Title: Transiting exoplanets: harnessing the power of ground-based observations

Abstract:
When the orbital configuration is such that an extrasolar planet
happens to eclipse the star as seen from the Earth, the observed
brightness of the star drops a small amount. The analysis of this
variability is the foundation of the transit method. In the simplified
case where the transiting system is conformed by a central body (the
star) and one secondary body (the planet), the movement of the latter
around its host will occur exactly periodically. However, if further
bodies are present in the system, due to mutual gravitational
interactions their orbits will speed up and slow down by small amounts
that will lead to deviations from exact periodicity. This timing
shifts, in principle measurable from the ground, provide the basis of
the transit timing variation method. I will show you results from my
PhD thesis related to both detection and characterization methods, and
I will make particular emphasis in the power of photometric data,
specially when Kepler's heritage needs to be reprised.