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Job title: Research Assistant

Email Address: J.R.Barnes@herts.ac.uk

Telephone Number: 01707285162

Memberships and Appointments:

John Barnes is a member of the Low Mass Group at the Centre for Astrophysics Research and has considerable experience in high resolution spectroscopy of low mass stars. He is currently working on projects to detect earth-like planets orbiting stars in habitable zones using precision radial velocity techniques. Also, making use of some of the largest telescopes and state of the art instruments, enables molecules and the heating patterns of close orbiting planets to be detected and measured.

Highlights: First indirect, high resolution surface images of cluster G dwarf stars and nearby M dwarf stars, enabling inference of dynamo action through the observation of starspot distributions. Observation of a decrease in the differential rotation rate with decreasing stellar mass: Fully convective stars exhibit no differential rotation in accordance with predictions. Near infrared, high resolution spectroscopic observations of close orbiting extrasolar giant planets, enabling determination of limits on the relative planetary brightness and molecular species present. The highest precision radial velocity measurements yet reported in the near-infrared, paving the way for surveys to detect earth-mass planets orbiting stars in habitable zones.

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