FPU2025 - Exoplanet detection through radial velocities and the Gaia mission

The field of extrasolar planets is currently among the most prolific and numerous in observational astronomy. Since 1995, more than 6000 planetary signals have been identified. Far from being over, the hunt for new planetary systems continues because: 1) we still lack exoplanet detections in key regions of the parameter space that would allow us to understand how planets form and evolve and how their different components influence the final architecture of the planetary system (including the potential habitability of rocky worlds), and 2) we are still missing planets where life could have formed and developed. In this regard, the coming decade 2026-2035 will represent an explosion in the population of known extrasolar planets. First, the TESS mission has so far released more than 7,700 planet candidates among which only ~6% have been confirmed to date (and the mission continues). Second, the Gaia mission with its fourth (DR4) and fifth (DR5) data releases in December 2026 (DR4) and 2030 (DR5) is expected to release between around 100,000 exoplanetary signals detected through astrometry. Finally, the PLATO mission will launch by the end of 2026, with an expected yield of transiting planet candidates in the order of several tens of thousands, including long-period giants. The PhD offered within this FPU will be devoted to the exploitation of ground-based facilities (and the definition of new instrumentation) to confirm large number of these new population of planetary systems.