Exoplanets (EXOPA Team)

Today a large number of planets orbiting around stars which are not the Sun has been detected, they are called exoplanets. The exoplanet population shows a wide range of systems with different physical characteristics, often not present in our Solar system. For example, the so-called hot Jupiters. Hot giant gaseous planets orbiting very close to their host star, or the so-called super-Earth, rocky planets much more massive than the Earth and with a complex atmosphere. Studying the properties of these exoplanetary systems may provide important information about the formation and evolution of our Solar system.

The EXOPA researcher at INAF – Osservatorio Astronomico di Palermo, study the formation and evolution of exoplanet and tackle the problem using a multidisciplinary approach.

Their main research fields are:

• Detection and characterization of exoplanetary systems.
• Exoplanetary atmospheres.
• Star-planet interactions.
• Simulations of planetary atmospheres in Lab.
• Technologies for space instruments

Main projects

• Ariel – Atmospheric Remote sensing Infrared Exoplanet Large Survey.
• CHEOPS – CHaracterising ExOPlanets Satellite.
• ESPRESSO – Echelle SPectrograph for Rocky Exoplanet and Stable Spectroscopic Observations.
• Exo-CASH – Exo-planetary Cloudy Atmospheres and Stellar High energy (PRIN MUR)
• HARPS-N – The High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher/North.
  • Participation at GTO (Guaranteed Time Observations).
  • GAPS (Global Architecture of Planetary Systems).
• Know your little neighbours: characterizing low-mass stars and planets in the Solar neighbourhood (PRIN MUR)
• PLATO – Planetary Transits and Oscillation satellite.
• STILES: Extraction of exoplanetary spectra (AdvancedSW_ExoAtmoSp)^*

_{*Funded with the contribution of Next Generation EU funds under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), Mission 4 – Education and Research, Component 2 – From Research to Business (M4C2), Investment Line 3.1 – Strengthening and Creation of Research Infrastructures, Project IR0000034 – ‘STILES – Strengthening Italian Leadership in ELT and SKA’.}

For students:

Internship and thesis proposals