{"id":4280,"date":"2025-10-06T12:32:51","date_gmt":"2025-10-06T16:32:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oge.mit.edu\/msrp\/?post_type=profiles&p=4280"},"modified":"2025-12-09T11:21:00","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T16:21:00","slug":"mariangel-albornoz","status":"publish","type":"profiles","link":"https:\/\/oge.mit.edu\/msrp\/profiles\/mariangel-albornoz\/","title":{"rendered":"Mariangel Albornoz"},"content":{"rendered":"
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MIT Department: <\/strong>Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences
Faculty Mentor<\/strong>: Prof. Julien de Wit
Research Supervisor: <\/strong>Benjamin Rackham, Artem Burdanov
Undergraduate Institution:<\/strong> University of Florida
Website<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Biography<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

As a first-generation college student in the United States, Mariangel knew she had to stepup for her family. Born in Venezuela, she developed a deep love of the Universe. She is currently studying astrophysics at the University of Florida, especially interested in exoplanets and habitable worlds. Mariangel\u2019s journey began as a young girl who found her uncle\u2019s astronomy book.Captivated by its images, she taught herself to read, sparking a lifelong passion for astronomy.Beyond her scientific pursuits, Mariangel is determined to expand student access to education. She participated in the National College Access Network\u2019s Advocacy Days, traveling to Washington,D.C, to speak with senators and representatives about preserving federal programs that support students nationwide. Her passion for exoplanets arises from the mysteries of the cosmos:What is our place in this universe? Are there others like us? She hopes to become a research scientist and work for a national lab such as NASA or CERN, and eventually work in academia to inspire the next generation of scientists. Ultimately, Mariangel aims to utilize her experiences to advocate for research and education at the federal level, and help create a world where anyone curious enough can thrive in science.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Abstract<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Zombie Hunting: Searching for Planets Orbiting Dead Stars<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Mariangel Albornoz1,2<\/sup>, Julien de Wit1<\/sup>, Tristan Cavalier1,3<\/sup>, Artem Burdanov1<\/sup>, Khalid Barkaoui1,4<\/sup>, Benjamin Rackham1<\/sup>, et al.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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1<\/sup>Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2<\/sup>Department of Astronomy, University of Florida<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3<\/sup>Institut sup\u00e9rieur de l’a\u00e9ronautique et de l’espace<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4<\/sup>Astrobiology Research Unit, Universit\u00e9 de Li\u00e8ge<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5<\/sup>Instituto de Astrof\u00edsica de Canarias (IAC)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Only so much can be learned about planetary processes (including life) from our own Solar System, explaining the undeniable appeal of exoplanetary sciences. Amongst the wide range of new perspectives gained on such processes over the last decades, the most exotic (and thus informative) are undoubtedly related to those gleaned from the only system found around a white dwarf, i.e., the remnant core of a dead star. The origin of such a \u201czombie\u201d planet is still debated considering that our theories are just now blooming: did it migrate from far away when it interacted with the star\u2019s outer envelope during the red-giant phase (first-generation planet) or did it form from that envelope (second-generation planet)? Fortunately, such Zombie planets are expected to be particularly amenable for atmospheric studies as they are large compared to their Earth-sized stars. To help investigate the origin of these planets and ultimately answer the question of their possible habitability, we set on a quest to find more of them. To that end, we turn to TESS\u2019 all-sky capabilities and mine the data associated with 100,000+ potential white dwarfs. We then used SPECULOOS\u2019 enhanced spatial and flux precisions to confirm the nature of the candidate planets.\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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