Research group The group for stars, planets and astrobiology
The birth and evolution of stars and planets is of key interest for understanding our universe.
Group description
The actual research on star formation in Stockholm focuses on the observational characteristics of planets and discs, both around young and old stars. The group uses adaptive optics instruments to correct for atmospheric distortion and get clearer images of faint discs and planets around bright parent stars, and uses high-resolution spectroscopy to examine their properties. There is also heavy involvement in space-based facilities such as CHEOPS and PLATO, which can detect unresolved planets through the so-called transit method, where a planet passing in front of a star blocks out a small fraction of the star’s light. Additionally, the group develops techniques for so-called astrometric planet detection, where a planet can be detected from its minute gravitational impact on its parent star.
Researchers in Stockholm are greatly invested in the spectral analysis efforts of million-star surveys like GALAH, WEAVE, and 4MOST.
Group members
Group managers
Alexis Brandeker
Assistant Professor
Members
Ryan Boukrouche
Postdoctor
Alexis Brandeker
Assistant Professor
Gloria Canocchi
PhD student
Maria Cavallius
Guest researcher
Hans Gustav Axel Florén
Principal research engineer
Jenny Frediani
PhD student
Terese Thidemann Hansen
Researcher
Markus Janson
Professor
Mingjie Jian
Postdoc
Iryna Kushniruk
Postdoc
Bengt Larsson
Senior Researcher
Karin Lind
Assistant Professor
Göran Olofsson
Professor emeritus
Jayshil Patel
PhD student
Mila Racca
PhD student
Aage Sandqvist
Professor emeritus
Ansgar Wehrhahn
Guest researcher
Gayathri Viswanath
Research assistant
Kristopher Charles Youakim
Researcher
