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

    CHEOPS finds KELT-1b darker than expected in visible light. Discrepancy between the CHEOPS and TESS eclipse depths 2022A&A...668A..93P
    Lower-than-expected flare temperatures for TRAPPIST-1 2022A&A...668A.111M
    Atmospheric characterization of the ultra-hot Jupiter WASP-33b. Detection of Ti and V emission lines and retrieval of a broadened line profile 2022A&A...668A..53C
    A CHEOPS-enhanced view of the HD 3167 system,★ 2022A&A...668A..31B
    Phase curve and geometric albedo of WASP-43b measured with CHEOPS, TESS, and HST WFC3/UVIS 2022A&A...668A..17S
    Density, not radius, separates rocky and water-rich small planets orbiting M dwarf stars 2022Sci...377.1211L
    TOI-3884 b: A rare 6-R<SUB>E</SUB> planet that transits a low-mass star with a giant and likely polar spot 2022A&A...667L..11A
    Brown dwarf companions in microlensing binaries detected during the 2016-2018 seasons 2022A&A...667A..64H
    Two temperate super-Earths transiting a nearby late-type M dwarf 2022A&A...667A..59D
    Non-detection of He I in the Atmosphere of GJ 1214b with Keck/NIRSPEC, at a Time of Minimal Telluric Contamination 2022ApJ...939L..11S
    A quarter century of spectroscopic monitoring of the nearby M dwarf Gl 514. A super-Earth on an eccentric orbit moving in and out of the habitable zone 2022A&A...666A.187D
    TOI-2196 b: Rare planet in the hot Neptune desert transiting a G-type star 2022A&A...666A.184P
    Precise mass determination for the keystone sub-Neptune planet transiting the mid-type M dwarf G 9-40 2022A&A...666A.154L
    TOI-1468: A system of two transiting planets, a super-Earth and a mini-Neptune, on opposite sides of the radius valley 2022A&A...666A.155C
    Confirmation and characterisation of three giant planets detected by TESS from the FIES/NOT and Tull/McDonald spectrographs 2022A&A...667A..22K
    The HD 93963 A transiting system: A 1.04 d super-Earth and a 3.65 d sub-Neptune discovered by TESS and CHEOPS 2022A&A...667A...1S
    Is binning always sinning? The impact of time-averaging for exoplanet phase curves 2022MNRAS.517.2151M
    The CARMENES search for exoplanets around M dwarfs. Stable radial-velocity variations at the rotation period of AD Leonis: A test case study of current limitations to treating stellar activity 2022A&A...666A.143K
    The stable climate of KELT-9b,★ 2022A&A...666A.118J
    Detection of barium in the atmospheres of the ultra-hot gas giants WASP-76b and WASP-121b. Together with new detections of Co and Sr+ on WASP-121b 2022A&A...666L..10A
    Detection of Na and K in the Atmosphere of the Hot Jupiter HAT-P-1b with P200/DBSP 2022AJ....164..173C
    Fundamental physics with ESPRESSO: Constraining a simple parametrisation for varying α 2022A&A...666A..57D
    Validation and atmospheric exploration of the sub-Neptune TOI-2136b around a nearby M3 dwarf 2022A&A...666A...4K
    A hot sub-Neptune in the desert and a temperate super-Earth around faint M dwarfs. Color validation of TOI-4479b and TOI-2081b 2022A&A...666A..10E
    HD 23472: a multi-planetary system with three super-Earths and two potential super-Mercuries 2022A&A...665A.154B
    A detailed analysis of the Gl 486 planetary system 2022A&A...665A.120C
    GJ 3090 b: one of the most favourable mini-Neptune for atmospheric characterisation 2022A&A...665A..91A
    Sub-stellar companions of intermediate-mass stars with CoRoT: CoRoT-34b, CoRoT-35b, and CoRoT-36b 2022MNRAS.516..636S
    The GAPS Programme at TNG. XXXVII. A precise density measurement of the young ultra-short period planet TOI-1807 b 2022A&A...664A.163N
    A stellar occultation by the transneptunian object (50000) Quaoar observed by CHEOPS 2022A&A...664L..15M
    The HD 260655 system: Two rocky worlds transiting a bright M dwarf at 10 pc 2022A&A...664A.199L
    TESS Hunt for Young and Maturing Exoplanets (THYME). VII. Membership, Rotation, and Lithium in the Young Cluster Group-X and a New Young Exoplanet 2022AJ....164..115N
    The GAPS Programme at TNG XXXIX. Multiple Molecular Species in the Atmosphere of the Warm Giant Planet WASP-80 b Unveiled at High Resolution with GIANO-B 2022AJ....164..101C
    Uncovering the true periods of the young sub-Neptunes orbiting TOI-2076 2022A&A...664A.156O
    Transmission spectroscopy of MASCARA-1b with ESPRESSO: Challenges of overlapping orbital and Doppler tracks 2022A&A...664A.121C
    Four sub-Jovian-mass planets detected by high-cadence microlensing surveys 2022A&A...664A..33H
    Detailed stellar activity analysis and modelling of GJ 832. Reassessment of the putative habitable zone planet GJ 832c 2022A&A...664A..64G
    A super-Earth orbiting near the inner edge of the habitable zone around the M4.5 dwarf Ross 508 2022PASJ...74..904H
    Large Interferometer For Exoplanets (LIFE). I. Improved exoplanet detection yield estimates for a large mid-infrared space-interferometer mission 2022A&A...664A..21Q
    Benchmark tests of transmission spectroscopy using transiting white dwarfs 2022A&A...664A..50J

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    Astronomers discover a planetary system with three super-Earths and two super-Mercuries
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    Gliese 486 b: a Rosetta stone for the study of exoplanets
    Two new rocky planets in the solar neighborhood
    Astronomers discover a four-planet system with a peculiar migration process
    A sub-Earth confirmed in the planetary system of the closest star to the Sun
    Astronomers discover an ultra-light and super-fast sub-Earth orbiting a red dwarf
    Study reveals that giant planets could reach "maturity" much earlier than previously thought
    IAC80 telescope detects faint transit of exoplanet WASP-156b
    A study offers new prospects for finding life outside the Earth
    A new super-Earth detected orbiting a red dwarf star
    Astronomers discover a surprising system of six exoplanets which orbit rhythmically
    Sucessful test of new technology which should help to discover “other Earths”
    Astronomers find a nearby system of exoplanets with a potentially inhabitable world
    ESPRESSO has its first light on the four telescopes of the VLT at the same time
    SARA SEAGER: “En 10 años tendremos la capacidad de encontrar vida en un exoplaneta”