Related papers: A Case for an Atmosphere on Super-Earth 55 Cancri …
We probe the structure and composition of the atmospheres of 5 hot Jupiter exoplanets using the Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) instrument. We use the G141 grism (1.1-1.7 $\mu$m) to study TrES-2b, TrES-4b, and CoRoT-1b in…
The full range of conditions under which rocky planets can host atmospheres remains poorly understood, especially in the regime of close-in orbits around late-type stars. One way to assess the presence of atmospheres on rocky exoplanets is…
The climate of a terrestrial exoplanet is controlled by the type of host star, the orbital configuration and the characteristics of the atmosphere and the surface. Many rocky exoplanets have higher eccentricities than those in the Solar…
We explore how well James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) spectra will likely constrain bulk atmospheric properties of transiting exoplanets. We start by modeling the atmospheres of archetypal hot Jupiter, warm Neptune, warm sub-Neptune, and…
We present theoretical atmosphere, spectral, and light-curve models for extrasolar giant planets (EGPs) undergoing strong irradiation for which {\it Spitzer} planet/star contrast ratios or light curves have been published (circa June 2007).…
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…
Some super Earths and mini Neptunes will likely have thick atmospheres that are not H2-dominated. We have developed a photochemistry-thermochemistry kinetic-transport model for exploring the compositions of thick atmospheres on super Earths…
Many parameters constraining the spectral appearance of exoplanets are still poorly understood. We therefore study the properties of irradiated exoplanet atmospheres over a wide parameter range including metallicity, C/O ratio and host…
Exoplanets on eccentric orbits experience an incident stellar flux that can be markedly larger at periastron versus apoastron. This variation in instellation can lead to dramatic changes in atmospheric structure in regions of the atmosphere…
We examine the properties of the atmospheres of extrasolar giant planets at orbital distances smaller than 0.1 AU from their stars. We show that these ``51Peg b-like'' planets are rapidly synchronized by tidal interactions, but that small…
We generalize the problem of the semi-gray model to cases in which a non-negligible fraction of the stellar radiation falls on the long-wavelength range, and/or that the planetary long-wavelength emission penetrates into the transparent…
Due to its proximity to Earth, Jupiter of the Solar System serves as a unique case study for gas-giant exoplanets. In the current study, we perform fits of ab initio, reflective, semi-infinite, homogeneous model atmospheres to 61 phase…
So far, the atmospheres of non-transiting exoplanets remain poorly explored, and the potential of high-resolution spectroscopy for determining key planetary parameters beyond their atmospheric properties has not been fully exploited. We…
Over the last decade, precise exoplanet transmission spectroscopy has revealed the atmospheres of dozens of exoplanets, driven largely by observatories like the Hubble Space Telescope. One major discovery has been the ubiquity of…
Atmospheric escape is an important process that controls the long-term evolution of close-in planets. We perform radiation hydrodynamics simulations of photo-evaporation of exoplanets' atmospheres to study the effect of photoelectric…
The key to understanding an extrasolar giant planet's spectrum--and hence its detectability and evolution--lies with its atmosphere. Now that direct observations of thermal emission from extrasolar giant planets are in hand, atmosphere…
Terrestrial exoplanets in habitable zones are ubiquitous. It is, however, unknown which have Earth-like or Venus-like climates. Distinguishing different planet-types is crucial for determining whether a planet could be habitable. We…
Far-ultraviolet (FUV) radiation is a driving source of photochemistry in planetary atmospheres. Proper interpretation of atmospheric observations requires a full understanding of the radiation environment that a planet is exposed to. Using…
As the characterization of exoplanet atmospheres proceeds, providing insights into atmospheric chemistry and composition, a key question is how much deeper into the planet we might be able to see from its atmospheric properties alone. For…
Thermal phase curves of exoplanet atmospheres have revealed temperature maps as a function of planetary longitude, often by sinusoidal decomposition of the phase curve. We construct a framework for describing two-dimensional temperature…