Exoplanet discovery and characterisation - Rolling Grant Transfer/Re-issue
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Warwick
Department Name: Physics
Abstract
The SuperWASP experiment is the most successful ground based exoplanet detection facility. After its recent upgrade it is now capable of discovering ice giant planets in short orbits and the data from its first 2 year run is now being ingested into the WASP archive. We will continue our successful exploitation of this data in our exoplanet discovery and characterisation programme and prepare for the the first data from our new world leading NGTS experiment. NGTS is designed for routine detection of ice-giants and its red- sensitivity means it will be the leading source of rocky super-Earth planets that are confirmable with current equipment. This will allow us to lead in understanding the most common types of planet and allow us to take the first steps in looking at the different classes of planet and their characteristics.
For our brightest planets we will conduct follow up observations that will allow us to understand their dynamical histories and take the first steps to characterise their atmospheres.
In addition we will study the architectures of exoplanetary systems and in particular we will characterise bright multi-planet and circumbinary systems. Through our collaborations this will allow us to place strong constraints on their evolutionary histories.
This proposal is to allow the transfer of the PI's current fEC from QUB to the University of Warwick where he has recently taken up a new position.
For our brightest planets we will conduct follow up observations that will allow us to understand their dynamical histories and take the first steps to characterise their atmospheres.
In addition we will study the architectures of exoplanetary systems and in particular we will characterise bright multi-planet and circumbinary systems. Through our collaborations this will allow us to place strong constraints on their evolutionary histories.
This proposal is to allow the transfer of the PI's current fEC from QUB to the University of Warwick where he has recently taken up a new position.
Planned Impact
Astronomy has always captured the attention of humans. Some of the deepest philosophical questions pertaining to our existence in the universe are perceived to be of (or at least related to) an astronomical nature. This gives us a massive advantage when compared to other scientific endevours. In no subject is this more true than exoplanets as their existence is bound up with the search for intelligent life in the universe - one of the mother questions of our existence. With this in mind we have found that the principles underlying exoplanet detection and bulk characterization are ideal subject matter to demonstrate basic physics in an exciting way and naturally lead in to discussions of habitability (both in the context of exoplanets and the Earth).
After recent NAM's the most popular news releases have invariable been those that are concerned with extrasolar planets. We are fortunate that the WASP project put UK astronomers at the forefront of this subject and the applicants have gained much experience with the media (radio, print and TV). This was recognized with the award of the 2010 Royal Society Exhibition "The detection of extra-terrestrial life and the consequences for science and society" where the applicants were active participants. The WASP project really grabbed both the national and international attention. At the international level the Project was received the accolade of one of the top ten discovery's in all of science in 2007 after the announcement/publication of WASP-3b (Pollacco et al, 2008, MNRAS 385, 1576). On a national stage, Pollacco, on behalf of the WASP Consortium, received the RAS Team Achievement Award for 2010.
NGTS will be the premiere transit experiment in the near/medium future and with science drivers that will make some of our most exciting discoveries of great public interest: NGTS exoplanets will be amongst the closest and potentially of rocky composition. Furthermore, NGTS planets will be prized targets for all future atmospheric characterization missions (including JWST). At a national level our demonstrated relationship with STFC Outreach and, of course, our universities will guarantee interest for all audiences.
After recent NAM's the most popular news releases have invariable been those that are concerned with extrasolar planets. We are fortunate that the WASP project put UK astronomers at the forefront of this subject and the applicants have gained much experience with the media (radio, print and TV). This was recognized with the award of the 2010 Royal Society Exhibition "The detection of extra-terrestrial life and the consequences for science and society" where the applicants were active participants. The WASP project really grabbed both the national and international attention. At the international level the Project was received the accolade of one of the top ten discovery's in all of science in 2007 after the announcement/publication of WASP-3b (Pollacco et al, 2008, MNRAS 385, 1576). On a national stage, Pollacco, on behalf of the WASP Consortium, received the RAS Team Achievement Award for 2010.
NGTS will be the premiere transit experiment in the near/medium future and with science drivers that will make some of our most exciting discoveries of great public interest: NGTS exoplanets will be amongst the closest and potentially of rocky composition. Furthermore, NGTS planets will be prized targets for all future atmospheric characterization missions (including JWST). At a national level our demonstrated relationship with STFC Outreach and, of course, our universities will guarantee interest for all audiences.
Organisations
People |
ORCID iD |
| Don Pollacco (Principal Investigator) |
Publications
Lohr M
(2014)
Period and amplitude variations in post-common-envelope eclipsing binaries observed with SuperWASP
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
McCormac J
(2014)
A search for photometric variability towards M71 with the Near-Infrared Transiting ExoplanetS Telescope
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Haywood R
(2014)
Planets and stellar activity: hide and seek in the CoRoT-7 system?
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Smalley B
(2014)
Eclipsing Am binary systems in the SuperWASP survey
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Armstrong D
(2014)
On the abundance of circumbinary planets
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Chew Y
(2014)
The HoSTS Project: A Homogeneous Study of Transiting Systems
in Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union
Exter K
(2014)
The exotic eclipsing nucleus of the ring planetary nebula SuWt 2
in EAS Publications Series
Haywood R
(2014)
Disentangling planetary orbits from stellar activity in radial-velocity surveys
in International Journal of Astrobiology
Haywood R
(2014)
Planets and Stellar Activity: Hide and Seek in the CoRoT-7 system
in Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union
Smith A
(2014)
WASP-104b and WASP-106b: two transiting hot Jupiters in 1.75-day and 9.3-day orbits
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Armstrong D
(2014)
Detecting Circumbinary Exoplanets: Understanding Transit Timing
in Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union
Anderson D
(2014)
Three newly discovered sub-Jupiter-mass planets: WASP-69b and WASP-84b transit active K dwarfs and WASP-70Ab transits the evolved primary of a G4+K3 binary?â€
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Burton J
(2014)
TIDALLY DISTORTED EXOPLANETS: DENSITY CORRECTIONS FOR SHORT-PERIOD HOT-JUPITERS BASED SOLELY ON OBSERVABLE PARAMETERS
in The Astrophysical Journal
Hellier C
(2014)
Transiting hot Jupiters from WASP-South, Euler and TRAPPIST: WASP-95b to WASP-101b
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Bonomo A
(2014)
Characterization of the planetary system Kepler-101 with HARPS-N A hot super-Neptune with an Earth-sized low-mass companion
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Holdsworth D
(2014)
High-frequency A-type pulsators discovered using SuperWASP?â€
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Delrez L
(2014)
Transiting planets from WASP-South, Euler, and TRAPPIST WASP-68 b, WASP-73 b, and WASP-88 b, three hot Jupiters transiting evolved solar-type stars???
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Dumusque X
(2014)
THE KEPLER-10 PLANETARY SYSTEM REVISITED BY HARPS-N: A HOT ROCKY WORLD AND A SOLID NEPTUNE-MASS PLANET
in The Astrophysical Journal
Gillon M
(2014)
WASP-103 b: a new planet at the edge of tidal disruption
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Armstrong D
(2014)
Detecting Circumbinary Exoplanets: Understanding Transit Timing
in Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union
Brothwell R
(2014)
A window on exoplanet dynamical histories: Rossiter-McLaughlin observations of WASP-13b and WASP-32b
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Cappetta M
(2014)
Erratum: The first planet detected in the WTS: an inflated hot-Jupiter in a 3.35 d orbit around a late F star
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Haywood R
(2014)
Planets and Stellar Activity: Hide and Seek in the CoRoT-7 system
in Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union
Burton J
(2015)
Defocused transmission spectroscopy: a potential detection of sodium in the atmosphere of WASP-12b
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Hellier C
(2015)
THREE WASP-SOUTH TRANSITING EXOPLANETS: WASP-74b, WASP-83b, AND WASP-89b
in The Astronomical Journal
Graczyk D
(2015)
The Araucaria project. Precise physical parameters of the eclipsing binary IO Aquarii
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Anderson D
(2015)
THE WELL-ALIGNED ORBIT OF WASP-84b: EVIDENCE FOR DISK MIGRATION OF A HOT JUPITER
in The Astrophysical Journal
Triaud A
(2015)
WASP-80b has a dayside within the T-dwarf range
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Mo nik T
(2015)
The central star candidate of the planetary nebula Sh2-71: photometric and spectroscopic variability
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Burton J
(2015)
Defocused transmission spectroscopy: a potential detection of sodium in the atmosphere of WASP-12b
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Armstrong D
(2015)
One of the closest exoplanet pairs to the 3:2 mean motion resonance: K2-19b and c
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Anderson D
(2015)
WASP-20b and WASP-28b: a hot Saturn and a hot Jupiter in near-aligned orbits around solar-type stars
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Veras D
(2015)
Prospects for detecting decreasing exoplanet frequency with main-sequence age using PLATO
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Vanderburg A
(2015)
CHARACTERIZING K2 PLANET DISCOVERIES: A SUPER-EARTH TRANSITING THE BRIGHT K DWARF HIP 116454
in The Astrophysical Journal
Armstrong D
(2015)
K2 Variable Catalogue: Variable stars and eclipsing binaries in K2 campaigns 1 and 0
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Motalebi F
(2015)
The HARPS-N Rocky Planet Search I. HD 219134 b: A transiting rocky planet in a multi-planet system at 6.5 pc from the Sun ?
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Armstrong D
(2015)
The host stars of Kepler 's habitable exoplanets: superflares, rotation and activity
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Hellier C
(2015)
THREE WASP-SOUTH TRANSITING EXOPLANETS: WASP-74b, WASP-83b, AND WASP-89b
in The Astronomical Journal
Barros S
(2015)
Photodynamical mass determination of the multiplanetary system K2-19
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Armstrong D
(2015)
K2 variable catalogue - II. Machine learning classification of variable stars and eclipsing binaries in K2 fields 0-4
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Triaud A
(2015)
WASP-80b has a dayside within the T-dwarf range
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Anderson D
(2015)
WASP-20b and WASP-28b: a hot Saturn and a hot Jupiter in near-aligned orbits around solar-type stars
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Armstrong D
(2015)
K2 variable catalogue - II. Machine learning classification of variable stars and eclipsing binaries in K2 fields 0-4
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Barros S
(2015)
Photodynamical mass determination of the multiplanetary system K2-19
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Anderson D
(2015)
THE WELL-ALIGNED ORBIT OF WASP-84b: EVIDENCE FOR DISK MIGRATION OF A HOT JUPITER
in The Astrophysical Journal
Dressing C
(2015)
THE MASS OF Kepler-93b AND THE COMPOSITION OF TERRESTRIAL PLANETS
in The Astrophysical Journal
Armstrong D
(2015)
The host stars of Kepler 's habitable exoplanets: superflares, rotation and activity
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Maxted P
(2016)
Five transiting hot Jupiters discovered using WASP-South, Euler , and TRAPPIST: WASP-119 b, WASP-124 b, WASP-126 b, WASP-129 b, and WASP-133 b
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Haywood R
(2016)
The Sun as a planet-host star: proxies from SDO images for HARPS radial-velocity variations
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Mocnik T
(2016)
WASP-157b, a Transiting Hot Jupiter Observed with K2
in Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific
| Description | Continued characterisation of large planets. These objects have the most accurately determined parameters of the population. |
| Exploitation Route | used by theorists to understand the planet population. |
| Sectors | Education |