Research Division Seminar
Stellar activity blurring our insight into the properties of exoplanets

Abstract

Stellar magnetic activity generates astrophysical noise on the collected data in the quest for what might be called Earth 2.0. This noise poses obstacles and difficulties in the detection and accurately determining small-sized exoplanets properties. Characterising the relation between stellar photometric variability and radial velocity jitter can help us to define optimal observational strategies, and also to better model and mitigate the activity noise. Moreover, stellar activity will remain as one of the biggest challenges in detecting and assessing the exoplanetary atmosphere’s signal, even in the era of upcoming missions. I will present the current view of the intricate relationship between exoplanets and activity, discuss some of the latest developments, and show some of our first results.