Related papers: Rayleigh scattering by H2 in the extrasolar planet…

Transit observations of HD 209458b in the stellar Lyman-$\alpha$ (Ly$\alpha$) line revealed strong absorption in both blue and red wings of the line interpreted as hydrogen atoms escaping from the planet's exosphere at high velocities. The…

We present a detailed three-dimensional radiative-hydrodynamical simulation of the well known irradiated exoplanet HD189733b. Our model solves the fully compressible Navier-Stokes equations coupled to wavelength-dependent radiative transfer…

Three transits of the planet orbiting the solar type star HD209458 were observed in the far UV at the wavelength of the HI Ly-alpha line. The planet size at this wavelength is equal to 4.3 R_Jup, i.e. larger than the planet Roche radius…

The measurement of the light scattered from extrasolar planets informs atmospheric and formation models. With the discovery of many hot Jupiter planets orbiting nearby stars, this motivates the development of robust methods of…

We searched for spectral signatures from the exosphere of HD209458 in the UV and the near-IR with UVES and ISAAC at the VLT. We looked in particular for the helium absorption feature at 10 830 \AA predicted to be among the strongest ones.…

M dwarf systems offer an opportunity to study terrestrial exoplanetary atmospheres due to their small size and cool temperatures. However, the extreme conditions imposed by these host stars raise question about whether their close-in rocky…

We perform modeling investigations to aid in understanding the atmospheres and composition of small planets of ~2-4 Earth radii, which are now known to be common in our galaxy. GJ 1214b is a well studied example whose atmospheric…

We report new observations of the fundamental $J=1-0$ transition of HCl (at 625.918GHz) toward a sample of 25 galactic star-forming regions, molecular clouds, and evolved stars, carried out using the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory.…

We present the optical transmission spectrum of the highly inflated Saturn-mass exoplanet WASP-21b, using three transits obtained with the ACAM instrument on the William Herschel Telescope through the LRG-BEASTS survey (Low Resolution…

Due to stellar rotation, the observed radial velocity of a star varies during the transit of a planet across its surface, a phenomenon known as the Rossiter-McLaughlin (RM) effect. The amplitude of the RM effect is related to the radius of…

IUE observations of the eclipsing binary system HR 6902 obtained at various epochs spread over four years indicate the presence of warm circumstellar material enveloping the G9 IIb primary. The spectra show Si IV and C IV absorption up to a…

HD 209458 b is one of the most studied exoplanets to date. Despite this, atmospheric characterisation studies yielded inconsistent species detections and abundances. Values reported for the C/O ratio range from 0.1 to 1.0. Of particular…

We have carried out deep, high velocity resolution, interferometric Galactic HI 21 cm absorption spectroscopy towards 32 compact extra-galactic radio sources with the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) and the Westerbork Synthesis Radio…

Absorption features in stellar atmospheres are often used to calibrate photocentric velocities for kinematic analysis of further spectral lines. The Li feature at $\sim$ 6708 {\AA} is commonly used, especially in the case of young stellar…

[Abridged] Recently, there have been a series of detections of molecules in the atmospheres of extrasolar planets using high spectral resolution (R~100,000) observations, mostly using the CRyogenic high-resolution InfraRed Echelle…

Context: Molecular hydrogen (H2) is the most abundant molecule in the circumstellar (CS) environments of young stars, and is a key element in giant planet formation. The measurement of the H2 content provides the most direct probe of the…

Helium is the second-most abundant element in the Universe after hydrogen and is one of the main constituents of gas-giant planets in our Solar System. Early theoretical models predicted helium to be among the most readily detectable…

We use a model of aerosol microphysics to investigate the impact of high-altitude photochemical aerosols on the transmission spectra and atmospheric properties of close-in exoplanets, such as HD209458b and HD189733b. The results depend…

Thanks to the advances in modern instrumentation we have learned about many exoplanets that span a wide range of masses and composition. Studying their atmospheres provides insight into planetary origin, evolution, dynamics, and…

Before an exoplanet transit, atmospheric refraction bends light into the line of sight of an observer. The refracted light forms a stellar mirage, a distorted secondary image of the host star. I model this phenomenon and the resultant…