Planetary Systems
From the smallest terrestrial worlds to the largest gas giants, understanding the formation and evolution of planetary systems in the galaxy — including our own Solar System — are key to uncovering the origins of life in the Universe. At the IEA, we focus on the Solar System, Mature Planetary Systems, and Planet formation and Young Planetary Systems. Explore featured projects in each area.
In our research of exoplanetary systems, we are actively involved in the discovery and characterization of individual planets, ranging from the smallest terrestrial worlds to the largest gas giants. In particular, we contribute to the NGTS project, a transit survey conducted in Chile to search for new planets while also confirming and characterizing known ones. Additionally, we lead CHEPS, an initiative that uses the radial-velocity method to search for planets around iron-rich stars, providing insights into how metal-enriched environments influence planet formation.
One of our primary research interests is the direct imaging of exoplanets using advanced adaptive optics techniques. We are also engaged in the search for the first exomoons. While natural satellites are common in our Solar System, no strong exomoon detection has yet been confirmed. Studying the natural satellites of the Solar System provides fundamental clues about its formation and evolution. Similarly, identifying and analyzing exomoons would offer a revolutionary perspective on planet formation scenarios. Our research focuses on detecting satellites of giant exoplanets using direct imaging and radial velocity techniques.
We also utilize space-based instruments such as TESS to confirm new extreme Neptune-like planets, as well as CHEOPS, HST, and JWST to study their atmospheric chemistries, physical processes, and cloud properties. These observations help us better understand planetary structures, formation processes, and evolutionary pathways.
Another major focus of our work is understanding how planets form within the disks of material surrounding young stars. By studying these protoplanetary disks with instruments like ALMA, we probe the structure of the gas and dust that serve as the fundamental building blocks of planets. Our members are involved in several ALMA Large Programs and Open Time proposals aimed at studying the parent disks of forming planets.
Finally, we are deeply invested in understanding the components of our own Solar System and how its various elements formed and evolved. Using a combination of ground-based and space-based facilities—including ALMA, VLT, and JWST—we study small bodies in the Solar System, which represent the primitive building blocks of the major planets. As part of international collaborations, our members have also been actively involved in studying interstellar objects (ISOs) across a wide range of wavelengths and using diverse observational techniques. As these ISOs traverse the Solar System, they offer unprecedented opportunities to examine materials from exoplanetary systems in great detail.
Solar System
From the icy comets that traverse the Solar System, to Centaurs and Trans-Neptunian Objects at the edges, to interstellar objects - and the rocky meteorites and asteroids in between, we study these relics and fossils of the early Solar System. These primitive objects hold chemical and dynamical signatures and help trace the origins and processes involved in planetary formation, not just in our own Solar System, but beyond. Our research combines photometry and spectroscopy across the optical, infrared, and sub-millimeter wavelengths, as we trace the composition, structure, and motion of these objects, as well as their role in forming planetary systems.
Mature Planetary Systems
We hunt for exoplanets and their exomoons - from gas giants to Neptune-like planets with cloudy atmospheres - to characterize and study the physical and structural properties of fully-formed mature planetary systems. Our research in this area combines radial-velocity, astrometry, transmission spectroscopy, and advanced statistical models to detect, characterize, and interpret exoplanets and their atmospheres.
Planet formation and Young Planetary Systems
From young stellar objects (YSOs) in nearby molecular clouds to substructures and outflows in protoplanetary disks, we uncover how planets form from the stellar environment they are born in. We study the evolution of disks across different scales and wavelengths — combining millimeter, near-infrared, and spectroscopic surveys — to trace the processes of planet formation, accretion, and early dynamical evolution. Our research attempts to link the birth of stars to the formation of planetary systems.