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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Primeval very low-mass stars and brown dwarfs - VI. Population properties of metal-poor degenerate brown dwarfsWe presented 15 new T dwarfs that were selected from UKIRT Infrared Deep Sky Survey, Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy , and Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer surveys, and confirmed with optical to near-infrared spectra obtained with the Very Large Telescope and the Gran Telescopio Canarias. One of these new T dwarfs is mildlyZhang, Z. H. et al.
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62019 -
Gliese 49: activity evolution and detection of a super-Earth. A HADES and CARMENES collaborationContext. Small planets around low-mass stars often show orbital periods in a range that corresponds to the temperate zones of their host stars which are therefore of prime interest for planet searches. Surface phenomena such as spots and faculae create periodic signals in radial velocities and in observational activity tracers in the same range, soPerger, M. et al.
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42019 -
MuSCAT2: four-color simultaneous camera for the 1.52-m Telescopio Carlos SánchezWe report the development of a four-color simultaneous camera for the 1.52-m Telescopio Carlos Sánchez in the Teide Observatory, Canaries, Spain. The instrument, named MuSCAT2, has a capability of four-color simultaneous imaging in g (400 to 550 nm), r (550 to 700 nm), i (700 to 820 nm), and zs (820 to 920 nm) bands. MuSCAT2 equips four 1024 × 1024Narita, N. et al.
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12019 -
HD 219666 b: a hot-Neptune from TESS Sector 1We report on the confirmation and mass determination of a transiting planet orbiting the old and inactive G7 dwarf star HD 219666 (M⋆ = 0.92 ± 0.03 M⊙, R⋆ = 1.03 ± 0.03 R⊙, τ⋆ = 10 ± 2 Gyr). With a mass of Mb = 16.6 ± 1.3 M⊕, a radius of Rb = 4.71 ± 0.17 R⊕, and an orbital period of Porb ≃ 6 days, HD 219666 b is a new member of a rare class ofEsposito, M. et al.
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32019 -
The CARMENES search for exoplanets around M dwarfs. Chromospheric modeling of M 2-3 V stars with PHOENIXChromospheric modeling of observed differences in stellar activity lines is imperative to fully understand the upper atmospheres of late-type stars. We present one-dimensional parametrized chromosphere models computed with the atmosphere code PHOENIX using an underlying photosphere of 3500 K. The aim of this work is to model chromospheric lines ofHintz, D. et al.
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32019 -
Detection and characterization of an ultra-dense sub-Neptunian planet orbiting the Sun-like star K2-292We present the discovery and characterization of a new transiting planet from Campaign 17 of the Kepler extended mission K2. The planet K2-292 b is a warm sub-Neptune on a 17 day orbit around a bright (V = 9.9 mag) solar-like G3 V star with a mass and radius of M⋆ = 1.00 ± 0.03 M⊙ and R⋆ = 1.09 ± 0.03 R⊙, respectively. We modeled simultaneously theLuque, R. et al.
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32019 -
The CARMENES search for exoplanets around M dwarfs. Period search in Hα, Na I D, and Ca II IRT linesWe use spectra from CARMENES, the Calar Alto high-Resolution search for M dwarfs with Exo-earths with Near-infrared and optical Echelle Spectrographs, to search for periods in chromospheric indices in 16 M0-M2 dwarfs. We measure spectral indices in the Hα, the Ca II infrared triplet (IRT), and the Na I D lines to study which of these indices areFuhrmeister, B. et al.
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32019 -
A 3D view of the Hyades stellar and sub-stellar populationAims: Our scientific goal is to provide a 3D map of the nearest open cluster to the Sun, the Hyades, combining the recent release of Gaia astrometric data, ground-based parallaxes of sub-stellar member candidates and photometric data from surveys which cover large areas of the cluster. Methods: We combined the second Gaia release with ground-basedLodieu, N. et al.
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32019 -
Detection and Doppler monitoring of K2-285 (EPIC 246471491), a system of four transiting planets smaller than NeptuneContext. The Kepler extended mission, also known as K2, has provided the community with a wealth of planetary candidates that orbit stars typically much brighter than the targets of the original mission. These planet candidates are suitable for further spectroscopic follow-up and precise mass determinations, leading ultimately to the constructionPalle, E. et al.
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32019 -
The CARMENES search for exoplanets around M dwarfs. Activity indicators at visible and near-infrared wavelengthsContext. The Calar Alto high-Resolution search for M dwarfs with Exo-earths with Near-infrared and optical Echelle Spectrographs (CARMENES) survey is searching for Earth-like planets orbiting M dwarfs using the radial velocity method. Studying the stellar activity of the target stars is important to avoid false planet detections and to improve ourSchöfer, P. et al.
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32019 -
The CARMENES search for exoplanets around M dwarfs. The enigmatic planetary system GJ 4276: one eccentric planet or two planets in a 2:1 resonance?We report the detection of a Neptune-mass exoplanet around the M4.0 dwarf GJ 4276 (G 232-070) based on radial velocity (RV) observations obtained with the CARMENES spectrograph. The RV variations of GJ 4276 are best explained by the presence of a planetary companion that has a minimum mass of mb sin i ≈ 16 M⊕ on a Pb = 13.35 day orbit. The analysisNagel, E. et al.
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22019 -
The GTC exoplanet transit spectroscopy survey. X. Stellar spots versus Rayleigh scattering: the case of HAT-P-11bContext. Rayleigh scattering in a hydrogen-dominated exoplanet atmosphere can be detected using ground- or space-based telescopes. However, stellar activity in the form of spots can mimic Rayleigh scattering in the observed transmission spectrum. Quantifying this phenomena is key to our correct interpretation of exoplanet atmospheric propertiesMurgas, F. et al.
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22019 -
Bright Opportunities for Atmospheric Characterization of Small Planets: Masses and Radii of K2-3 b, c, and d and GJ3470 b from Radial Velocity Measurements and Spitzer TransitsWe report improved masses, radii, and densities for four planets in two bright M-dwarf systems, K2-3 and GJ3470, derived from a combination of new radial velocity and transit observations. Supplementing K2 photometry with follow-up Spitzer transit observations refined the transit ephemerides of K2-3 b, c, and d by over a factor of 10. We analyzeKosiarek, M. R. et al.
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K2-290: a warm Jupiter and a mini-Neptune in a triple-star systemWe report the discovery of two transiting planets orbiting K2-290 (EPIC 249624646), a bright (V = 11.11) late F-type star residing in a triple-star system. It was observed during Campaign 15 of the K2 mission, and in order to confirm and characterize the system, follow-up spectroscopy and AO imaging were carried out using the FIES, HARPS, HARPS-NHjorth, M. et al.
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42019 -
Exoplanet Biosignatures: Observational ProspectsExoplanet hunting efforts have revealed the prevalence of exotic worlds with diverse properties, including Earth-sized bodies, which has fueled our endeavor to search for life beyond the Solar System. Accumulating experiences in astrophysical, chemical, and climatological characterization of uninhabitable planets are paving the way toFujii, Yuka et al.
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62018 -
The HARPS search for southern extra-solar planets. XLIV. Eight HARPS multi-planet systems hosting 20 super-Earth and Neptune-mass companionsContext. We present radial-velocity measurements of eight stars observed with the HARPS Echelle spectrograph mounted on the 3.6-m telescope in La Silla (ESO, Chile). Data span more than ten years and highlight the long-term stability of the instrument. Aims: We search for potential planets orbiting HD 20003, HD 20781, HD 21693, HD 31527, HD 45184Udry, S. et al.
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22019 -
Qatar Exoplanet Survey: Qatar-7b—A Very Hot Jupiter Orbiting a Metal-rich F-StarWe present the discovery of Qatar-7b—a very hot and inflated giant gas planet orbiting close to its parent star. The host star is a relatively massive main-sequence F-star with mass and radius {M}\star =1.41+/- 0.03 {M}ȯ and {R}\star =1.56+/- 0.02 {R}ȯ , respectively, at a distance d = 726 ± 26 pc, and an estimated age ∼1 Gyr. With its orbitalAlsubai, Khalid et al.
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22019 -
TESS Discovery of an Ultra-short-period Planet around the Nearby M Dwarf LHS 3844Data from the newly commissioned Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite has revealed a “hot Earth” around LHS 3844, an M dwarf located 15 pc away. The planet has a radius of 1.303+/- 0.022 R ⊕ and orbits the star every 11 hr. Although the existence of an atmosphere around such a strongly irradiated planet is questionable, the star is bright enoughVanderspek, Roland et al.
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22019 -
Role of host star variability in the detectability of planetary phase curvesPhase curves, or the change in observed illumination of the planet as it orbits around its host star, help us to characterize their atmospheres. However, the variability of the host star can make their detection challenging. The presence of starspots, faculae, flares, and rotational effects introduce brightness variations that can hide other fluxHidalgo, D. et al.
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12019 -
Multiple water band detections in the CARMENES near-infrared transmission spectrum of HD 189733 bAims: We explore the capabilities of CARMENES for characterising hot-Jupiter atmospheres by targeting multiple water bands, in particular, those at 1.15 and 1.4 μm. Hubble Space Telescope observations suggest that this wavelength region is relevant for distinguishing between hazy and/or cloudy and clear atmospheres. Methods: We observed one transitAlonso-Floriano, F. J. et al.
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