Speaker
Dr
Mario Damasso
Description
M dwarfs are optimal targets to search for potentially habitable planets
in the solar neighborhood through the photometric transit method and
the analysis of radial velocity timeseries. Spanning almost all the low-
mass spectral range, "breaking news" terrestrial planets have been
found around some nearby M dwarfs, and they will be the primary
follow-up targets for further characterization in the near future. After
introducing the state-of.-the-art techniques used to detect those
planets, I will focus on some of the most promising by highlighting in
particular the challenges posed by stellar activity and spectroscopical
observational sampling for a proper characterization of their bulk
composition.