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Motivated by recent detection of transiting high-density super-Earths, we explore the detectability of hot rocky super-Earths orbiting very close to their host stars. In the environment hot enough for their rocky surfaces to be molten, they…
In the past decade, observations from space and ground have found H$_2$O to be the most abundant molecular species, after hydrogen, in the atmospheres of hot, gaseous, extrasolar planets. Being the main molecular carrier of oxygen, H$_2$O…
The determination of atmospheric structure and molecular abundances of planetary atmospheres via spectroscopy involves direct comparisons between models and data. While varying in sophistication, most model-spectra comparisons fundamentally…
High-precision infrared spectroscopic measurements now enable detailed characterization of sub-Neptune atmospheres, potentially providing constraints on their interiors. Motivated by this, atmospheric models have been developed to explore…
The super-Earth LHS 1140 b is an interesting target for atmospheric observations since it is close to the habitable zone of its star and falls in the gap of the radius distribution of small exoplanets, in the region thought to correspond to…
Transmission spectroscopy is still the preferred characterization technique for exoplanet atmospheres, although it presents unique challenges that translate into characterization bottlenecks when robust mitigation strategies are missing.…
Highly irradiated exoplanets undergo extreme hydrodynamic atmospheric escape, due to their high level of received XUV flux. Over their lifetime, this escape varies significantly, making evolution studies essential for interpreting the…
We discuss the chemical evolution of dwarf irregular and blue compact galaxies in light of recent data, new stellar yields and chemical evolution models. We examine the abundance data for evidence of HII region self-enrichment effects,…
Sub-Neptunes, the most common planet type, remain poorly understood. Their atmospheres are expected to be diverse, but their compositions are challenging to determine, even with JWST. Here, we present the first JWST spectroscopic study of…
Recent studies suggest that the density structure of turbulent molecular clouds in the Milky Way and the Andromeda galaxy, M31, aligns with expectations from hydrostatic equilibrium (HE) and virial equilibrium (VE). This study extends the…
The bulk composition of an exoplanet is commonly inferred from its average density. For small planets, however, the average density is not unique within the range of compositions. Variations of a number of important planetary…
Ultra-hot Jupiters (UHJs) have recently been the focus of several atmospheric studies due to their extreme properties. While molecular hydrogen (H$_2$) plays a key role in UHJ atmospheres, it has not been directly detected on an exoplanet.…
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…
The proliferation of exoplanet discoveries in exotic environments like the Neptune desert challenges our understanding of planetary atmospheres under intense irradiation. The unexpected discovery of LTT9779 b, an ultra-hot Neptune within…
The geology of Earth and super-Earth sized planets will, in many cases, only be observable via their atmospheres. Here, we investigate secondary volcanic atmospheres as a key base case of how atmospheres may reflect planetary geochemistry.…
Photochemical hazes are expected to form and significantly contribute to the chemical and radiative balance of exoplanets with relatively moderate temperatures, possibly in the habitable zone of their host star. In the presence of humidity,…
Exoplanetary atmospheric retrieval refers to the inference of atmospheric properties of an exoplanet given an observed spectrum. The atmospheric properties include the chemical compositions, temperature profiles, clouds/hazes, and energy…
Observations of cooler atmospheres of super-Earths and Neptune sized objects often show flat transmission spectra. The most likely cause of this trend is the presence of aerosols (i.e. clouds and hazes) in the atmospheres of such objects.…
Attempts to probe the atmospheres of rocky planets around M dwarfs present both promise and peril. While their favorable planet-to-star radius ratios enable searches for even thin secondary atmospheres, their high activity levels and…
Searches for helium in the exospheres of exoplanets via the metastable near-infrared triplet have yielded 17 detections and 40 non-detections. We performed a comprehensive re-analysis of published studies to investigate the influence of…