Research

The research of my group is focused on star-exoplanet relationship. By using theory and numerical simulations, we research the interaction of exoplanets with their host star's wind. Our research allows us to investigate how (and whether) these interactions can produce detectable observational signatures, how the stellar wind can affect planetary magnetospheres, how it shapes escape in close-in planets, among other physical processes. Our research therefore can supply more detailed diagnostics of the wind interaction with exoplanets, guiding observers towards the most promising systems to host detectable signatures of such interactions. Our numerical and theoretical work is further complemented by numerous collaborations with observers.

Would you like to learn more? I have written reviews and overviews on stellar winds and star-planet interactions recently. These selected materials are adequate for MSc/PhD student level and above. They can also be useful for non-specialists who would like to get more familiar with these fields.

Publications and CV

For more details on our work, please check my list of publications in ADS. My CV can be found in Orcid.

Group

Current group members

• Assoc. Prof. Aline Vidotto (Principal Investigator)
• Andrew Allan (PhD Student)
• Anselmo Falorca (PhD Student starting in Sept/2024)
• Dr Stefano Bellotti (Postdoctoral Scholar)
• Dr Florian Driessen (Postdoctoral Scholar)
• Dr Dag Evensberget (Postdoctoral Scholar)

Former group members (in reverse chronological order)

• Markus Strickert (former PhD Student)
• Dr Sebastian Pineda (visitor researcher)
• Dr Robert Kavanagh (former PhD Student until 2022)
• Dr Amanda Mesquita (former PhD Student until 2022)
• Dr Gopal Hazra (former Postdoctoral Scholar until 2022)
• Dr Stephen Carolan (former PhD Student, graduated in 2022)
• Dr Donna Rodgers-Lee (former Postdoctoral Scholar until 2022)
• Dr Daria Kubyshkina (former Postdoctoral Scholar until 2021)
• Dr Carolina Villarreal D'Angelo (IRC Postdoctoral Fellow until 2020)
• Dr Dualta O Fionnagain (former PhD student, graduated in 2020)

Open positions

Postdoctoral position in Stellar/Exoplanetary outflows

I am hiring a postdoc to join my group in the Autumn of 2024. The successful candidate will advance the modelling of stellar/exoplanetary outflows conducted by my group. Thus, for this position, I am particularly welcoming applicants with experience in numerical modelling. Experience in the modelling of solar/stellar and planetary outflows is welcome, but it is not required. Interested candidates should upload their applications by 21 April 2024, using this form. More information can also be found at the same link.

About me

I am an Associate Professor in Leiden Observatory, at Leiden University, where I am currently the principal investigator of the ERC Consolidator project ASTROFLOW and of a recently awarded NWO Vici grant. Prior to joining Leiden in September 2021, I was an academic at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, and, before that, I held independent research fellowships from the Royal Astronomical Society (at University of St Andrews) and from the Swiss National Science Foundation (at Geneva Observatory). I obtained my PhD from the University of Sao Paulo, in (patria amada) Brazil.

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