOI-509.01), in Sectors 7 and 34. We identified the second signal (HD 63935 c) in Keck High Resolution Echelle Spectrometer and LickScarsdale, Nicholas et al.
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112021 -
A young spectroscopic binary in a quintuple system part of the Local AssociationContext. Double-lined spectroscopic (SB2) binaries allow us to obtain a direct determination of the masses of their components, which is essential to test stellar models. Although these objects only provide a lower limit for the mass, they are more abundant than their eclipsing counterparts as they are not as strongly limited by the inclination ofCardona Guillén, Carlos et al.
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102021 -
Is the orbit of the exoplanet WASP-43b really decaying? TESS and MuSCAT2 observations confirm no detectionUp to now, WASP-12b is the only hot Jupiter confirmed to have a decaying orbit. The case of WASP-43b is still under debate. Recent studies preferred or ruled out the orbital decay scenario, but further precise transit timing observations are needed to definitively confirm or refute the period change of WASP-43b. This possibility is given by theGarai, Z. et al.
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122021 -
The Rossiter-McLaughlin effect revolutions: an ultra-short period planet and a warm mini-Neptune on perpendicular orbitsComparisons of the alignment of exoplanets with a common host star and each other can be used to distinguish among concurrent evolution scenarios for the star and the planets. However, multi-planet systems usually host mini-Neptunes and super-Earths, whose sizes make orbital architecture measurements challenging. We introduce the RossiterBourrier, V. et al.
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102021 -
CARMENES detection of the Ca II infrared triplet and possible evidence of He I in the atmosphere of WASP-76bUltra-hot Jupiters are highly irradiated gas giants with equilibrium temperatures typically higher than 2000 K. Atmospheric studies of these planets have shown that their transmission spectra are rich in metal lines, with some of these metals being ionised due to the extreme temperatures. Here, we use two transit observations of WASP-76b obtainedCasasayas-Barris, N. et al.
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102021 -
The HARPS search for southern extra-solar planets. XLVI. 12 super-Earths around the solar type stars HD 39194, HD 93385, HD 96700, HD 154088, and HD 189567Context. We present precise radial-velocity measurements of five solar-type stars observed with the HARPS Echelle spectrograph mounted on the 3.6-m telescope in La Silla (ESO, Chile). With a time span of more than 10 yr and a fairly dense sampling, the survey is sensitive to low mass planets down to super-Earths on orbital periods up to 100 daysUnger, N. et al.
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102021 -
The CARMENES search for exoplanets around M dwarfs. Not-so-fine hyperfine-split vanadium lines in cool star spectraContext. M-dwarf spectra are complex and notoriously difficult to model, posing challenges to understanding their photospheric properties and compositions in depth. Vanadium (V) is an iron-group element whose abundance supposedly closely tracks that of iron, but has origins that are not completely understood. Aims: Our aim is to characterize aShan, Y. et al.
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102021 -
NEREA (Near Earths and high-Res Exoplanet Atmospheres), a red/near-IR spectrograph concept for the Gran Telescopio CanariasNEREA (Near Earths and high-Res Exoplanet Atmospheres) is a stable, compact, high-resolution spectrometer concept for the Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC). The spectrograph is designed to be a common user instrument; however, its specifications are governed by two main science goals. (1) The discovery and characterization of planets around late-MBaker, Clark et al.
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72021 -
Earth's Albedo 1998-2017 as Measured From EarthshineThe reflectance of the Earth is a fundamental climate parameter that we measured from Big Bear Solar Observatory between 1998 and 2017 by observing the earthshine using modern photometric techniques to precisely determine daily, monthly, seasonal, yearly and decadal changes in terrestrial albedo from earthshine. We find the inter-annualGoode, P. R. et al.
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92021 -
CHEOPS precision phase curve of the Super-Earth 55 Cancri eContext. 55 Cnc e is a transiting super-Earth (radius 1.88 R ⊕ and mass 8 M ⊕) orbiting a G8V host star on a 17-h orbit. Spitzer observations of the planet's phase curve at 4.5 μm revealed a time-varying occultation depth, and MOST optical observations are consistent with a time-varying phase curve amplitude and phase offset of maximum light. BothMorris, B. M. et al.
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92021 -
HD 22496 b: The first ESPRESSO stand-alone planet discoveryContext. The ESPRESSO spectrograph is a new powerful tool developed to detect and characterize extrasolar planets. Its design allows an unprecedented radial velocity precision (down to a few tens of cm s −1) and long-term thermomechanical stability. Aims: We present the first stand-alone detection of an extrasolar planet by blind radial velocityLillo-Box, J. et al.
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102021 -
The obliquity and atmosphere of the ultra-hot Jupiter TOI-1431b (MASCARA-5b): A misaligned orbit and no signs of atomic or molecular absorptionsUltra-hot Jupiters are defined as giant planets with equilibrium temperatures larger than 2000 K. Most of them are found orbiting bright A-F type stars, making them extremely suitable objects to study their atmospheres using high-resolution spectroscopy. Recent studies show a variety of atoms and molecules detected in the atmospheres of this typeStangret, M. et al.
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102021 -
37 new validated planets in overlapping K2 campaignsWe analysed 68 candidate planetary systems first identified during Campaigns 5 and 6 (C5 and C6) of the NASA K2 mission. We set out to validate these systems by using a suite of follow-up observations, including adaptive optics, speckle imaging, and reconnaissance spectroscopy. The overlap between C5 with C16 and C18, and C6 with C17, yields lightde Leon, J. P. et al.
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112021 -
TOI-1749: an M dwarf with a Trio of Planets including a Near-resonant PairWe report the discovery of one super-Earth- (TOI-1749b) and two sub-Neptune-sized planets (TOI-1749c and TOI-1749d) transiting an early M dwarf at a distance of 100 pc, which were first identified as planetary candidates using data from the TESS photometric survey. We have followed up this system from the ground by means of multiband transitFukui, A. et al.
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102021 -
Searching for Fermi GRB optical counterparts with the prototype Gravitational-wave Optical Transient Observer (GOTO)The typical detection rate of ~1 gamma-ray burst (GRB) per day by the Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM) provides a valuable opportunity to further our understanding of GRB physics. However, the large uncertainty of the Fermi localization typically prevents rapid identification of multiwavelength counterparts. We report the follow-up of 93 FermiMong, Y. -L. et al.
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112021 -
The CARMENES search for exoplanets around M dwarfs. Planet occurrence rates from a subsample of 71 starsContext. The CARMENES exoplanet survey of M dwarfs has obtained more than 18 000 spectra of 329 nearby M dwarfs over the past five years as part of its guaranteed time observations (GTO) program. Aims: We determine planet occurrence rates with the 71 stars from the GTO program for which we have more than 50 observations. Methods: We use injectionSabotta, S. et al.
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92021 -
Correcting the effect of stellar spots on ARIEL transmission spectra - II. The limb-darkening effectThis paper is part of an effort to correct the transmission spectra of a transiting planet orbiting an active star. In Paper I (Cracchiolo, Micela & Peres 2020), we have demonstrated a methodology to minimize the potential bias induced by unocculted star spots on the transmission spectrum, assuming a spot model parametrized by filling factor andCracchiolo, G. et al.
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112021 -
Into the storm: diving into the winds of the ultra-hot Jupiter WASP-76 b with HARPS and ESPRESSOContext. Despite swift progress in the characterisation of exoplanet atmospheres in composition and structure, the study of atmospheric dynamics has not progressed at the same speed. While theoretical models have been developed to describe the lower layers of the atmosphere, and independently, the exosphere, little is known about the intermediateSeidel, J. V. et al.
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92021 -
Two Bright M Dwarfs Hosting Ultra-Short-Period Super-Earths with Earth-like CompositionsWe present observations of two bright M dwarfs (TOI-1634 and TOI-1685: J = 9.5-9.6) hosting ultra-short-period (USP) planets identified by the TESS mission. The two stars are similar in temperature, mass, and radius (T eff ≍ 3500 K, M ⋆ ≍ 0.45-0.46 M ⊙, and R ⋆ ≍ 0.45-0.46 R ⊙), and the planets are both super-Earth size (1.25 R ⊕ < R p < 2.0 R ⊕)Hirano, Teruyuki et al.
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102021 -
TOI-674b: An oasis in the desert of exo-Neptunes transiting a nearby M dwarfContext. The NASA mission TESS is currently doing an all-sky survey from space to detect transiting planets around bright stars. As part of the validation process, the most promising planet candidates need to be confirmed and characterized using follow-up observations. Aims: In this article, our aim is to confirm the planetary nature of theMurgas, F. et al.
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92021
