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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Lithium in the Hyades L5 brown dwarf 2MASS J04183483+2131275Aims: From the luminosity, effective temperature and age of the Hyades brown dwarf 2MASS J04183483+2131275 (2M0418), substellar evolutionary models predict a mass in the range 39-55 Jupiter masses (MJup) which is insufficient to produce any substantial lithium burning except for the very upper range >53 MJup. Our goal is to measure the abundance ofLodieu, N. et al.
Advertised on:
72018 -
The GTC exoplanet transit spectroscopy survey. IX. Detection of haze, Na, K, and Li in the super-Neptune WASP-127bExoplanets with relatively clear atmospheres are prime targets for detailed studies of chemical compositions and abundances in their atmospheres. Alkali metals have long been suggested to exhibit broad wings due to pressure broadening, but most of the alkali detections only show very narrow absorption cores, probably because of the presence ofChen, G. et al.
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82018 -
Na I and Hα absorption features in the atmosphere of MASCARA-2b/KELT-20bWe used the HARPS-North high resolution spectrograph (ℛ = 115 000) at Telescopio Nazionale Galileo (TNG) to observe one transit of the highly irradiated planet MASCARA-2b/KELT-20b. Using only one transit observation, we are able to clearly resolve the spectral features of the atomic sodium (Na I) doublet and the Hα line in its atmosphere, which areCasasayas-Barris, N. et al.
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92018 -
44 Validated Planets from K2 Campaign 10We present 44 validated planets from the 10th observing campaign of the NASA K2 mission, as well as high-resolution spectroscopy and speckle imaging follow-up observations. These 44 planets come from an initial set of 72 vetted candidates, which we subjected to a validation process incorporating pixel-level analyses, light curve analysesLivingston, J. H. et al.
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82018 -
A transiting M-dwarf showing beaming effect in the field of Ruprecht 147We report the discovery and characterization of an eclipsing M5Vdwarf star, orbiting a slightly evolved F7V main sequence star. In contrast to previous claims in the literature, we confirm that the system does not belong to the galactic open cluster Ruprecht 147. We determine its fundamental parameters combining K2 time-series data withEigmüller, P. et al.
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112018 -
Primeval very low-mass stars and brown dwarfs - IV. New L subdwarfs, Gaia astrometry, population properties, and a blue brown dwarf binaryWe present 27 new L subdwarfs and classify five of them as esdL and 22 as sdL. Our L subdwarf candidates were selected with the UKIRT Infrared Deep Sky Survey and Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Spectroscopic follow-up was carried out primarily with the OSIRIS spectrograph on the Gran Telescopio Canarias. Some of these new objects were followed up withZhang, Z. H. et al.
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112018 -
K2-260 b: a hot Jupiter transiting an F star, and K2-261 b: a warm Saturn around a bright G starWe present the discovery and confirmation of two new transiting giant planets from the Kepler extended mission K2. K2-260 b is a hot Jupiter transiting a V = 12.7 F6V star in K2 Field 13, with a mass and radius of M⋆ = 1.39_{-0.06}^{+0.05} M_{⊙} and R⋆ = 1.69 ± 0.03 R_{⊙}. The planet has an orbital period of P = 2.627 d, and a mass and radius of MJohnson, M. C. et al.
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112018 -
Fast spectrophotometry of WD 1145+017WD 1145+017 is currently the only white dwarf known to exhibit periodic transits of planetary debris as well as absorption lines from circumstellar gas. We present the first simultaneous fast optical spectrophotometry and broad-band photometry of the system, obtained with the Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC) and the Liverpool Telescope, respectivelyIzquierdo, P. et al.
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112018 -
Eyes on K2-3: A system of three likely sub-Neptunes characterized with HARPS-N and HARPSContext. M-dwarf stars are promising targets for identifying and characterizing potentially habitable planets. K2-3 is a nearby (45 pc), early-type M dwarf hosting three small transiting planets, the outermost of which orbits close to the inner edge of the stellar (optimistic) habitable zone. The K2-3 system is well suited for follow-upDamasso, M. et al.
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72018 -
Kepler Object of Interest Network. I. First results combining ground- and space-based observations of Kepler systems with transit timing variationsDuring its four years of photometric observations, the Kepler space telescope detected thousands of exoplanets and exoplanet candidates. One of Kepler's greatest heritages has been the confirmation and characterization of hundreds of multi-planet systems via transit timing variations (TTVs). However, there are many interesting candidate systemsvon Essen, C. et al.
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72018 -
The CARMENES search for exoplanets around M dwarfs. Wing asymmetries of Hα, Na I D, and He I linesStellar activity is ubiquitously encountered in M dwarfs and often characterised by the Hα line. In the most active M dwarfs, Hα is found in emission, sometimes with a complex line profile. Previous studies have reported extended wings and asymmetries in the Hα line during flares. We used a total of 473 high-resolution spectra of 28 active M dwarfsFuhrmeister, B. et al.
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72018 -
The Penn State - Toruń Centre for Astronomy Planet Search stars. IV. Dwarfs and the complete sampleContext. Our knowledge of the intrinsic parameters of exoplanets is as precise as our determinations of their stellar hosts parameters. In the case of radial velocity searches for planets, stellar masses appear to be crucial. But before estimating stellar masses properly, detailed spectroscopic analysis is essential. With this paper we conclude aDeka-Szymankiewicz, B. et al.
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72018 -
Primeval very low-mass stars and brown dwarfs - III. The halo transitional brown dwarfsWe report the discovery of an esdL3 subdwarf, ULAS J020858.62+020657.0, and a usdL4.5 subdwarf, ULAS J230711.01+014447.1. They were identified as L subdwarfs by optical spectra obtained with the Gran Telescopio Canarias, and followed up by optical-to-near-infrared spectroscopy with the Very Large Telescope. We also obtained an optical-to-nearZhang, Z. H. et al.
Advertised on:
92018 -
The CARMENES search for exoplanets around M dwarfs. Photospheric parameters of target stars from high-resolution spectroscopyContext. The new CARMENES instrument comprises two high-resolution and high-stability spectrographs that are used to search for habitable planets around M dwarfs in the visible and near-infrared regime via the Doppler technique. Aims: Characterising our target sample is important for constraining the physical properties of any planetary systemsPassegger, V. M. et al.
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72018 -
The CARMENES search for exoplanets around M dwarfs. Radial-velocity variations of active stars in visual-channel spectraContext. Previous simulations predicted the activity-induced radial-velocity (RV) variations of M dwarfs to range from 1 cm s-1 to 1 km s-1, depending on various stellar and activity parameters. Aims: We investigate the observed relations between RVs, stellar activity, and stellar parameters of M dwarfs by analyzing CARMENES high-resolution visualTal-Or, L. et al.
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62018 -
The HARPS search for southern extra-solar planets. XLIII. A compact system of four super-Earth planets orbiting HD 215152We report the discovery of four super-Earth planets around HD 215152, with orbital periods of 5.76, 7.28, 10.86, and 25.2 d, and minimum masses of 1.8, 1.7, 2.8, and 2.9 M⊕ respectively. This discovery is based on 373 high-quality radial velocity measurements taken by HARPS over 13 yr. Given the low masses of the planets, the signal-to-noise ratioDelisle, J.-B. et al.
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62018 -
HD 89345: a bright oscillating star hosting a transiting warm Saturn-sized planet observed by K2We report the discovery and characterization of HD 89345b (K2-234b; EPIC 248777106b), a Saturn-sized planet orbiting a slightly evolved star. HD 89345 is a bright star (V = 9.3 mag) observed by the K2 mission with 1 min time sampling. It exhibits solar-like oscillations. We conducted asteroseismology to determine the parameters of the star, findingVan Eylen, V. et al.
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82018 -
A temperate exo-Earth around a quiet M dwarf at 3.4 parsecThe combination of high-contrast imaging and high-dispersion spectroscopy, which has successfully been use to detect the atmosphere of a giant planet, is one of the most promising potential probes of the atmosphere of Earth-size worlds. The forthcoming generation of extremely large telescopes (ELTs) may obtain sufficient contrast with thisBonfils, X. et al.
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52018 -
The CARMENES Search for Exoplanets around M Dwarfs: A Low-mass Planet in the Temperate Zone of the Nearby K2-18K2-18 is a nearby M2.5 dwarf, located at 34 pc and hosting a transiting planet that was first discovered by the K2 mission and later confirmed with Spitzer Space Telescope observations. With a radius of ∼2 R ⊕ and an orbital period of ∼33 days, the planet lies in the temperate zone of its host star and receives stellar irradiation similar to thatSarkis, P. et al.
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62018 -
K2-141 b. A 5-M⊕ super-Earth transiting a K7 V star every 6.7 hWe report on the discovery of K2-141 b (EPIC 246393474 b), an ultra-short-period super-Earth on a 6.7 h orbit transiting an active K7 V star based on data from K2 campaign 12. We confirmed the planet's existence and measured its mass with a series of follow-up observations: seeing-limited MuSCAT imaging, NESSI high-resolution speckle observationsBarragán, O. et al.
Advertised on:
52018
