Federica Rescigno

About Me

Employment
2024 - 2027
Research Fellow in the Sun, Stars and Exoplanets group, University of Birmingham, UK
Aim: using the four decades of Birmingham Solar Oscillations Network (BiSON) data to investigate stellar variability phenomena across a magnetic cycle on timescales from minutes to months

Education
2020 - 2024
PhD in Astrophysics at the University of Exeter, UK
Supervisors: Dr. Raphaelle Haywood, Dr. Tim Naylor
Title: Breaking the stellar activity barrier to determining robust masses of small exoplanets

2016 - 2020
MPhys in Physics and Astronomy at Durham University, UK
Master Project Advisor: Prof. Cedric Lacey
Title: Study of the galaxy merger rate in the EAGLE simulation

Research Interests
I focus on understanding the stellar activity signal in radial velocity surveys for the detection of exoplanets. I am involved in "Sun as an exoplanet-hosting distant star" studies. I currently am developing a new calibration pipeline for the BiSON solar data in order to extent its stability beyond 1 day. We are doing so in order to study longer term stellar variability in one of the longest solar RV dataset.
At the same time I am leading the development of another pipeline that aims to generate disk-integrated polarimetric Stokes profiles starting from resolved solar images.
I am a planet hunter. I have developed a python3 pipeline called MAGPy, a Gaussian process regression tool with MCMC paramter search algorithm. I used this new pipeline in the detection and characterisations of two systems with the HARPS-N Science Team. I have also used in studies on the effectiuveness of the mean longitudian magnetic field, measured from SDO/HMI data, as a stellar activity tracer.

I am a member of the High Accuracy Rocky Planet Search for the Northern Hemisphere, Guaranteed Time Observation Consortium (HARPS-N GT) Science Team and Solar Team, and I am a collaborator in the PoET solar feed consortium.

I am passionate about scientific dissemination and am therefore very active in public outreach. I especially love working with younger students and children, from visiting schools, exchanging letters to direct pastoral mentoring in highschool.

For a recent talk covering my primary scientific interests, see the ExoExplorers 2025 Cohort Invited Talk

Publications:
ADS Library of all papers and publications

Research

Recalibrating the BiSON solar data: beyond the 1-day stability
I am developing a pipeline to extend the calibration method for the solar data observed by the Birmingham Solar Oscillations Network (BiSON) with the aim of studying longer term solar variability in the Extreme Precision Radial Velocity regime.

Disk-Intregrated Stokes Profiles from resolved SDO data
I am developing a new method to account for magnetic intensification signals that combines simulations and observations. This is the first general RV model to include magnetic intensification effects and compute both polarised and unpolarised line profiles. Full Stokes profiles are computed for each pixel with a generative model that includes Zeeman and magneto-optical effects.

Past Projects

• Gaussian process regression of temperature-dependent radial velocities
  I perform a GP regression analysis on solar RV time series measured from spectral segments formed at different temperatures within the photosphere in order to evaluate the relation between the best-fit GP kernel hyperparameters and the observed differential activity signal. Published in: Rescigno and Al Moulla 2025, MNRAS, doi:10.1093/mnras/stae2806
  
  

• The Mean Longitudinal Magnetic Field and its Uses in Radial-Velocity Surveys: SDO/HMI and HARPS-N data
  I investigate the efficacy of the mean longitudinal magnetic field as a detector of stellar rotational period of solar-like star and as a tracerto model stellar activity-induced variations in radial velocity surveys.
  Published in: Rescigno et al. 2024, MNRAS, doi: 10.1093/mnras/stae1634
  Included in the poster: The Longitudinal, line-of-sight magnetic field as a proxy for stellar activity
  Presented and recorded at two conferences: Know Thy Star, Know Thy Planet 2 and Extreme Precision Radial Velocity Workshop 5

• Rocky Planet Search: HD48948 planetary system detection
  Non—transiting planet detection of three super Earths, one of which in its stellar habitable zone, using HARPS-N radial velocity data.
  HARPS-N GTO Collaboration, RPS Team. Under the lead of Dr. Shweta Dalal (University of Exeter, UK).
  Published in: Dalal, Rescigno et al. 2024, MNRAS, V.531, I.4, pp.4464-4481. doi:10.1093/mnras/stae1367
  

• MAGPy Pipeline
  MAGPy: a pipeline for Gaussian Process regression with MCMC parameter space searching algorithm, developed in the context of stellar activity reduction for planet detection. It is developed to be self-contained and flexible enough to fit any Gaussian process need. Kernels and models can be modified or added. It has a affine invariant MCMC algorithm, which can optionally be parallelized. It includes publication level plotting. It is the process of being packaged for public release, with extended API.
  Published in: Rescigno et al. 2023, ASCL record:2310.006 and EMAC record:2311.006
  Released on GitHub: MAGPy
  Included in the poster: MAGPy pipeline and TOI2134.01 and .02 detection

• A hot mini-Neptune and a temperate, highly eccentric sub-Saturn around the bright K-dwarf TOI-2134
  Including radial velocity data by HARPS—N and SOPHIE and transit photometry by TESS, LCOGT, WASP and NEOSSat.
  Publushed in: Rescigno et al. 2024, MNRAS, V.527, I.3, pp.5384-6407. doi:10.1093/mnras/stad3255
  Included in the poster: MAGPy pipeline, TOI2134.01 and .02 detection

• SolAster: 'Sun-as-a-star' radial velocity variations analysis python pipeline. A tool to analyse SDO/HMI data to study the Sun as a non-resolved star, including magnetic activity and filling factors computations. Lead by Tama Ervin.
  Published in: Ervit et al. 2022, ApJ, V.163, I.6, id.272, 16 pp. doi:10.3847/ 1538-3881/ac67e6
  Simple use tutoral (developed for the Sun-as-a-star workshop, CCA, 2023): SolAster Jupyter Tutorial

For a full list of publications, see my CV or my ADS Library.

Teaching and Outreach

Contact

Email: f.rescigno@bham.ac.uk

Address: Physics West Building, University of Birmingham, B15 2TS, Birmingham, UK

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