Jayshil PatelPhD student

About me

I am a PhD student in the department working with Dr. Alexis Brandeker and Dr. Markus Janson. I am a member of the CHEOPS Science Consortium. I use photometric and spectroscopic observations from space-based telescopes such as CHEOPS, TESS and JWST to learn about exoplanets and their atmospheres. I am actively involved in developing tools to analyze observational data.

During 2020-21, I was in Geneva learning Exoplanetary Science at Observatoire astronomique de l'Université de Genève in Switzerland. Before that, I was at the Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie in Heidelberg, Germany as a visiting bachelor student, where I did research work for my Master's thesis. In 2019, I obtained my Master of Science (Physics) degree from SV National Institute of Technology, Surat, India.

My research focuses on transiting exoplanets, their atmospheres, compositions and formation. I use photometric and spectroscopic observations from CHEOPS, TESS and JWST in my research. Specifically, I study ultra-short period rocky planets and hot Jupiters to understand their atmospheric and bulk properties.

Ultra-short period planets, as their name suggests, orbit their host star in ~1 day, and thus are subject to the intense radiation from the star. I utilize ultra-precision observations with telescopes such as JWST, CHEOPS and TESS to answer questions about whether they can sustain an atmosphere. And if they do then what is their atmospheric composition? In the case of hot Jupiters, I am particularly interested in the clouds in their atmospheres, e.g., do clouds form preferentially on either the morning or evening side? I am leading observational efforts to answer this question. I am also interested in the global distribution of gases/chemical species on some very hot of these planets.

Please visit my personal website for more information.