P. Magain

Papers

Total Citations

125

H-Index

About

P. Magain is a leading figure in the study of ultra-cool stars and brown dwarfs, with a particular focus on their weather, variability, and potential for hosting habitable planets. Their major contributions include the discovery and characterization of fast-evolving weather patterns on the binary brown dwarf WISE J104915.57-531906.1, the third closest system to the Sun at just 2 parsecs. Through intense near-infrared photometric monitoring with the TRAPPIST robotic telescope, Magain revealed dynamic atmospheric changes on these substellar objects, a finding that has garnered 76 citations. Additionally, Magain pioneered the TRAPPIST-UCDTS project, a prototype survey designed to detect habitable planets transiting ultra-cool stars (spectral type M6 and later). This work, cited 49 times, highlights the unique potential of these faint stars, whose habitable zones are 30–100 times closer than the Sun’s, with orbital periods of just one to a few days. Magain’s research has significantly advanced our understanding of the atmospheres of the coolest celestial bodies and laid the groundwork for future exoplanet searches around the smallest stars.