Grants related:
General
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
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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Habitable Planets Eclipsing Brown Dwarfs: Strategies for Detection and Characterization
Given the very close proximity of their habitable zones, brown dwarfs (BDs) represent high-value targets in the search for nearby transiting habitable planets that may be suitable for follow-up occultation spectroscopy. In this paper, we develop search strategies to find habitable planets transiting BDs depending on their maximum habitable orbital
Belu, Adrian R. et al.Advertised on:
52013 -
Stellar activity as a tracer of moving groups
We present the results of a study of the stellar activity in the solar neighborhood using complete kinematics (galactocentric velocities U, V, W) and the chromospheric activity index log R'HK. We analyzed the average activity level near the centers of known moving groups using a sample of 2529 stars and found that the stars near these associations
Pinfield, D. J. et al.Advertised on:
42013 -
On the Effects of the Evolution of Microbial Mats and Land Plants on the Earth as a Planet. Photometric and Spectroscopic Light Curves of Paleo-Earths
Understanding the spectral and photometric variability of the Earth and the rest of the solar system planets has become of utmost importance for the future characterization of rocky exoplanets. As this is not only interesting at present times but also along the planetary evolution, we studied the effect that the evolution of microbial mats and
García Munõz, A. et al.Advertised on:
42013 -
A photometric study of the hot exoplanet WASP-19b
Context. The sample of hot Jupiters that have been studied in great detail is still growing. In particular, when the planet transits its host star, it is possible to measure the planetary radius and the planet mass (with radial velocity data). For the study of planetary atmospheres, it is essential to obtain transit and occultation measurements at
Naef, D. et al.Advertised on:
42013 -
A Hot Uranus Orbiting the Super Metal-rich Star HD 77338 and the Metallicity-Mass Connection
We announce the discovery of a low-mass planet orbiting the super metal-rich K0V star HD 77338 as part of our ongoing Calan-Hertfordshire Extrasolar Planet Search. The best-fit planet solution has an orbital period of 5.7361 ± 0.0015 days and with a radial velocity semi-amplitude of only 5.96 ± 1.74 ms–1, we find a minimum mass of 15.9^{+4.7}_{-5.3
Ivanyuk, O. et al.Advertised on:
42013 -
The CORALIE survey for southern extrasolar planets. XVII. New and updated long period and massive planets
Context. Since 1998, a planet-search program around main sequence stars within 50 pc in the southern hemisphere has been carried out with the CORALIE echelle spectrograph at La Silla Observatory. Aims: With an observing time span of more than 14 years, the CORALIE survey is now able to unveil Jovian planets on Jupiter's period domain. This growing
Triaud, A. H. M. J. et al.Advertised on:
32013 -
Secondary eclipses in the CoRoT light curves. A homogeneous search based on Bayesian model selection
Aims: We aim to identify and characterize secondary eclipses in the original light curves of all published CoRoT planets using uniform detection and evaluation critetia. Methods: Our analysis is based on a Bayesian model selection between two competing models: one with and one without an eclipse signal. The search is carried out by mapping the
Parviainen, H. et al.Advertised on:
22013 -
GTC OSIRIS z-band imaging of Y dwarfs
Aims: The aim of the project is to contribute to the characterisation of the spectral energy distribution of the coolest brown dwarfs discovered to date, the Y dwarfs. Methods: We obtained z-band far-red imaging for six Y dwarfs and a T9 + Y0 binary with the OSIRIS (Optical System for Imaging and low Resolution Integrated Spectroscopy) instrument
Lodieu, N. et al.Advertised on:
22013
