Related papers: Atmospheric O2 from astronomical data
We present a state-of-the-art analysis technique able to simultaneously reproduce the entire H and He spectra of OB-type stars in the visual and the near-IR and to derive highly accurate metal abundances (so far C and N). The spectrum…
Motivated by the development of high-dispersion spectrographs in the mid-infrared (MIR) range, we study their application to the atmospheric characterization of nearby non-transiting temperate terrestrial planets around M-type stars. We…
The state of earth's climate is constrained by well-known physical principles such as energy balance and the conservation of energy. Increased greenhouse gas concentrations affect the atmospheric optical depth, and physical consistency…
The large amount of spectra obtained during the epoch of extensive spectroscopic surveys of Galactic stars needs the development of automatic procedures to derive their atmospheric parameters and individual element abundances. Starting from…
Characterizing the bulk atmosphere of a terrestrial planet is important for determining surface pressure and potential habitability. Molecular nitrogen (N$_2$) constitutes the largest fraction of Earth$'$s atmosphere and is likely to be a…
Context. The chemistry of the diffuse interstellar medium rests upon three pillars: exothermic ion-neutral reactions (" cold chemistry "), endothermic neutral-neutral reactions with significant activation barriers (" warm chemistry "), and…
Spectroscopy is one of the most important tools that an astronomer has for studying the universe. This chapter begins by discussing the basics, including the different types of optical spectrographs, with extension to the ultraviolet and…
Aerosols play a critical role in atmospheric chemistry, and affect clouds, climate, and human health. However, the spatial coverage of satellite-derived aerosol optical depth (AOD) products is limited by cloud cover, orbit patterns, polar…
Much of the focus of exoplanet atmosphere analysis in the coming decade will be at infrared wavelengths, with the planned launches of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST). However,…
Ultraviolet photodesorption of molecules from icy interstellar grains can explain observations of cold gas in regions where thermal desorption is negligible. This non-thermal desorption mechanism should be especially important where UV…
This brief review focuses on methods and applications of modeling exoplanetary atmospheres. We discuss various kinds of state of the art self-consistent and retrieval models in 1D and multi-D with a focus on open questions and short- and…
According to traditional gas-phase chemical models, O2 should be abundant in molecular clouds, but until recently, attempts to detect interstellar O2 line emission with ground- and space-based observatories have failed. Following the…
Clouds are often considered a highly uncertain barrier for detecting biosignatures on exoplanets, especially given intuition gained from transit surveys. However, for direct imaging reflected light observations, clouds could increase the…
Large spectroscopic surveys have enabled in the recent years the computation of three-dimensional interstellar extinction maps thanks to accurate stellar atmospheric parameters and line-of-sight distances. Such maps are complementary to 3D…
The review aims to give an overview of atmospheric escape processes from exoplanets. I briefly discuss the physics of various escape processes responsible for atmospheric escape across different types of exoplanets. Transmission…
The Decadal Survey on Astronomy and Astrophysics 2020 highlights the importance of advancing research focused on discovering and characterizing habitable worlds. In line with this priority, our goal is to investigate how planetary systems…
Determining the atmospheric structure and chemical composition of an exoplanet remains a formidable goal. Fortunately, advancements in the study of exoplanets and their atmospheres have come in the form of direct imaging - spatially…
Aerosols found in the atmosphere affect the climate and worsen air quality. To mitigate these adverse impacts, aerosol formation and aerosol chemistry in the atmosphere need to be better mapped out and understood. Currently, mass…
Observational astrophysics uses sophisticated technology to collect and measure electromagnetic and other radiation from beyond the Earth. Modern observatories produce large, complex datasets and extracting the maximum possible information…
Saturn's Moon Titan receives volatiles into the top of its atmosphere-including atomic oxygen-sourced from cryovolcanoes on Enceladus. Similar types of atmosphere exchange from one body to another, such as O2 and O3 sourced from TRAPPIST-1…