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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…
Highly-irradiated giant exoplanets known as "ultra-hot Jupiters" are anticipated to exhibit large variations of atmospheric temperature and chemistry as a function of longitude, latitude, and altitude. Previous observations have hinted at…
Stellar contamination has long been recognized as a major bottleneck in transmission spectroscopy, limiting our ability to accurately characterize exoplanet atmospheres-particularly for terrestrial worlds. In response, significant…
Given the forthcoming launch of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) which will allow observ- ing exoplanet atmospheres with unprecedented signal-over-noise ratio, spectral coverage and spatial resolution, the uncertainties in the…
Space missions (CHEOPS, JWST, PLATO) facilitate detailed characterization of exoplanets. This work provides a framework to characterize cloud and climate properties of close-in gas giants via transit depth asymmetries from the optical to…
Context: Low-mass stars and extrasolar planets have ultra-cool atmospheres where a rich chemistry occurs and clouds form. The increasing amount of spectroscopic observations for extrasolar planets requires self-consistent model atmosphere…
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will enable the search for and characterization of terrestrial exoplanet atmospheres in the habitable zone via transmission spectroscopy. However, relatively little work has been done to use solar…
With the new generation of space telescopes such as the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), it is possible to better characterize the atmospheres of exoplanets. The atmospheres of Hot and Ultra Hot Jupiters are highly heterogeneous and…
Near-term studies of Venus-like atmospheres with JWST promise to advance our knowledge of terrestrial planet evolution. However, the remote study of Venus in the Solar System and the ongoing efforts to characterize gaseous exoplanets both…
Planets may be rotationally flattened, and their oblateness thus provide useful information on their formation and evolution. Here we develop a new algorithm that can compute the transit light curve due to an oblate planet very efficiently…
Planetary atmospheres are inherently 3D objects that can have strong gradients in latitude, longitude, and altitude. Secondary eclipse mapping is a powerful way to map the 3D distribution of the atmosphere, but the data can have large…
Transmission spectra contain a wealth of information about the atmospheres of transiting exoplanets. However, large thermal and chemical gradients along the line of sight can lead to biased inferences in atmospheric retrievals. In order to…
We utilize multi-dimensional simulations of varying equatorial jet strength to predict wavelength dependent variations in the eclipse times of gas-giant planets. A displaced hot-spot introduces an asymmetry in the secondary eclipse light…
We present a search for exomoons around the Jupiter-like exoplanet Kepler-167e using a NIRSpec JWST transit. Our 60 hour time series clearly reveals the enormous impact of long-term trends in NIRSpec data, specifically a gradual flux drift…
With JWST we can now characterize the atmospheres of planets on longer orbital planets, but this moves us into a regime where we cannot assume that tidal forces from the star have eroded planets' obliquities and synchronized their rotation…
With the advanced capabilities of ground- and space-based telescopes, exoplanet science is beginning to characterize the physics and chemistry of exoplanet atmospheres. However, interpreting exoplanet observations requires sophisticated…
This dissertation as a whole aims to provide means to better understand hot-Jupiter planets through observing, performing thermochemical calculations, and modeling their atmospheres. We used Spitzer multi-wavelength secondary-eclipse…
The James Webb Space Telescope will enable astronomers to obtain exoplanet spectra of unprecedented precision. Especially the MIRI instrument may shed light on the nature of the cloud particles obscuring planetary transmission spectra in…
Exoplanet emission spectra are often modelled assuming that the hemisphere observed is well represented by a horizontally homogenised atmosphere. However this approximation will likely fail for planets with a large temperature contrast in…
Although transit spectroscopy is a powerful method for studying the composition, thermal properties and dynamics of exoplanet atmospheres, only a few transiting terrestrial exoplanets will be close enough to allow significant transit…