More than two decades after the first discoveries of exoplanets, the field has entered the era of finding Earth analogs as well as building samples of well-characterized exoplanets to study their formation and evolution. Precise radial velocity (RV) is taking the lead in surveying nearby bright stars for Earth analogs, while playing an important role in characterizing populations of exoplanets, such as following up transiting planets discovered by NASA’s Kepler and TESS missions. This talk focuses on the unique opportunities in detecting Earth analogs and surveying exoplanets with RVs. In particular, I will outline some of the challenges we are facing, with a focus on stellar jitter (e.g., RVxTESS.com). I will also highlight some recent works on using samples of well-characterized exoplanets to inform theories on planet formation and evolution (e.g., the Magellan TESS Survey).
