Steph Sallum (UC Irvine): "Expanding the Exoplanet Parameter Space with Interferometry and Spectroscopy"

Title: "Expanding the Exoplanet Parameter Space with Interferometry and Spectroscopy"

Abstract: We now have observations of thousands of exoplanetary systems that inform our understanding of planet formation and evolution. Addressing many open questions in this field requires directly characterizing a sample of planets with a variety of ages, masses, and orbital distances. While we have begun to directly characterize a small subset of the exoplanet population, building a larger census of directly characterized planets requires improvements in both instrumentation and data processing. I will highlight some of my group’s ongoing work in both of these areas, aimed at pushing the capabilities of direct imaging instrumentation and expanding the exoplanet characterization space. This will include high resolution observations of young stars using current instruments, and planning for enhanced exoplanet science with future facilities.