Ricky Nilsson

California Institute of Technology

Email:

[email protected]

Education

• Ph.D. in Astronomy at the Department of Astronomy, Stockholm University, Sweden, 2012
• M.Sc. in Engineering Physics at Lund Institute of Technology, Lund University, Sweden, 2005

Research Interests

The main topic of my research up to now can be summarized as characterization of planetary systems, involving investigations of exo-Kuiper belts and extrasolar planets (exoplanets), using observational studies of thermal emission and scattering/polarization properties of dust grains, as well as direct imaging and recovery of spectra of young Jupiter-mass planets and brown dwarfs. More details on my research involvements can be found on my website.

Publications

Project 1640 Observations of the White Dwarf HD 114174 B

E. Bacchus, I. R. Parry, R. Oppenheimer, J. Aguilar, C. Beichman, D. Brenner, R. Burruss, E. Cady, S. Luszcz-Cook, J. Crepp, R. Dekany, R. Fergus, A. Gianninas, L. Hillenbrand, S. Hinkley, M. Kilic, D. King, T. G. Lockhart, C. T. Matthews, R. Nilsson, T. Pearce, L. Pueyo, E. L. Rice, L. C. Roberts, Jr., A. Sivaramakrishnan, R. Soummer, G. Vasisht, A. Veicht, C. Zhai, N. T. Zimmerman

MNRAS, 469, 4796, 10 pages (2017)

Project 1640 Observations of Brown Dwarf GJ758 B: Near-Infrared Spectrum and Atmospheric Modeling

R. Nilsson, A. Veicht, P. A. Giorla Godfrey, E. L. Rice, J. Aguilar, L. Pueyo, L. C. Roberts, Jr., R. Oppenheimer, D. Brenner, S. H. Luszcz-Cook, E. Bacchus, C. Beichman, R. Burruss, E. Cady, R. Dekany, R. Fergus, L. Hillenbrand, S. Hinkley, D. King, T. Lockhart, I. R. Parry, A. Sivaramakrishnan, R. Soummer, G. Vasisht, C. Zhai, N. T. Zimmerman

Astrophysical Journal, 838, 64, 12 pages, (2017)

Constraints on the presence of SiO gas in the debris disk of HD 172555 

T. L. Wilson, R. Nilsson, C. H. Chen, C. M. Lisse, M. Moerchen, H.-U. Käufl, and A. Banzatti

Astrophysical Journal, 826, 165, 5 pages, (2016) 

Characterization of the Companion to μ Her

L. C. Roberts Jr., B. D. Mason, J. Aguilar, J. Carson, J. R. Crepp, C. Beichman, D. Brenner, R. Burruss, E. Cady, S. Luszcz-Cook, R. Dekany, L. Hillenbrand, S. Hinkley, D. King, T. G. Lockhart, R. Nilsson, R. Oppenheimer, I. R. Parry, L. Pueyo, E. L. Rice, A. Sivaramakrishnan, R. Soummer, G. Vasisht, A. Veicht, J. Wang C. Zhai, N. T. Zimmerman

Astronomical Journal, 151, 6, 169, 7 pages, (2016)

Know the Star, Know the Planet . V. Characterization of the Stellar Companion to the Exoplanet Host Star HD 177830

L. C. Roberts Jr., R. Oppenheimer, J. R. Crepp, C. Baranec, C. Beichman, D. Brenner, R. Burruss, E. Cady, S. Luszcz-Cook, R. Dekany, L. Hillenbrand, S. Hinkley, D. King, T. G. Lockhart, R. Nilsson, I. R. Parry, L. Pueyo, A. Sivaramakrishnan, R. Soummer, E. L. Rice, A. Veicht, G. Vasisht, C. Zhai, N. T. Zimmerman

Astronomical Journal, 150, 4, 103, 6 pages, (2015)

Reconnaissance of the HR 8799 Exosolar System II: Astrometry and Orbital Motion

L. Pueyo, R. Soummer, J. Hoffman, R. Oppenheimer, J. R. Graham, N. Zimmerman, C. Zhai, J. K. Wallace, F. Vescelus, A. Veicht, G. Vasisht, T. Truong, A. Sivaramakrishnan, M. Shao, L. C. Roberts Jr., J. E. Roberts, E. Rice, I. R. Parry, R. Nilsson, T. Lockhart, E. R. Ligon, D. King, S. Hinkley, L. Hillenbrand, D. Hale, R. Dekany, J. R. Crepp, E. Cady, R. Burruss, D. Brenner, C. Beichman, C. Baranec

Astrophysical Journal, 803, 31, 23 pages, (2015) 

Direct Spectrum of the Benchmark T Dwarf HD 19467 B

J. R. Crepp, E. L. Rice, A. Veicht, J. Aguilar, L. Pueyo, P. Giorla, R. Nilsson, S. H. Luszcz-Cook, R. Oppenheimer, S. Hinkley, D. Brenner, G. Vasisht, E. Cady, C. A. Beichman, L. A. Hillenbrand, T. Lockhart, C. T. Matthews, L. C. Roberts Jr., A. Sivaramakrishnan, R. Soummer, C. Zhai

Astrophysical Journal Letters, 798, L43, 6 pages, (2015) 

The κ Andromedae System: New Constraints on the Companion Mass, System Age & Further Multiplicity

S. Hinkley, L. Pueyo, J. K. Faherty, B. R. Oppenheimer, E. Rice, E. E. Mamajek, A. L. Kraus, M. J. Ireland, T. David, L. A. Hillenbrand, G. Vasisht, E. Cady, D. Brenner, A. Veicht, R. Nilsson, R. Fergus, N. Zimmerman, I. R. Parry, C. Beichman, R. Dekany, J. E. Roberts, L. C. Roberts Jr., C. Baranec, J. R. Crepp, R. Burruss, J. K. Wallace, D. King, C. Zhai, T. Lockhart, M. Shao, R. Soummer, A. Sivaramakrishnan, L. A. Wilson

Astrophysical Journal, 779, 153, 14 pages, (2013) 

Reconnaissance of the HR 8799 Exosolar System I: Near-IR Spectroscopy

B. R. Oppenheimer, C. Baranec, C. Beichman, D. Brenner, R. Burruss, E. Cady, J. R. Crepp, R. Dekany, R. Fergus, D. Hale, L. Hillenbrand, S. Hinkley, D. W. Hogg, D. King, E. R. Ligon, T. Lockhart, R. Nilsson, I. R. Parry, L. Pueyo, E. Rice, J. E. Roberts, L. C. Roberts, Jr., M. Shao, A. Sivaramakrishnan, R. Soummer, G. Vasisht, A. Veicht, F. Vescelus, J. K. Wallace, C. Zhai, N. Zimmerman

Astrophysical Journal, 768, 24, 16 pages, (2013) 

VLT Imaging of the β Pictoris Gas Disk

R. Nilsson, A. Brandeker, G. Olofsson, K. Fathi, P. Thébault, R. Liseau

Astronomy & Astrophysics, Volume 544, id.A134, 12 pages, (2012)

Polarimetric Coronagraphy of BD+31°643

G. Olofsson, R. Nilsson, H-G. Florén, A. Djupvik, M. Aberasturi

Astronomy & Astrophysics, Volume 544, id.A43, 9 pages, (2012) 

Kuiper Belts Around Nearby Stars

R. Nilsson, R. Liseau, A. Brandeker, G. Olofsson, G. L. Pilbratt, C. Risacher, J. Rodmann, J.-C. Augereau, P. Bergman, C. Eiroa, M. Fridlund, P. Thébault, G. J. White 

Astronomy & Astrophysics, Volume 518, id.A40, 15 pages, (2010) 

The HADES Mission Concept - Astrobiological Survey of Jupiter’s Icy Moon Europa

T. Böttcher, L. Huber, L. Le Corre, J. Leitner, D. McCarthy, R. Nilsson, C. Teixeira, S. Vaquer Araujo, R. C. Wilson, F. Adjali, M. Altenburg, G. Briani, P. Buchas, A. Le Postollec, T. Meier

International Journal of Astrobiology, 8, pp.321-329, (2009) 

A Submillimetre Search for Cold Extended Debris Disks in the β Pictoris Moving Group

R. Nilsson, R. Liseau, A. Brandeker, G. Olofsson, C. Risacher, M. Fridlund, G. L. Pilbratt

Astronomy & Astrophysics, Volume 508, Issue 2, pp.1057-1065, (2009) 

q1 Eri: a Solar-Type Star with a Planet and a Dust Belt

R. Liseau, C. Risacher, A. Brandeker, C. Eiroa, M. Fridlund, R. Nilsson, G. Olofsson, G. Pilbratt, P. Thébault

Astronomy & Astrophysics, Volume 480, Issue 3, pp.L47-L50, (2008) 

Astronomical Applications of Quantum Optics for Extremely Large Telescopes

C. Barbieri, D. Dravins, T. Occhipinti, F. Tamburini, G. Naletto, V. Da Deppo, S. Fornasier, M. D’Onofrio, R. A. E. Fosbury, R. Nilsson, H. Uthas

Journal of Modern Optics, 54:2, pp.191-197, (2007)

New Pulsating White Dwarfs in Cataclysmic Variables

R. Nilsson, H. Uthas, M. Ytre-Eide, J-E. Solheim, B. Warner

Mon. Not. Roy. Astron. Soc. Lett. 370, L56-L60, (2006) 

Astronomical Quantum Optics with Extremely Large Telescopes

D. Dravins, C. Barbieri, R. A. E. Fosbury, G. Naletto, R. Nilsson, T. Occhipinti, F. Tamburini, H. Uthas, L. Zampieri

The Scientific Requirements for Extremely Large Telescopes, Proceedings of the 232nd Symposium of the International Astronomical Union, Held in Cape Town, South Africa, November 14-18, 2005, Edited by Patricia Ann Whitelock; Michel Dennefeld; Bruno Leibundgut. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp.502-505, (2006) 

QuantEYE: A Quantum Optics Instrument for Extremely Large Telescopes

G. Naletto, C. Barbieri, D. Dravins, T. Occhipinti, F. Tamburini, V. Da Deppo, S. Fornasier, M. D’Onofrio, R. A. E. Fosbury, R. Nilsson, H. Uthas, L. Zampieri

Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy. Edited by McLean, Ian S.; Iye, Masanori. Proceedings of the SPIE, Volume 6269, pp.62691W, (2006) 

QuantEYE: The Quantum Optics Instrument for OWL

D. Dravins, C. Barbieri, R. A. E. Fosbury, G. Naletto, R. Nilsson, T. Occhipinti, F. Tamburini, H. Uthas, L. Zampieri

Proceedings from meeting 'Instrumentation for Extremely Large Telescopes', held at Ringberg Castle, (T.Herbst, ed.), (2005)