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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The CARMENES search for exoplanets around M dwarfs. Two Saturn-mass planets orbiting active stars
The CARMENES radial-velocity survey is currently searching for planets in a sample of 387 M dwarfs. Here we report on two Saturn-mass planets orbiting TYC 2187-512-1 (M * = 0.50 M ⊙) and TZ Ari (M * = 0.15 M ⊙), respectively. We obtained supplementary photometric time series, which we use along with spectroscopic information to determine the
Quirrenbach, A. et al.Advertised on:
72022 -
TOI-2119: a transiting brown dwarf orbiting an active M-dwarf from NASA's TESS mission
We report the discovery of TOI-2119b, a transiting brown dwarf (BD) that orbits and is completely eclipsed by an active M-dwarf star. Using light-curve data from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite mission and follow-up high-resolution Doppler spectroscopic observations, we find the BD has a radius of R b = 1.08 ± 0.03R J, a mass of M b = 64
Carmichael, Theron W. et al.Advertised on:
82022 -
Transit Timing Variations for AU Microscopii b and c
We explore the transit timing variations (TTVs) of the young (22 Myr) nearby AU Mic planetary system. For AU Mic b, we introduce three Spitzer (4.5 μm) transits, five TESS transits, 11 LCO transits, one PEST transit, one Brierfield transit, and two transit timing measurements from Rossiter-McLaughlin observations; for AU Mic c, we introduce three
Wittrock, Justin M. et al.Advertised on:
72022 -
High-resolution transmission spectroscopy study of ultra-hot Jupiters HAT-P-57b, KELT-17b, KELT-21b, KELT-7b, MASCARA-1b, and WASP-189b
Ultra-hot jupiters (UHJs) are giant planets on short orbital periods with high equilibrium temperature (T eq) values. Their hot, extended atmospheres are perfect laboratories for transmission spectroscopy studies based on high-resolution spectrographs. In recent years, a variety of atoms and molecules were found in their atmospheres, using
Stangret, M. et al.Advertised on:
62022 -
TOI-1268b: The youngest hot Saturn-mass transiting exoplanet
We report the discovery of TOI-1268b, a transiting Saturn-mass planet from the TESS space mission. With an age of less than 1 Gyr, derived from various age indicators, TOI-1268b is the youngest Saturn-mass planet known to date; it contributes to the small sample of well-characterised young planets. It has an orbital period of P = 8.1577080 ± 0
Šubjak, J. et al.Advertised on:
62022 -
KMT-2021-BLG-1077L: The fifth confirmed multiplanetary system detected by microlensing
Aims: The high-magnification microlensing event KMT-2021-BLG-1077 exhibits a subtle and complex anomaly pattern in the region around the peak. We analyze the lensing light curve of the event with the aim of revealing the nature of the anomaly. Methods: We test various models in combination with several interpretations: that the lens is a binary
Han, Cheongho et al.Advertised on:
62022 -
A low-eccentricity migration pathway for a 13-h-period Earth analogue in a four-planet system
It is commonly accepted that exoplanets with orbital periods shorter than one day, also known as ultra-short-period (USP) planets, formed further out within their natal protoplanetary disks before migrating to their current-day orbits via dynamical interactions. One of the most accepted theories suggests a violent scenario involving high
Serrano, Luisa Maria et al.Advertised on:
42022 -
Fundamental physics with ESPRESSO: Constraints on Bekenstein and dark energy models from astrophysical and local probes<SUP>*</SUP>
Dynamical scalar fields in an effective four-dimensional field theory are naturally expected to couple to the rest of the theory's degrees of freedom, unless some new symmetry is postulated to suppress these couplings. In particular, a coupling to the electromagnetic sector will lead to spacetime variations of the fine-structure constant, α
Martins, C. J. A. P. et al.Advertised on:
62022 -
Magnetism, rotation, and nonthermal emission in cool stars. Average magnetic field measurements in 292 M dwarfs
Stellar dynamos generate magnetic fields that are of fundamental importance to the variability and evolution of Sun-like and low-mass stars, and for the development of their planetary systems. As a key to understanding stellar dynamos, empirical relations between stellar parameters and magnetic fields are required for comparison to ab initio
Reiners, A. et al.Advertised on:
62022 -
The young HD 73583 (TOI-560) planetary system: two 10-M<SUB>⊕</SUB> mini-Neptunes transiting a 500-Myr-old, bright, and active K dwarf
We present the discovery and characterization of two transiting planets observed by TESS in the light curves of the young and bright (V = 9.67) star HD73583 (TOI-560). We perform an intensive spectroscopic and photometric space- and ground-based follow-up in order to confirm and characterize the system. We found that HD73583 is a young (~500 Myr)
Barragán, O. et al.Advertised on:
82022 -
Fundamental effective temperature measurements for eclipsing binary stars - III. SPIRou near-infrared spectroscopy and CHEOPS photometry of the benchmark G0V star EBLM J0113+31
EBLM J0113+31 is a moderately bright (V = 10.1), metal-poor ([Fe/H] ≍-0.3) G0V star with a much fainter M dwarf companion on a wide, eccentric orbit (= 14.3 d). We have used near-infrared spectroscopy obtained with the SPIRou spectrograph to measure the semi-amplitude of the M dwarf's spectroscopic orbit, and high-precision photometry of the
Maxted, P. F. L. et al.Advertised on:
72022 -
The TESS-Keck Survey: Science Goals and Target Selection
The Kepler and TESS missions have demonstrated that planets are ubiquitous. However, the success of these missions heavily depends on ground-based radial velocity (RV) surveys, which combined with transit photometry can yield bulk densities and orbital properties. While most Kepler host stars are too faint for detailed follow-up observations, TESS
Chontos, Ashley et al.Advertised on:
62022 -
Analysis of Early Science observations with the CHaracterising ExOPlanets Satellite (CHEOPS) using PYCHEOPS
CHEOPS (CHaracterising ExOPlanet Satellite) is an ESA S-class mission that observes bright stars at high cadence from low-Earth orbit. The main aim of the mission is to characterize exoplanets that transit nearby stars using ultrahigh precision photometry. Here, we report the analysis of transits observed by CHEOPS during its Early Science
Maxted, P. F. L. et al.Advertised on:
72022 -
TOI-1696: A Nearby M4 Dwarf with a 3 R <SUB>⊕</SUB> Planet in the Neptunian Desert
We present the discovery and validation of a temperate sub-Neptune around the nearby mid-M dwarf TIC 470381900 (TOI-1696), with a radius of 3.09 ± 0.11 R ⊕ and an orbital period of 2.5 days, using a combination of Transiting Exoplanets Survey Satellite (TESS) and follow-up observations using ground-based telescopes. Joint analysis of multiband
Mori, Mayuko et al.Advertised on:
62022 -
TOI-2046b, TOI-1181b, and TOI-1516b, three new hot Jupiters from TESS: planets orbiting a young star, a subgiant, and a normal star
We present the confirmation and characterization of three hot Jupiters, TOI-1181b, TOI-1516b, and TOI-2046b, discovered by the TESS space mission. The reported hot Jupiters have orbital periods between 1.4 and 2.05 d. The masses of the three planets are 1.18 ± 0.14 M J, 3.16 ± 0.12 M J, and 2.30 ± 0.28 M J, for TOI-1181b, TOI-1516b, and TOI-2046b
Kabáth, Petr et al.Advertised on:
72022 -
The TESS-Keck Survey. XI. Mass Measurements for Four Transiting Sub-Neptunes Orbiting K Dwarf TOI-1246
Multiplanet systems are valuable arenas for investigating exoplanet architectures and comparing planetary siblings. TOI-1246 is one such system, with a moderately bright K dwarf (V = 11.6, K = 9.9) and four transiting sub-Neptunes identified by TESS with orbital periods of 4.31, 5.90, 18.66, and 37.92 days. We collected 130 radial velocity
Turtelboom, Emma V. et al.Advertised on:
62022 -
A Close-in Puffy Neptune with Hidden Friends: The Enigma of TOI 620
We present the validation of a transiting low-density exoplanet orbiting the M2.5 dwarf TOI 620 discovered by the NASA Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) mission. We utilize photometric data from both TESS and ground-based follow-up observations to validate the ephemerides of the 5.09 day transiting signal and vet false-positive scenarios
Reefe, Michael A. et al.Advertised on:
62022 -
Detection of CO emission lines in the dayside atmospheres of WASP-33b and WASP-189b with GIANO
Ultra-hot Jupiters (UHJs) are expected to possess temperature inversion layers in their dayside atmospheres. Recent thermal emission observations have discovered several atomic and molecular species along with temperature inversions in UHJs. We observed the thermal emission spectra of two UHJs (WASP-33b and WASP-189b) with the GIANO-B high
Yan, F. et al.Advertised on:
52022 -
OGLE-2016-BLG-1093Lb: A Sub-Jupiter-mass Spitzer Planet Located in the Galactic Bulge
OGLE-2016-BLG-1093 is a planetary microlensing event that is part of the statistical Spitzer microlens parallax sample. The precise measurement of the microlens parallax effect for this event, combined with the measurement of finite-source effects, leads to a direct measurement of the lens masses and system distance, M host =0.38-0.57 M ⊙ and m p =
Shin, In-Gu et al.Advertised on:
62022 -
TOI-1670 b and c: An Inner Sub-Neptune with an Outer Warm Jupiter Unlikely to Have Originated from High-eccentricity Migration
We report the discovery of two transiting planets around the bright (V = 9.9 mag) main-sequence F7 star TOI-1670 by the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite. TOI-1670 b is a sub-Neptune ( ${R}_{{\rm{b}}}={2.06}_{-0.15}^{+0.19}$ R ⊕) on a 10.9 day orbit, and TOI-1670 c is a warm Jupiter ( ${R}_{{\rm{c}}}={0.987}_{-0.025}^{+0.025}$ R Jup) on a 40.7
Tran, Quang H. et al.Advertised on:
52022
