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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Three Super-Earths Transiting the Nearby Star GJ 9827We report on the discovery of three transiting planets around GJ 9827. The planets have radii of 1.75 ± 0.18, 1.36 ± 0.14, and {2.11}-0.21+0.22 R ⊕, and periods of 1.20896, 3.6480, and 6.2014 days, respectively. The detection was made in Campaign 12 observations as part of our K2 survey of nearby stars. GJ 9827 is a V = 10.39 mag K6V star at aNiraula, P.l et al.
Advertised on:
122017 -
The Discovery and Mass Measurement of a New Ultra-short-period Planet: EPIC 228732031bWe report the discovery of a new ultra-short-period planet and summarize the properties of all such planets for which the mass and radius have been measured. The new planet, EPIC 228732031b, was discovered in K2 Campaign 10. It has a radius of {1.81}-0.12+0.16 {R}\oplus and orbits a G dwarf with a period of 8.9 hr. Radial velocities obtained withDai, F. et al.
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122017 -
Tracking Advanced Planetary Systems (TAPAS) with HARPS-N. V. A Massive Jupiter orbiting the very-low-metallicity giant star BD+03 2562 and a possible planet around HD 103485Context. Evolved stars with planets are crucial to understanding the dependency of the planet formation mechanism on the mass and metallicity of the parent star and to studying star-planet interactions. Aims: We present two evolved stars (HD 103485 and BD+03 2562) from the Tracking Advanced PlAnetary Systems (TAPAS) with HARPS-N project devoted toVillaver, E. et al.
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102017 -
Flare activity and photospheric analysis of Proxima CentauriContext. We present the analysis of emission lines in high-resolution optical spectra of the planet-host star Proxima Centauri (Proxima) classified as a M5.5V. Aims: We carry out a detailed analysis of the observed spectra to get a better understanding of the physical conditions of the atmosphere of this star. Methods: We identify the emissionPavlenko, Y. et al.
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102017 -
Disproving the validated planets K2-78b, K2-82b, and K2-92b. The importance of independently confirming planetary candidatesContext. Transiting super-Earths orbiting bright stars in short orbital periods are interesting targets for the study of planetary atmospheres. Aims: While selecting super-Earths suitable for further characterisation from the ground from a list of confirmed and validated exoplanets detected by K2, we found some suspicious cases that led to usCabrera, J. et al.
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102017 -
K2-114b and K2-115b: Two Transiting Warm JupitersWe report the first results from a search for transiting warm Jupiter exoplanets—gas giant planets receiving stellar irradiation below about 108 erg s‑1 cm‑2, equivalent to orbital periods beyond about 10 days around Sun-like stars. We have discovered two transiting warm Jupiter exoplanets initially identified as transiting candidates in K2Shporer, A. et al.
Advertised on:
112017 -
The HARPS search for southern extra-solar planets. XLII. A system of Earth-mass planets around the nearby M dwarf YZ CetiExoplanet surveys have shown that systems with multiple low-mass planets on compact orbits are common. Except for a few cases, however, the masses of these planets are generally unknown. At the very end of the main sequence, host stars have the lowest mass and hence offer the largest reflect motion for a given planet. In this context, we monitoredAstudillo-Defru, N. et al.
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92017 -
Effect of the stellar absorption line centre-to-limb variation on exoplanet transmission spectrum observationsTransit spectroscopy is one of the most commonly used techniques for exoplanet atmosphere characterisation. This technique has been used to detect ionised and neutral species in exoplanet atmospheres by comparing the observed stellar lines in and out of transit. The centre-to-limb variation (CLV) of the stellar lines across the stellar disk is anYan, F. et al.
Advertised on:
72017 -
K2-111 b - a short period super-Earth transiting a metal poor, evolved old starContext. From a light curve acquired through the K2 space mission, the star K2-111(EPIC 210894022) has been identified as possibly orbited by a transiting planet. Aims: Our aim is to confirm the planetary nature of the object and derive its fundamental parameters. Methods: We analyse the light curve variations during the planetary transit usingFridlund, M. et al.
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72017 -
Using binary statistics in Taurus-Auriga to distinguish between brown dwarf formation processesContext. One of the key questions of the star formation problem is whether brown dwarfs (BDs) form in the manner of stars directly from the gravitational collapse of a molecular cloud core (star-like) or whether BDs and some very low-mass stars (VLMSs) constitute a separate population that forms alongside stars comparable to the population ofMarks, M. et al.
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82017 -
The GTC exoplanet transit spectroscopy survey . VII. An optical transmission spectrum of WASP-48bContext. Transiting planets offer an excellent opportunity for characterizing the atmospheres of extrasolar planets under very different conditions from those found in our solar system. Aims: We are currently carrying out a ground-based survey to obtain the transmission spectra of several extrasolar planets using the 10 m Gran Telescopio CanariasMurgas, F. et al.
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92017 -
The Transiting Multi-planet System HD 3167: A 5.7 M ⊕ Super-Earth and an 8.3 M ⊕ Mini-NeptuneHD 3167 is a bright (V = 8.9 mag) K0 V star observed by NASA’s K2 space mission during its Campaign 8. It has recently been found to host two small transiting planets, namely, HD 3167b, an ultra-short-period (0.96 days) super-Earth, and HD 3167c, a mini-Neptune on a relatively long-period orbit (29.85 days). Here we present an intensive radialGandolfi, D. et al.
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92017 -
Rotation periods and photometric variability of rapidly rotating ultracool dwarfsWe used the optical and near-infrared imagers located on the Liverpool, the IAC80, and the William Herschel telescopes to monitor 18 M7-L9.5 dwarfs with the objective of measuring their rotation periods. We achieved accuracies typically in the range ±1.5-28 mmag by means of differential photometry, which allowed us to detect photometric variabilityZapatero Osorio, M. R. et al.
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122017 -
A deeper view of the CoRoT-9 planetary system. A small non-zero eccentricity for CoRoT-9b likely generated by planet-planet scatteringCoRoT-9b is one of the rare long-period (P = 95.3 days) transiting giant planets with a measured mass known to date. We present a new analysis of the CoRoT-9 system based on five years of radial-velocity (RV) monitoring with HARPS and three new space-based transits observed with CoRoT and Spitzer. Combining our new data with already publishedSanterne, A. et al.
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72017 -
Testing the existence of optical linear polarization in young brown dwarfsLinear polarization can be used as a probe of the existence of atmospheric condensates in ultracool dwarfs. Models predict that the observed linear polarization increases with the degree of oblateness, which is inversely proportional to the surface gravity. We aimed to test the existence of optical linear polarization in a sample of bright youngFang, M. et al.
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72017 -
High-precision optical polarimetry of the accreting black hole V404 Cyg during the 2015 June outburstOur simultaneous three-colour (BVR) polarimetric observations of the low-mass black hole X-ray binary V404 Cyg show a small but statistically significant change of polarization degree (Δp ∼ 1 per cent) between the outburst in 2015 June and the quiescence. The polarization of V404 Cyg in the quiescent state agrees within the errors with that of theMiles-Páez, Paulo A. et al.
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72017 -
Limits to the presence of transiting circumbinary planets in CoRoT DataAims: During its flight phase, from 2007-2012, the CoRoT mission delivered light curves for over 2000 eclipsing binaries. Data from the Kepler mission have proven the existence of several transiting circumbinary planets. While light curves from CoRoT typically have lower precision and shorter coverage, the number of CoRoT targets is similar to thatAlmenara, J. M. et al.
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62017 -
Feature-rich transmission spectrum for WASP-127b. Cloud-free skies for the puffiest known super-Neptune?Context. WASP-127b is a planet with one of the lowest densities discovered to date. With a sub-Saturn mass (Mp = 0.18 ± 0.02 MJ) and super-Jupiter radius (Rp = 1.37 ± 0.04 RJ), it orbits a bright G5 star that is about to leave the main-sequence. Aims: We aim to explore the atmosphere of WASP-127b in order to retrieve its main atmospheric componentsCasasayas-Barris, N. et al.
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62017 -
New ultracool subdwarfs identified in large-scale surveys using Virtual Observatory tools (Corrigendum). I. UKIDSS LAS DR5 vs. SDSS DR7Based on observations made with ESO Telescopes at the La Silla Paranal Observatory under programme ID 084.C-0928A.Based on observations made with the Nordic Optical Telescope, operated on the island of La Palma jointly by Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden, in the Spanish Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos of the Instituto deLodieu, N. et al.
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12017 -
The GTC exoplanet transit spectroscopy survey. V. A spectrally-resolved Rayleigh scattering slope in GJ 3470bAims: As a sub-Uranus-mass low-density planet, GJ 3470b has been found to show a flat featureless transmission spectrum in the infrared and a tentative Rayleigh scattering slope in the optical. We conducted an optical transmission spectroscopy project to assess the impacts of stellar activity and to determine whether or not GJ 3470b hosts aChen, G. et al.
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42017
