Laura Affer

Background

About Laura Affer

Dr. Laura Affer is a Researcher Astronomer at the INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Palermo in Italy. Her research is centered on the search for exoplanets around M-dwarf stars and mitigating the impact of stellar activity on their detection. Research and Expertise Dr. Affer's work involves using high-resolution optical spectroscopy to characterize stars that host planets. Her expertise includes determining fundamental stellar properties such as: Chemical composition Photospheric parameters (effective temperature, surface gravity, microturbulence) Rotation periods and gyro-chronological ages Kinematic properties and activity levels She specializes in identifying spectral lines affected by stellar activity and comparing them with synthetic models to refine planet detection methods. Projects and Leadership Dr. Affer is a key member of several international collaborations, including GAPS (Global Architecture of Planetary Systems) and the GTO (Guaranteed Time Observations) program for The Search of Nearby Rocky Planets. In this capacity, she serves as an Expert Observer for the HARPS-N spectrograph, conducting regular observing runs. She holds significant leadership positions as the Coordinator of the HADES (HARPS-N Red Dwarf Exoplanet Survey) program—a collaboration between the GAPS consortium, Institut de Ciències de l’Espai de Catalunya (ICE), and the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC). Additionally, she is the Atmospheres Project Manager for the GAPS2 project. Key Contributions A primary focus of Dr. Affer's work is determining the occurrence rate of low-mass planets around M dwarfs by carefully accounting for the "jitter" in radial velocity data caused by stellar activity. By analyzing spectral indices from Ca II H&K and Hα lines, she can identify periodic signals caused by chromospheric features modulated by stellar rotation. Her research has highlighted the critical importance of this analysis. For example, her work on GJ3998 demonstrated how to disentangle stellar rotation signals from potential planetary ones (Affer et al. Furthermore, her two-decade-long study of Gl 686, using data from multiple instruments, underscored the necessity of long-term monitoring to confirm the nature of signals from active M-dwarf stars (Affer et al.