Related papers: Planetary Surface Temperatures from First Principl…

The potential habitability of known exoplanets is often categorized by a nominal equilibrium temperature assuming a Bond albedo of either 0.3, similar to Earth, or 0. As an indicator of habitability, this leaves much to be desired, because…

Energy limits that delineate the `habitable zone' for exoplanets depend on a given exoplanet's net planetary albedo (or `Bond albedo'). We here demonstrate that the planetary albedo of an observed exoplanet is limited by the above-cloud…

Large ground- and space-based telescopes will be able to observe Earth-like planets in the near future. We explore how different planetary surfaces can strongly influence the climate, atmospheric composition, and remotely detectable spectra…

The main determinants of Earth's absolute surface Temperature, T, are the solar constant, S, the Bond albedo, A, and the effective emissivity for thermal radiation, e. In this note we assume that the value of the effective emissivity, e =…

First generation optical coronagraphic telescopes will obtain images of cool gas and ice giant exoplanets around nearby stars. The albedo spectra of exoplanets at planet-star separations larger than about 1 AU are dominated by reflected…

Planetary rotation rate is a key parameter in determining atmospheric circulation and hence the spatial pattern of clouds. Since clouds can exert a dominant control on planetary radiation balance, rotation rate could be critical 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…

Unlike previously explored relationships between the properties of hot Jovian atmospheres, the geometric albedo and the incident stellar flux do not exhibit a clear correlation, as revealed by our re-analysis of Q0 to Q14 Kepler data. If…

The characterization of exoplanetary atmospheres has come of age in the last decade, as astronomical techniques now allow for albedos, chemical abundances, temperature profiles and maps, rotation periods and even wind speeds to be measured.…

During accretion, the young rocky planets are so hot that they become endowed with a magma ocean. From that moment, the mantle convective thermal flux control the cooling of the planet and an atmosphere is created by outgassing. This…

The atmospheres of extrasolar giant planets are modeled with various effective temperatures and gravities, with and without clouds. Bond albedos are computed by calculating the ratio of the flux reflected by a planet (integrated over…

Exoplanets that orbit close to their host stars are much more highly irradiated than their Solar System counterparts. Understanding the thermal structures and appearances of these planets requires investigating how their atmospheres respond…

The habitable zone (HZ) describes the range of orbital distances around a star where the existence of liquid water on the surface of an Earth-like planet is in principle possible. While 3D climate studies can calculate the water vapor, ice…

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…

The reflected spectra of extrasolar giant planets are primarily influenced by Rayleigh scattering, molecular absorption, and atmospheric condensates. We present model geometric albedo and phase integral spectra and Bond albedos for planets…

[Abridged] If both the day-side and night-side effective temperatures of a planet can be measured, it is possible to estimate its Bond albedo, 0<A_B<1, as well as its day-night heat redistribution efficiency, 0<epsilon<1. We attempt a…

Eccentric planets may spend a significant portion of their orbits at large distances from their host stars, where low temperatures can cause atmospheric CO2 to condense out onto the surface, similar to the polar ice caps on Mars. The…

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…

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…

We consider fifty transiting short-period giant planets for which eclipse depths have been measured at multiple infrared wavelengths. The aggregate dayside emission spectrum of these planets exhibits no molecular features, nor is brightness…