Alexandrine L’Heureux

Alexandrine started her PhD studies in 2023 at Université de Montréal under the supervision of Professor René Doyon. She focuses on the characterization of small temperate exoplanets orbiting low-mass stars. These planets, previously detected by the transit method, have radius values and are therefore of known sizes. Alexandrine uses the NIRPS and SPIRou instruments to precisely monitor the periodic motion of the star generated by the planet’s orbit. These velocimetric data allow the mass of the planet to be measured and, combined with the radius value, to determine its overall composition, i.e. the quantity of rocky and volatile material it contains.

She used similar techniques during her master’s degree, which began in 2022 at Université de Montréal, to measure the masses of the seven planets of the TRAPPIST-1 system with data from the SPIRou spectrograph. As part of this project, she created a numerical model considering both the planets’ signal and the stellar activity.

Alexandrine is also committed to scientific communication. She mainly focuses on high school and cégep students by presenting her research projects in the form of interactive conferences, participating in networking activities and introducing them to scientific research through mentoring.