Related papers: Aggregate Hazes in Exoplanet Atmospheres
Clouds and hazes are abundant in the thin and cold atmospheres of Triton and Pluto, where they are thought to be produced by interactions between atmospheric gases and ultraviolet photons from the Sun and those scattered by the local…
Stellar heating causes atmospheres of close-in exoplanets to expand and escape. These extended atmospheres are difficult to observe because their main spectral signature - neutral hydrogen at ultraviolet wavelengths - is strongly absorbed…
Observational studies of exoplanets are suggestive of a ubiquitous presence of clouds. The current modelling techniques used in emission to account for the clouds tend to require prior knowledge of the cloud condensing species and often do…
Transiting exoplanets provide detailed access to their atmospheres, as the planet's signal can be effectively separated from that of its host star. For transiting exoplanets three fundamental atmospheric measurements are possible:…
We present new eclipse observations for one of the hottest "hot Jupiters" WASP-18b, for which previously published data from HST WFC3 and Spitzer have led to radically conflicting conclusions about the composition of this planet's…
Future telescopes will characterize rocky exoplanets in reflected light, revealing their albedo, which depends on surface, cloud, and atmospheric properties. Identifying these features is crucial for assessing habitability. We present…
Pluto possesses a thin atmosphere primarily composed of N2, with minor constituents including CO and CH4. Photochemical processes generate distinct haze layers as observed by the New Horizons spacecraft. However, the mechanisms governing…
Combining findings from New Horizons' suite of instruments reveals a bimodal haze particle distribution within Pluto's atmosphere, which haze models have not been able to reproduce. We employ the photochemical and microphysics KINAERO model…
We present results from 3D simulations of the Archean Earth including a prescribed (non-interactive) spherical haze generated through a 1D photochemical model. Our simulations suggest that a thin haze layer, formed when CH4/CO2 = 0.1, leads…
With the increasing number of directly imaged giant exoplanets the current atmosphere models are often not capable of fully explaining the spectra and luminosity of the sources. A particularly challenging component of the atmosphere models…
Constraining planet formation based on the atmospheric composition of exoplanets is a fundamental goal of the exoplanet community. Existing studies commonly try to constrain atmospheric abundances, or to analyze what abundance patterns a…
One significant difference between the atmospheres of stars and exoplanets is the presence of condensed particles (clouds or hazes) in the atmosphere of the latter. The main goal of this paper is to develop a self-consistent microphysical…
The New Horizons spacecraft, which flew by Pluto on July 14, 2015, revealed the presence of haze in Pluto's atmosphere that were formed by CH4/N2 photochemistry at high altitudes in Pluto's atmosphere, as on Titan and Triton. In order to…
It is now understood that the accretion of terrestrial planets naturally involves giant collisions, the moon-forming impact being a well known example. In the aftermath of such collisions the surface of the surviving planet is very hot and…
Atmospheric retrievals of exoplanetary transmission spectra provide important constraints on various properties such as chemical abundances, cloud/haze properties, and characteristic temperatures, at the day-night atmospheric terminator. To…
Clouds are ubiquitous\, -- \,they arise for every solar system planet that possesses an atmosphere and have also been suggested as a leading mechanism for obscuring spectral features in exoplanet observations. As exoplanet observations…
Basic atmospheric properties such as albedo and heat redistribution between day and nightside have been inferred for a number of planets using observations of secondary eclipses and thermal phase curves. Optical phase curves have not yet…
Over 4 billion years ago, Earth is thought to have been a hazy world akin to Saturn's moon Titan. The organic hazes in the atmosphere at this time could contain a vast inventory of life's building blocks, and thus may have seeded warm…
Orbital variation in reflected starlight from exoplanets could eventually be used to detect surface oceans. Exoplanets with rough surfaces, or dominated by atmospheric Rayleigh scattering, should reach peak brightness in full phase, orbital…
Exoplanets with relatively clear atmospheres are prime targets for detailed studies of chemical compositions and abundances in their atmospheres. Alkali metals have long been suggested to exhibit broad wings due to pressure broadening, but…