"Search and Characterization of Exoplanets, Brown Dwarfs and Young Stars"

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The search and studies of exoplanet is blooming and motivate the construction of the largest observatories both on the ground and in space. The goal of this endeavour is to determine the frequency of planetary systems, understand how planets form and how they evolve. The ultimate goal is to find a world like ours, a terrestrial planet that could harbor life. Nearly 700 exoplanets have been discovered through various techniques including radial velocity, the transit method, micro-lensing and, very recently, direct imaging. The next step is to unveil more gas giant planets detected through imaging with a powerful instrument like the Gemini Planet Imager (GPI) and develop the radial velocity technique at infrared wavelengths to enable the search of Earth-size planets within the habitable zone (HZ) of low-mass stars. These targets will eventually be observed by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), late in this decade, to search for water vapour in their atmosphere.