Laurent Pueyo

Imaging Exoplanets

I am an astronomer at the Space Telescope Science Institute . I design instruments to image planets orbiting other stars. I use these instruments to study the properties of distant worlds.

Research

My research is aimed at understanding our place in the universe using comparative exoplanetogy. The two key questions I am focusing on are i) the formation history of giant planets and ii) the design of future experiments that will identify biomarkers in the atmosphere of temperate earth analogs. In practice, I investigate a broad range of observational and instrumentation problems aimed at opening key diagnostics windows pertaining to these science themes.

Collaborations

STScI Extrasolar Planetary Systems Imaging Group EPSIG

Gemini Planet Imager collaboration

Data analysis tools for high-contrast imaging pyKLIP

HST Archival Legacy Investigations of Circumstellar Environments ALICE

I am involved with the planning of the coronagraph operations on two NASA upcoming missions: the James Webb Space Telescope ( JWST ), launching in 2021, and the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope ( WFIRST ). I work in collaboration with the sciencetifc community, NASA stakeholders ( NASA-JWST , NASA-GSFC , NASA-JPL , IPAC ) and industry partners to optimize exoplanet imaging observations with these missions.

I also serve on the Science and technology Definition Team (STDT) for the Large UV/Optical/Infrared Surveyor ( LUVOIR ), a mission concept for the 2030's aimed at indentifying earth analogs and measures the abundance of biomarkers in their atmospheres. I am the coronagraph lead for LUVOIR.

Useful links

JWST coronagraph documentation .

JWST Exposure Time Calculator .

JWST coronagraph Simulation Tools .

WFIRST STScI technical reports , including coronagraph instrument studies.

WFIRST coronagraph IPAC simulation repository.

LUVOIR Simulation Tools.

Multi-mission, multi-instruments Exo-Planets Characterization Toolkit ExoCTK .

You can find an ~up to date version of my curriculum vitae or my publications list at NASA ADS

We hold a ~weekly seminar series at STScI that focuses on a variety of topics related to exo-planetary science and star formation. If you are interested in giving a talk please contact me.

My Talks

I also give talks at various meeting, conferences, and workshops. Below you can find a selection or my recent slidedecks.

August 2017 Exoclipse conference talk

July 2016 Sagan Summer Workshop lecture

March 2016 WFIRST conference talk

June 2015 Spirit Of Lyot talk

Space Telescope Science Institue
3800 San Martin Drive
Baltimore, MD 21218
pueyo at stsci dot edu
410-338-2435

Selected Publications

One of the most fulfilling aspects of my job is to work talented young astronomers and engineers. Here are highlights of recents papers from graduate students and post-docs that I am mentoring / have mentored.