Diana Dragomir (LCOGT) - Probing small exoplanets by joining ground- and space-based forces

I will begin by introducing the Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope (LCOGT) network, which includes 11 longitudinally distributed 1.0m and 2.0m telescopes located throughout the northern and southern hemispheres. The network enables continuous observing from the ground, and is currently being used for a variety of time-domain astronomy programs. I will give a brief overview of the network and its unique capabilities, as well as recent results with a focus on exoplanet research. LCOGT presents opportunities to study even super-Earths and Neptune-size exoplanets through multi-band transit observations and monitoring of transit timing variations, as long as these planets orbit bright stars. Super-Earths and Neptune-size planets are of particular interest because they constitute a class of objects which are not represented in our Solar System. Studies based on Kepler data have shown that exoplanets in this size range are the most common, but the relative faintness of most of the host stars in the Kepler field means that follow-up observations of these systems with other instruments is very difficult. In order to better understand the nature of these widespread super-Earths and Neptune analogues, we need to construct a larger sample of these objects that transit bright stars. As the K2 and TESS transit surveys (will) make progress toward this goal, the LCOGT network constitutes an important resource for the photometric (and soon spectroscopic) follow-up of the resulting planet candidates. But for more in-depth exploration, we turn to space. I will describe ongoing HST and Spitzer programs aiming to probe the atmospheres of the handful of small exoplanets known to transit bright, nearby stars, and prospects for using these observatories as well as the JWST to carry out comparative exoplanetology studies of the systems discovered by K2 and TESS. Lest we forget LCOGT, I will discuss how we are using the network to monitor the host stars of these planets over the duration of the HST and Spitzer campaigns.