Related papers: Methane present in an extrasolar planet atmosphere
We report the detection of an atmosphere on a rocky exoplanet, GJ 1132 b, which is similar to Earth in terms of size and density. The atmospheric transmission spectrum was detected using Hubble WFC3 measurements and shows spectral…
In recent years the focus of exoplanet research has shifted from the mere detection to detailed characterization. Precise measurements of the masses and radii of transiting planets have shown that some low-mass planets have extended…
Observations of ultra-hot Jupiters offer an unprecedented opportunity to study the physics of some of the most extreme planetary atmospheres known. With exceedingly high amounts of irradiation blasting their upper atmospheres, ultra-hot…
Exoplanets, and in particular hot ones such as hot Jupiters, require a very significant quantities of molecular spectroscopic data to model radiative transport in their atmospheres or to interpret their spectra. This data is commonly…
With the discovery of ever smaller and colder exoplanets, terrestrial worlds with hazy atmospheres must be increasingly considered. Our Solar System's Titan is a prototypical hazy planet, whose atmosphere may be representative of a large…
Spectroscopic observations of exoplanet atmospheres can reveal the chemical composition, temperature, cloud properties, and (potentially) the habitability of these distant worlds. The inference of such properties is generally enabled by…
We report the first detection of CO emission at high spectral resolution in the day-side infrared thermal spectrum of an exoplanet. These emission lines, found in the atmosphere of the transiting ultra hot Jupiter (UHJ) WASP-33 b, provide…
The relative abundances of carbon and oxygen have long been recognized as fundamental diagnostics of stellar chemical evolution. Now, the growing number of exoplanet observations enable estimation of these elements in exoplanetary…
Photochemistry has the potential to substantially impact the atmospheric composition of exoplanets with consequences on the radiative transfer, thermal structure and dynamics of the atmospheres, particularly in UV-rich stellar environments.…
The atmospheric chemical composition of a hot Jupiter can lead to insights into where in its natal protoplanetary disk it formed and its subsequent migration pathway. We use a 1-D chemical kinetics code to compute a suite of models across a…
In the past decade, observations from space and ground have found H$_2$O to be the most abundant molecular species, after hydrogen, in the atmospheres of hot, gaseous, extrasolar planets. Being the main molecular carrier of oxygen, H$_2$O…
The two prevailing planet formation scenarios, core-accretion and disk instability, predict distinct planetary mass-metallicity relations. Yet, the detection of this trend remains challenging due to inadequate data on planet atmosphere…
Context. The lack of sub-Jovian planets on orbits of $P_{\rm orb} < 3$ days is a puzzling aspect of galaxy formation with regard to the distribution of exoplanets whose origins are currently unresolved. Aims. The possible explanations…
JWST has revealed sulfur chemistry in giant exoplanet atmospheres, where molecules such as SO2 trace photochemistry, metallicity, and formation and migration. To ascertain the conditions that determine whether (or how much) SO2, H2S, and…
To date, the ability for observers to reveal the composition or thermal structure of an exoplanet's atmosphere has rested on two techniques: high-contrast direct imaging and time-series observations of transiting exoplanets. The former is…
We investigate the atmosphere and interior of the new transiting planet HD 149026b, which appears to be very rich in heavy elements. We first compute model atmospheres at metallicities ranging from solar to ten times solar, and show how for…
The Red Planet has fascinated humans for millennia, especially for the last few centuries, and particularly during the Space Age. The nagging suspicion of extant Martian life is both fed by, and drives the many space missions to Mars and…
We explore the infrared spectrum of a three-dimensional dynamical model of planet HD209458b as a function of orbital phase. The dynamical model predicts day-side atmospheric pressure-temperature profiles that are much more isothermal at…
Terrestrial exoplanets orbiting M-dwarf stars are promising targets for transmission spectroscopy with existing or near-future instrumentation. The atmospheric composition of such rocky planets remains an open question, especially given the…
Here we describe the observations and the resulting constraints on the upper atmosphere (thermosphere and exosphere) of the "Hot-Jupiters". In particular, observations and theoretical modeling of Hot-Jupiter evaporation are described. The…