Physics and Astronomy

Dr Sasha Hinkley

Dr Sasha Hinkley

Professor
Physics and Astronomy

Overview:

As a Professor and Personal Chair of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Exeter, I use leading ground- and space-based observatories with the goal of obtaining direct images and spectroscopy of extrasolar planetary systems. Specifically, during my PhD training, and while a NASA Sagan and an NSF Postdoctoral Fellow at the California Institute of Technology, I was responsible for designing, building, and commissioning an infrared imaging spectrometer for Palomar Observatory dedicated for this task. Since my arrival at Exeter, I have become an active user of ESO facilities, while continuing to mine through my large high-contrast survey for planets I carried out at the W.M. Keck Observatory while at Caltech. Since late 2015, I have been leading, organising, and managing a team of 120 international astronomers to be among the first users of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), and I am the Principal Investigator for our approved 77-hour Early Release Science program. Along with collaborator Seba Marino, Andy James, Raphael Bendahan-West and Vito Squicciarini we have succesffuly led JWST programs in Cycles 1, 2 and 5.  You can find out more at my personal webpage at: this link.
 

Students: 

  1. My first PhD student Elisabeth Matthews, now permanent at the Dublin Institute for Advanced Study, led our survey for planets around young stars with evidence for multiple belts of circumstellar debris using SPHERE at the VLT. Elisabeth's work uncovered a spectacular image of a nearly edge-on disk around the star HD 129590 (see paper below).
  2. My next PhD student Aarynn Carter, now a staff Astronomer at STScI, was one of the key members of our JWST ERS team , presenting some of the first datasets 
  3. My next PhD student Shrishmoy Ray, now a postdoc at MacQuarie University, led the analysis of some of the first data from our JWST ERS program obtained through the NIRIS Aperture Masking Interferometry (AMI) mode. 

 

Some Selected Publications:

  1. Hinkley, S. & Sing, D. K.  "Exploration of Exoplanet Atmospheres with the James Webb Space Telescope." Invited Review for Contemorary Physics. Paper here. 
  2. Hinkley, S. et. al. 2023. "Direct Discovery of the inner exoplanet in the HD206893 system. Evidence for deuterium burning in a planetary mass companion." Paper here.  
  3.  Carter, A. L., Hinkley, S., et al. 2023 "The JWST Early Release Science Program for Direct Observations of Exoplanetary Systems I: High Contrast Imaging of the Exoplanet HIP 65426b from 2 to 16 microns." Paper here.
  4. Hinkley et al. 2021. "Discovery of an Edge-on Debris Disk around BD+45 598: A Newly Identified Member of the Beta Pictoris Moving Group" Paper here
  5. Hinkley et al. 2015. "Discovery of Seven Companions to Intermediate-Mass Stars with Extreme Mass Ratios in the Scorpius-Centaurus Association" Paper here. 
  6. Hinkley et al. 2015. "Early Results from VLT SPHERE: Long-slit Spectroscopy of 2MASS0122-2439B, a Young Companion Near the Deuterium Burning Limit." Paper here. 
  7. Matthews et al. 2017. "The First Scattered-light Image of the Debris Disk around the Sco-Cen Target HD129590." Paper here. 
  8. Hinkley et al., 2011. "A New High Contrast Imaging Program at Palomar Observatory." Paper here. 

 

 

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