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Natural Sciences and Engineering; Engineering; Fundamental Sciences; Applied Sciences

Institut de recherche sur les exoplanètes

Centre facultaire Faculté des arts et des sciences
Département de physique
Secondary number: 514 343-6111 #4681 (Information)
Secondary emails: irex@astro.umontreal.ca (Autre courriel) nathalie@astro.umontreal.ca (Personne contact)

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Rencontre annuelle iREx - Bilan des activités de formation, d'éducation et de rayonnement

iREx - Institut de recherche sur les exoplanètes

Profile

About us

We are living at a pivotal time in human history, as technology is advancing to the point that we will be able to answer one of the most fundamental questions: Are we alone in the universe? This quest alone justifies the investment of billions of dollars in robotic exploration of our solar system and the construction of powerful astronomical observatories on Earth and in space.

Since the discovery in 1995 of the 1st planet orbiting a star other than our Sun, astronomers have confirmed the existence of several thousand exoplanets. Thousands of additional candidates have been identified, including rocky Earth-like planets. Over the coming decade, the new generation of telescopes and instruments will allow us to probe the atmosphere of extrasolar planets similar to ours for the first time, looking for water vapour and perhaps even signatures of biological activity like oxygen, ozone and methane.

The Institute for research on exoplanets (iREx) brings together top researchers and their students so as to benefit as much as possible from major current and upcoming observation projects, with the ultimate goal of finding life elsewhere. The Institute is devoted to exploring new worlds and seeking life on other planets.

Affiliations

Universities

  • Université McGill/McGill University

Addresses

Location on the University campus

Roger-Gaudry, room D-455

For more information…

Team

Directors

At Université de Montreal

Members

At Université de Montreal

Gilles Fontaine (Membre associé)
Patrick Dufour (Membre régulier)
David Lafrenière (Membre régulier)
Jonathan Gagné (Chercheur)
Lison Malo (Chercheur)
Björn Benneke (Membre régulier)

External

Andrew Cumming (Membre régulier)
Nicolas Cowan (Membre régulier)
Nicolas Cowan (Membre régulier)

Expertise

Projects and funding

Publications and presentations

Publications

Disciplines

  • Astronomy and Astrophysics
  • Physics
  • Physical Engineering
  • Earth Science
  • Material Engineering and Metallurgic Engineering
  • Mechanical Engineering

Areas of expertise

  • Extrasolar planetary systems
  • Atmospheres of solid surface planets
  • Atmospheres of fluid planets
  • Fundamental astronomy
  • Nuclear astrophysics
  • Fundamental aspects of astrophysics
  • Astronomical and space-research instrumentation
  • Radio, microwave astronomical observations
  • Gamma rays astronomical observations
  • X-ray astronomical observations
  • Infrared astronomical observations
  • Pulsations, oscillations, and stellar seismology
  • Mathematical methods in physics
  • Condensed matter physics
  • Physics of elementary particles and fields
  • Nuclear physics
  • Nuclear physics aspects of supernovae
  • Solar physics
  • Observation and data reduction techniques
  • Faint blue stars, White dwarfs, degenerate stars, nuclei of planetary nebulae
  • Origin and evolution of solid surface planets
  • Equation of state of neutron-star matter
  • Low luminosity stars, subdwarfs and brown dwarfs
  • Emission-line stars (Of, Be, LBV, Wolf-Rayet stars)
  • Supergiant stars
  • Star formation