Site Map
Contacts
Follow us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter YouTube channel
Centro de Astrofísica da Universidade do Porto

From super-Earths to brown dwarfs: the planet-diversity revolution

A. Santerne

Abstract.
The mass of an exoplanet is the most fundamental parameter. Knowing the mass of an exoplanet allows to know its nature (e.g. giant, Neptune-like, super-Earth, etc...). Combined with the radius measurement from photometric transits, it is possible to determine the planet's bulk density, then used to constrain its internal structure. The space-based photometric surveys CoRoT and Kepler detected thousands of potential transiting planets for which various techniques (e.g. velocimetry, TTVs, ...) have been used to both establish their nature and constrain their mass. In this talk, I will review the main achievements that have been made thanks to the CoRoT and Kepler space missions in terms of planet diversity, through the entire mass-radius diagram (from super-Earths to brown dwarfs). I will then discuss the limitations encountered in confirming and characterizing most of the transiting planet candidates detected by CoRoT and Kepler, especially in the low-mass regime. I will present the solutions used to validate the nature of those candidates needed to determine the occurrence rate of exoplanets.

The Space Photometry Revolution
Toulouse, France
July 2014

Type: Invited comunication

Institute of Astrophysics and Space Sciences

Institute of Astrophysics and Space Sciences (IA) is a new but long anticipated research infrastructure with a national dimension. It embodies a bold but feasible vision for the development of Astronomy, Astrophysics and Space Sciences in Portugal, taking full advantage and fully realizing the potential created by the national membership of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the European Southern Observatory (ESO). IA resulted from the merging the two most prominent research units in the field in Portugal: the Centre for Astrophysics of the University of Porto (CAUP) and the Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics of the University of Lisbon (CAAUL). It currently hosts more than two-thirds of all active researchers working in Space Sciences in Portugal, and is responsible for an even greater fraction of the national productivity in international ISI journals in the area of Space Sciences. This is the scientific area with the highest relative impact factor (1.65 times above the international average) and the field with the highest average number of citations per article for Portugal.

Proceed on CAUP's website|Go to IA website