This is the main web site of one of the International Teams funded by ISSI. We have been awarded funds to hold two meetings, the first one in May 2016, to carry out the research project described below.

Abstract

One of the main goals of exoplanet research is the understanding of the processes governing planetary formation and, in particular, the comprehension of the position of the Solar System among the planetary systems in the Galaxy. Small transiting planets provide crucial information about these processes. However, their detection is challenging for current surveys, in particular due to the impact of stellar activity at the timescales of the planetary signal. We aim at pushing the limits of transit detection towards the smallest planets at the largest orbital periods, which can provide meaningful constraints for theoretical studies. Our team will investigate the properties of stellar activity analyzing photometric data from space-borne transit surveys. We will investigate methods to mitigate its impact in planetary detection, increasing the performance of transit detection tools. We will explore synergies between different observing techniques, optimizing the yield of exoplanet surveys by a careful design of their observing strategy and their validation process. Our study will result in a deeper understanding of the outcome of current and future space missions, which is one of the core values of the ISSI institute. Moreover, our conclusions will come timely for projects like NGTS, CHEOPS, TESS, and the future planet-finder European mission PLATO 2.0.