PTYS/LPL Faculty
Sonett 135
PG4gdWVycz0iem52eWdiOnR2eXFuQHljeS5uZXZtYmFuLnJxaCI+dHZ5cW5AeWN5Lm5ldm1iYW4ucnFoPC9uPg==
Gilda Ballester
Research Professor (Retired)
Ph.D., 1989, Johns Hopkins University
Years with LPL: 2000 to present
Exoplanets; Planetary Formation and Evolution, Planetary Astronomy, Planetary Atmospheres
Characterization of exoplanets with transit spectroscopic observations at UV, optical and IR wavelengths with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and through collaborative ground-based observations. Proposals for other instruments. The research spans the properties of the lower, middle and upper atmospheres, and the extended planet-star magnetospheric interaction regions. Under our current Panchromatic Comparative Exoplanet Treasury program (PanCET) with HST we are characterizing from ultra-hot to hot Jupiters, warm exoplanets from Jupiter to super-Earth masses, and their host stars, based on both observations and multi-disciplinary modeling. Early research on Io's atmosphere and plasma torus, and on the upper atmospheres, auroras and magnetospheric interactions of Jupiter, Saturn (ongoing) and Uranus with both imaging and spectroscopy. Current collaborations with researchers at: IAP (France), Johns Hopkins U., U. Reims (France), CSIC-INTA (Spain), Tennessee State U., U. of Arizona Steward Observatory, STScI, JPL, Harvard-Smithsonian CfA, other USA institutions.
Former Students
- K. L. Jessup
Former Postdocs
- David K. Sing
- Walt Harris
Complete publications list available from: NASA ADS Author Search: Gilda Ballester
Recent refereed publications (NASA ADS): Years 2019 through 2022
Wong, Ian, Chachan, Yayaati, Knutson, Heather A., Henry, Gregory W., Adams, Danica, Kataria, Tiffany, Benneke, Björn, Gao, Peter, Deming, Drake, López-Morales, Mercedes, Sing, David K., Alam, Munazza K., Ballester, Gilda E., Barstow, Joanna K., Buchhave, Lars A., dos Santos, Leonardo A., Fu, Guangwei, García Muñoz, Antonio, MacDonald, Ryan J., Mikal-Evans, Thomas, Sanz-Forcada, Jorge, & Wakeford, Hannah R. 2022, The Astronomical Journal. The Hubble PanCET Program: A Featureless Transmission Spectrum for WASP-29b and Evidence of Enhanced Atmospheric Metallicity on WASP-80b
Ben-Jaffel, Lotfi, Ballester, Gilda E., García Muñoz, Antonio, Lavvas, Panayotis, Sing, David K., Sanz-Forcada, Jorge, Cohen, Ofer, Kataria, Tiffany, Henry, Gregory W., Buchhave, Lars, Mikal-Evans, Thomas, Wakeford, Hannah R., & López-Morales, Mercedes 2022, Nature Astronomy. Signatures of strong magnetization and a metal-poor atmosphere for a Neptune-sized exoplanet
Sheppard, Kyle B., Welbanks, Luis, Mandell, Avi M., Madhusudhan, Nikku, Nikolov, Nikolay, Deming, Drake, Henry, Gregory W., Williamson, Michael H., Sing, David K., López-Morales, Mercedes, Ih, Jegug, Sanz-Forcada, Jorge, Lavvas, Panayotis, Ballester, Gilda E., Evans, Thomas M., García Muñoz, Antonio, & dos Santos, Leonardo A. 2021, The Astronomical Journal. The Hubble PanCET Program: A Metal-rich Atmosphere for the Inflated Hot Jupiter HAT-P-41b
Wong, Ian, Benneke, Björn, Gao, Peter, Knutson, Heather A., Chachan, Yayaati, Henry, Gregory W., Deming, Drake, Kataria, Tiffany, Lee, Graham K. H., Nikolov, Nikolay, Sing, David K., Ballester, Gilda E., Baskin, Nathaniel J., Wakeford, Hannah R., & Williamson, Michael H. 2020, The Astronomical Journal. Optical to Near-infrared Transmission Spectrum of the Warm Sub-Saturn HAT-P-12b
Bruno, Giovanni, Lewis, Nikole K., Alam, Munazza K., López-Morales, Mercedes, Barstow, Joanna K., Wakeford, Hannah R., Sing, David K., Henry, Gregory W., Ballester, Gilda E., Bourrier, Vincent, Buchhave, Lars A., Cohen, Ofer, Mikal-Evans, Thomas, García Muñoz, Antonio, Lavvas, Panayotis, & Sanz-Forcada, Jorge 2020, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. WASP-52b. The effect of star-spot correction on atmospheric retrievals
Mikal-Evans, Thomas, Sing, David K., Goyal, Jayesh M., Drummond, Benjamin, Carter, Aarynn L., Henry, Gregory W., Wakeford, Hannah R., Lewis, Nikole K., Marley, Mark S., Tremblin, Pascal, Nikolov, Nikolay, Kataria, Tiffany, Deming, Drake, & Ballester, Gilda E. 2019, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. An emission spectrum for WASP-121b measured across the 0.8-1.1 μm wavelength range using the Hubble Space Telescope
dos Santos, L. A., Ehrenreich, D., Bourrier, V., Lecavelier des Etangs, A., López-Morales, M., Sing, D. K., Ballester, G., Ben-Jaffel, L., Buchhave, L. A., García Muñoz, A., Henry, G. W., Kataria, T., Lavie, B., Lavvas, P., Lewis, N. K., Mikal-Evans, T., Sanz-Forcada, J., & Wakeford, H. 2019, Astronomy and Astrophysics. The Hubble PanCET program: an extensive search for metallic ions in the exosphere of GJ 436 b
Sing, David K., Lavvas, Panayotis, Ballester, Gilda E., Lecavelier des Etangs, Alain, Marley, Mark S., Nikolov, Nikolay, Ben-Jaffel, Lotfi, Bourrier, Vincent, Buchhave, Lars A., Deming, Drake L., Ehrenreich, David, Mikal-Evans, Thomas, Kataria, Tiffany, Lewis, Nikole K., López-Morales, Mercedes, García Muñoz, Antonio, Henry, Gregory W., Sanz-Forcada, Jorge, Spake, Jessica J., Wakeford, Hannah R., & PanCET Collaboration 2019, The Astronomical Journal. The Hubble Space Telescope PanCET Program: Exospheric Mg II and Fe II in the Near-ultraviolet Transmission Spectrum of WASP-121b Using Jitter Decorrelation
- Astronomers Detect Signature of Magnetic Field on an Exoplanet - Dec. 20, 2021
| Available files | Size | Created |
|---|---|---|
 Gildaslongbio-Aug2021-LPL .pdf | 241.61 KB | September 8, 2022 |