Research

Dynamical evolution of exoplanets

A large number of exoplanets are discovered orbiting close to their star, where some are unlikely to have formed originally. Instead, we believe these planets formed further out, but migrated inwards through various migration processes. In my research I try to infer the migration pathways that has led to its present-day orbit by observing the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect as the planet transits the star. Such observations tell us whether the planet orbits in the same plane and/or direction as the stellar spin, which traces the dynamical history and can distinguish between various formation scenarios.

EBLMs and circumbinary planets

I am also involved in the EBLM project that studies eclipsing binary systems composed of a Sun-like primary and an M dwarf secondary on short orbits, where I am interested in the mass-radius relation for the low-mass stars. It turns out these binary systems are easy targets to look for additional companions, so I am also involved in the BEBOP radial velocity survey (PI Triaud) for circumbinary planets.