Related papers: Observability of Evaporating Lava Worlds
Large-amplitude variations are commonly observed in the atmospheres of directly imaged exoplanets and brown dwarfs. VHS 1256B, the most variable known planet-mass object, exhibits a near-infrared flux change of nearly 40%, with red color…
We investigate the spectral appearance of Earth-like exoplanets in the HZ of different main sequence stars at different orbital distances. We furthermore discuss for which of these scenarios biomarker absorption bands may be detected during…
An increasing number of potentially habitable terrestrial planets and planet candidates are found by ongoing planet search programs. The search for atmospheric signatures to establish planetary habitability and the presence of life might be…
We present the highest fidelity spectrum to date of a planetary-mass object. VHS 1256 b is a $<$20 M$_\mathrm{Jup}$ widely separated ($\sim$8\arcsec, a = 150 au), young, planetary-mass companion that shares photometric colors and…
A habitable exoplanet is a world that can maintain stable liquid water on its surface. Techniques and approaches to characterizing such worlds are essential, as performing a census of Earth-like planets that may or may not have life will…
The magma ocean concept was first conceived to explain the geology of the Moon, but hemispherical or global oceans of silicate melt could be a widespread "lava world" phase of rocky planet accretion, and could persist on planets on…
With dayside temperatures elevated enough for all atmospheric constituents to be present in gas form, ultra-hot Jupiters offer a unique opportunity to probe the composition of giant planets. We aim to infer the composition and thermal…
Crystalline ice in Earth's atmosphere can produce spectacular phenomena due to orientation-dependent attenuation, such as sun dogs and halos, providing diagnostics of the external processes acting on the aerosol grains. Crystalline mineral…
Type-2 quasars (QSO2s) are AGN seen through a significant amount of dust and gas that obscures the central supermassive black hole and the broad line region. Despite this, recent mid-infrared spectra of the central 0.5-1.1 kpc of five QSO2s…
We highlight how guaranteed time observations (GTOs) and early release science (ERS) will advance understanding of exoplanet atmospheres and provide a glimpse into what transiting exoplanet science will be done with JWST during its first…
The Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) enables the characterisation of young self-luminous gas giants at previously inaccessible wavelengths, revealing physical processes in gas, dust, and clouds. We…
TRAPPIST-1 is a fantastic nearby (~39.14 light years) planetary system made of at least seven transiting terrestrial-size, terrestrial-mass planets all receiving a moderate amount of irradiation. To date, this is the most observationally…
The characterization of the atmospheres of habitable-zone Earth-mass exoplanets that transit across main-sequence stars, let alone the detection of bio-markers in their atmospheres, will be challenging even with future facilities. It has…
With dayside temperatures hot enough to sustain a magma ocean and a silicate atmosphere, lava planets are the best targets to study the atmosphere of a rocky world. In the absence of nightside heating, the entire atmosphere collapses near…
The atmospheres of planets between the size of Earth and Neptune at short orbital periods have been under intense scrutiny. Of the ~dozen planets in this regime with atmospheres studied so far, a few appear to have prominent molecular…
In this white paper, we assess the potential for JWST to characterize the atmospheres of super-Earth exoplanets, by simulating a range of transiting spectra with different masses and temperatures. Our results are based on a JWST simulator…
Astronomical surveys have identified numerous exoplanets with bulk compositions that are unlike the planets of the Solar System, including rocky super-Earths and gas-enveloped sub-Neptunes. Observing the atmospheres of these objects…
Rocky exoplanets are faint and difficult to observe due to their small size and low brightness compared to their host star. Despite this, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has allowed us new methods and opportunities to study them.…
Super-Earths with solid surfaces such CoRot-7b and Kepler-10b are expected to be extremely hot. It has been suggested that they must be atmosphere-free and that a lava ocean is present on their hot dayside. Here, we use several dedicated…
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is unveiling astounding results about the first few hundred million years of life of the Universe, delivering images of galaxies at very high redshifts. Here, we develop a UV luminosity function model…