Research Projects

News Results Projects Team Funding


@PLANETS Foundation

Exo-Life Finder (ELF):

We develop a hybrid interferometric telescope to directly image exoplanets and indirectly map their surfaces using inversions of reflected light curves. It will alow us to spatially resolve continents, oceans, life colonies and alien civilization large-scale constructions on nearby exoplanets. Funded by the PLANETS Foundation, public donations, and institutional contributions (from 2016)


SDO/NASA/ESA

Solar Coronal Magnetic Fields:

We employ linear spectropolarimetry of neutral species and IR forbidden lines for solar coronal magnetometry. This allows us for the first time to obtain a full magnetic field vector in the solar corona which is crucial for monitoring and forecasting space weather. Funded by NSF, USA (2014-2017)


@SBerdyugina

Hot Molecules in Exoplanets and Protoplanetary Disks:

This project develops several exploratory theoretical and observational aspects of precision spectropolarimetry for detecting water and other molecules and life on exoplanets and in the inner part of protoplanetary disks. This is a path towards finding extraterrestrial life. Funded by the ERC Advanced Grant HotMol


@DHarrington

Innovations in High-Precision Polarimetry:

International collaboration between Germany (KIS), Finland (Turku University) and USA (Hawaii University) has explored various technologies for high-precision polarimetry. Three instruments have been designed and built: imaging polarimeter InnoPol, dual beam polarimeter DIPOL2, and spectropolarimeter BioPol. Their copies are deployed at various telescopes world-wide. Funded by Leibniz Gemeinschaft (WGL), Germany (2011-2013)


@SBerdyugina

Starspot Evolution on Active Late-type Stars in the KEPLER Field

The goal of this project is to follow evolution of starspots by obtaining differential rotation and spot maps from inversions of continuous light curves obtained with Kepler. This expands our knowledge on the stellar magnetism and allows to distinguish stellar and exoplanetary signals. Funded by NSF, USA (2009-2011)


@SBerdyugina

Molecules in Magnetized Solar and Stellar Atmospheres:

This project has developed fundamentals of the molecular Zeeman, Paschen-Back, and Hanle effects and their practical applications for studying magnetic fields on the Sun and cool stars. It helped to solve several long-standing puzzles in solar and stellar magnetism. We continue employing the developed techniques for solar, stellar and exoplanetary applications. Funded by the EURYI Award, European Science Foundation (2005-2010), ETH Zurich and SNF grants, Switzerland (2004-2008)


NASA

Optical support of the NASA/Stanford Gravity Probe B mission:

Our participation in the mission was to provide the best knowledge on the guide star IM Pegasi in the optics, including radial velocity measurements and Doppler imaging with spectroscopy as well as photometry and polarimetry. We have shown that the stellar activity has not affected the GPB results. This unique campaign made IM Peg one of the best studied star. Funded by research contracts with SAO (USA) and ETH Zurich grants, Switzerland (2004-2006)


@SBerdyugina

Stellar magnetic fields:

This ongoing project is dedicated to a comprehensive study of magnetic activity on various types of stars using Doppler imaging, photometric light curve inversions, and polarized molecular band modeling. Nowadays this has become important in the context of detecting Earth-like planets which is limited by the stellar activity "noise". Funded by Academy of Finland, Centre for International Mobility, Finland, ETH Zurich, Switzerland (1996-2010)