David Rodríguez

My research consists in the identification and characterization of nearby, low-mass stars in the late stages of planet formation. It consists of an all-sky search utilizing large catalogs, such as the ultraviolet GALEX and infrared WISE, to search for active, M-type stars near the Earth. These stars are excellent candidates for the study of protoplanetary disks with observatories like APEX and ALMA.

There exists several stellar moving groups and associations near the Earth (<100pc) with ages between 10 and 100 million years. This age range is interesting as giant planets like Jupiter should form within ~10 million years. That is to say, systems at these ages are in their final stages of giant planet formation and the study of disks around these stars will help us understand the planet formation environment. There exist several well-known examples of such young systems with disks and directly imaged planets. My research program is capable of identifying low-mass stars in these groups that have not yet been found and, together with facilities like APEX and ALMA, to search for and characterize disks of gas and/or dust in them.

How many low-mass stars are missing from these groups? Is the frequency of disks the same among young low-mass stars as it is among the higher mass objects? What is the relationship between a star‘s mass and the environment in which planets form? These are some of the questions my research can help address.

Studies

 

• Bachelor: Florida Institute of Technology; 2002-2006
• Masters: University of California, Los Angeles; 2006-2008
• PhD: University of California, Los Angeles; 2008-2011

 

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