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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Discovery and characterization of the exoplanets WASP-148b and c. A transiting system with two interacting giant planetsWe present the discovery and characterization of WASP-148, a new extrasolar system that includes at least two giant planets. The host star is a slowly rotating inactive late-G dwarf with a V = 12 magnitude. The planet WASP-148b is a hot Jupiter of 0.72 R Jup and 0.29 M Jup that transits its host with an orbital period of 8.80 days. We found theHébrard, G. et al.
Advertised on:
82020 -
TESS Reveals a Short-period Sub-Neptune Sibling (HD 86226c) to a Known Long-period Giant PlanetThe Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite mission was designed to find transiting planets around bright, nearby stars. Here, we present the detection and mass measurement of a small, short-period (≍4 days) transiting planet around the bright (V = 7.9), solar-type star HD 86226 (TOI-652, TIC 22221375), previously known to host a long-period (∼1600Teske, Johanna et al.
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82020 -
Searching for electromagnetic counterparts to gravitational-wave merger events with the prototype Gravitational-Wave Optical Transient Observer (GOTO-4)We report the results of optical follow-up observations of 29 gravitational-wave (GW) triggers during the first half of the LIGO-Virgo Collaboration (LVC) O3 run with the Gravitational-wave Optical Transient Observer (GOTO) in its prototype 4-telescope configuration (GOTO-4). While no viable electromagnetic (EM) counterpart candidate was identifiedGompertz, B. P. et al.
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72020 -
Search for the sub-stellar lithium depletion boundary in the open star cluster Coma BerenicesAims: We mainly aim to search for the lithium depletion boundary (LDB) among the sub-stellar population of the open star cluster Coma Berenices. Methods: Since the number of brown dwarf candidates in Coma Ber available in the literature is scarce, we carried out a search for additional candidates photometrically using colour-magnitude diagramsMartín, E. L. et al.
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82020 -
A temperature inversion with atomic iron in the ultra-hot dayside atmosphere of WASP-189bTemperature inversion layers are predicted to be present in ultra-hot giant planet atmospheres. Although such inversion layers have recently been observed in several ultra-hot Jupiters, the chemical species responsible for creating the inversion remain unidentified. Here, we present observations of the thermal emission spectrum of an ultra-hotYan, F. et al.
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82020 -
The Multiplanet System TOI-421We report the discovery of a warm Neptune and a hot sub-Neptune transiting TOI-421 (BD-14 1137, TIC 94986319), a bright (V = 9.9) G9 dwarf star in a visual binary system observed by the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) space mission in Sectors 5 and 6. We performed ground-based follow-up observations—comprised of Las Cumbres ObservatoryCarleo, Ilaria et al.
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92020 -
Precise mass and radius of a transiting super-Earth planet orbiting the M dwarf TOI-1235: a planet in the radius gap?We report the confirmation of a transiting planet around the bright weakly active M0.5 V star TOI-1235 (TYC 4384-1735-1, V ≈ 11.5 mag), whose transit signal was detected in the photometric time series of sectors 14, 20, and 21 of the TESS space mission. We confirm the planetary nature of the transit signal, which has a period of 3.44 d, by usingBluhm, P. et al.
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72020 -
Three short-period Jupiters from TESS. HIP 65Ab, TOI-157b, and TOI-169bWe report the confirmation and mass determination of three hot Jupiters discovered by the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) mission: HIP 65Ab (TOI-129, TIC-201248411) is an ultra-short-period Jupiter orbiting a bright (V = 11.1 mag) K4-dwarf every 0.98 days. It is a massive 3.213 ± 0.078 M J planet in a grazing transit configuration withNielsen, L. D. et al.
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72020 -
An eclipsing substellar binary in a young triple system discovered by SPECULOOSMass, radius and age are three of the most fundamental parameters for celestial objects, enabling insight into the evolution and internal physics of stars, brown dwarfs and planets. Brown dwarfs are hydrogen-rich objects that are unable to sustain core fusion reactions but are supported against collapse by electron degeneracy pressure 1. As theyTriaud, Amaury H. M. J. et al.
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32020 -
Revisiting Proxima with ESPRESSOContext. The discovery of Proxima b marked one of the most important milestones in exoplanetary science in recent years. Yet the limited precision of the available radial velocity data and the difficulty in modelling the stellar activity calls for a confirmation of the Earth-mass planet. Aims: We aim to confirm the presence of Proxima b usingSuárez Mascareño, A. et al.
Advertised on:
72020 -
The correlation between photometric variability and radial velocity jitter. Based on TESS and HARPS observationsContext. Characterizing the relation between stellar photometric variability and radial velocity (RV) jitter can help us to better understand the physics behind these phenomena. The current and upcoming high precision photometric surveys such as TESS, CHEOPS, and PLATO will provide the community with thousands of new exoplanet candidates. As aHojjatpanah, S. et al.
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72020 -
A multiplanet system of super-Earths orbiting the brightest red dwarf star GJ 887The closet exoplanets to the Sun provide opportunities for detailed characterization of planets outside the Solar System. We report the discovery, using radial velocity measurements, of a compact multiplanet system of super-Earth exoplanets orbiting the nearby red dwarf star GJ 887. The two planets have orbital periods of 9.3 and 21.8 daysJeffers, S. V. et al.
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62020 -
The CARMENES search for exoplanets around M dwarfs. The He I infrared triplet lines in PHOENIX models of M 2-3 V starsThe He I infrared (IR) line at a vacuum wavelength of 10 833 Å is a diagnostic for the investigation of atmospheres of stars and planets orbiting them. For the first time, we study the behavior of the He I IR line in a set of chromospheric models for M-dwarf stars, whose much denser chromospheres may favor collisions for the level population overHintz, D. et al.
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62020 -
A planet within the debris disk around the pre-main-sequence star AU MicroscopiiAU Microscopii (AU Mic) is the second closest pre-main-sequence star, at a distance of 9.79 parsecs and with an age of 22 million years 1. AU Mic possesses a relatively rare 2 and spatially resolved 3 edge-on debris disk extending from about 35 to 210 astronomical units from the star 4, and with clumps exhibiting non-Keplerian motion 5-7. DetectionPlavchan, Peter et al.
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62020 -
First detection of two superoutbursts during the rebrightening phase of a WZ Sge-type dwarf nova: TCP J21040470+4631129We report on photometric and spectroscopic observations and analysis of the 2019 superoutburst of TCP J21040470+4631129. This object showed a 9 mag superoutburst with early superhumps and ordinary superhumps, which are the features of WZ Sge-type dwarf novae. Five rebrightenings were observed after the main superoutburst. The spectra during theTampo, Yusuke et al.
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62020 -
The CARMENES search for exoplanets around M dwarfs. Dynamical characterization of the multiple planet system GJ 1148 and prospects of habitable exomoons around GJ 1148 bContext. GJ 1148 is an M-dwarf star hosting a planetary system composed of two Saturn-mass planets in eccentric orbits with periods of 41.38 and 532.02 days. Aims: We reanalyze the orbital configuration and dynamics of the GJ 1148 multi-planetary system based on new precise radial velocity measurements taken with CARMENES. Methods: We combined newTrifonov, T. et al.
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62020 -
A He I upper atmosphere around the warm Neptune GJ 3470 bHigh resolution transit spectroscopy has proven to be a reliable technique for the characterization of the chemical composition of exoplanet atmospheres. Taking advantage of the broad spectral coverage of the CARMENES spectrograph, we initiated a survey aimed at characterizing a broad range of planetary systems. Here, we report our observations ofPalle, E. et al.
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62020 -
Detection of Fe I and Fe II in the atmosphere of MASCARA-2b using a cross-correlation methodUltra-hot Jupiters are gas giants planets whose dayside temperature is greater than 2200 K as a consequence of the strong irradiation received from the host star. These kinds of objects are perfect laboratories to study the chemistry of exoplanetary upper atmospheres via transmission spectroscopy. Exo-atmospheric absorption features are buried inStangret, M. et al.
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62020 -
The CARMENES search for exoplanets around M dwarfs. A super-Earth planet orbiting HD 79211 (GJ 338 B)Aims: We report on radial velocity time series for two M0.0 V stars, GJ 338 B and GJ 338 A, using the CARMENES spectrograph, complemented by ground-telescope photometry from Las Cumbres and Sierra Nevada observatories. We aim to explore the presence of small planets in tight orbits using the spectroscopic radial velocity technique. Methods: WeGonzález-Álvarez, E. et al.
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52020 -
The CARMENES search for exoplanets around M dwarfs. Characterization of the nearby ultra-compact multiplanetary system YZ CetiContext. The nearby ultra-compact multiplanetary system YZ Ceti consists of at least three planets, and a fourth tentative signal. The orbital period of each planet is the subject of discussion in the literature due to strong aliasing in the radial velocity data. The stellar activity of this M dwarf also hampers significantly the derivation of theStock, S. et al.
Advertised on:
42020
