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My name is Priyashkumar Mistry, and I am currently pursuing a PhD in Physics at the University of New South Wales, focusing in Radial Velocity Exoplanets under the supervision of Prof. Christopher Geoffrey Tinney and Dr. Benjamin Tyler Montet. I completed my Integrated M.Sc. Physics from the Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology (SVNIT), Surat, Gujarat, India, in September 2022.

I am a member of TESS Follow-up Observing Programme Working Group Sub-Group 1 (TFOP WG-SG1: Seeing-Limited Photometry) from March 2023, and Sub-Group 2 & 4 (TFOP WG-SG2: Recon Spectroscopy & SG4: Precise Radial Velocities) from April 2024.

My research interests are the discovery and characterisation of exoplanets using transit, radial velocity, statistical validation and transit timing variation methods, atmospheric study of exoplanets, and computational and observational astronomy. Currently, I'm leading a research group called VaTEST.

±Ê°ù´ÇÂá±ð³¦³Ù:ÌýUsing the Veloce instrument to measure the masses of potentially Earth-like planets discovered by NASA's TESS satellite

Supervised by:ÌýÌý Tinney andÌý

Project description:ÌýThe objective of this research project is to gain insight into the masses of Earth-like planets by analysing the radial velocities of their host stars using the newly developed Veloce instrument. The study will involve observing selected TESS targets using the Veloce instrument installed on the Anglo-Australian telescope, which will provide high-resolution spectra of the stars. The derived radial velocities will be used to determine the masses of the Earth-like planets. The mass determination of Earth-like planets is a crucial aspect of understanding their physical and chemical properties. However, accurately measuring the mass of such planets is challenging due to their small sizes and low masses. The University of New South Wales’s development of the Veloce instrument at the Anglo-Australian Telescope offers a promising opportunity to improve our ability to measure the masses of Earth-like planets based on Doppler spectroscopy. This research could lead to a better understanding of the properties of Earth-like planets and improve our ability to identify habitable worlds beyond our solar system. Additionally, this research could contribute to the development of future missions and instruments aimed at characterising exoplanets. The ultimate aim of this project is to improve statistics on planet density for a range of planets, including Earth-like planets, orbiting nearby stars. Accurately determining the density of exoplanets is crucial to understanding their composition and structure, which in turn helps us gain insight into their formation and evolution. Observing the masses of Earth-like planets and tracing their diversity in different environments using demographics is another important outcome of this research project. By studying the demographics of Earth-like planets in different environments, we can identify patterns and trends in the properties of these planets, which can provide insights into their formation and evolution. This will be a useful aspect to know how different exoplanets are from our solar system and what the common features of other similar exoplanets are. This information can be used to develop better models and theories of planet formation, which can be applied to the search for habitable worlds beyond our solar system. Understanding the diversity of Earth-like planets is essential to identifying and characterising potentially habitable exoplanets and for developing strategies for the search for life beyond our solar system.