Related papers: General Circulation Models of Hycean Worlds
In order to recognize a habitable exoplanet from future observed spectra, we present new model reflected spectra and geometric albedo for modern and prebiotic (3.9 Ga) Earth-like exoplanets orbiting within the habitable zone of stars of…
Atmospheric escape is considered to be one of the main channels for evolution in sub-Jovian planets, particularly in their early lives. While there are several hypotheses proposed to explain escape in exoplanets, testing them with…
The recent detections of temperate terrestrial planets orbiting nearby stars and the promise of characterizing their atmospheres motivates a need to understand how the diversity of possible planetary parameters affects the climate of…
The hydrogen and water molecules respond very differently to the collisional-radiative processes taking place in planetary atmospheres. Naturally, the question arises whether H2O-rich atmospheres are more (or less) resilient to long-term…
Observations of scattered light and thermal emission from hot Jupiter exoplanets have suggested the presence of inhomogeneous aerosols in their atmospheres. 3D general circulation models (GCMs) that attempt to model the effects of aerosols…
The search for habitable, Earth-like exoplanets faces major observational challenges due to their small size and faint signals. M-dwarf stars offer a promising avenue to detect and study smaller planets, especially sub-Neptunes-among the…
Extrasolar terrestrial planets with the potential to host life might have large obliquities or be subject to strong obliquity variations. We revisit the habitability of oblique planets with an energy balance climate model (EBM) allowing for…
Assuming our Solar System as typical, exomoons may outnumber exoplanets. If their habitability fraction is similar, they would thus constitute the largest portion of habitable real estate in the Universe. Icy moons in our Solar System, such…
Improving upon our purely dynamical work, we present three-dimensional simulations of the atmospheric circulation on Earth-like (exo)planets and hot Jupiters using the GFDL-Princeton Flexible Modeling System (FMS). As the first steps away…
Teegarden's Star b, a nearby terrestrial world receiving an Earth-like instellation, is a prime candidate for next-generation observatories targeting temperate exoplanets in their habitable zones. We employ a suite of three-dimensional…
Available JWST observations TRAPPIST-1 system have suggested that several of the planets are likely airless, or possess a very tenuous atmosphere. However, the high atmospheric escape rates expected for these planets suggest that any…
Using a 3D general circulation model, we demonstrate that a confirmed rocky exoplanet and a primary observational target, TRAPPIST-1e presents an interesting case of climate bistability. We find that the atmospheric circulation on…
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…
Radial velocity monitoring has found the signature of a $M \sin i = 1.3$~M$_\oplus$ planet located within the Habitable Zone (HZ) of Proxima Centauri \citep{Anglada16}. Despite a hotter past and an active host star the planet Proxima~b…
Recent observations of the super-Earth GJ 1214b show that it has a relatively featureless transmission spectrum. One suggestion is that these observations indicate that the planet's atmosphere is vertically compact, perhaps due to a…
The chemical inventory of hot Jupiter (HJ) exoplanets atmospheres continue to be observed by various ground and space based instruments in increasing detail and precision. It is expected that some HJs will exhibit strong non-equilibrium…
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.…
Common features of sub-Neptunes atmospheres observed to date include signatures of aerosols at moderate equilibrium temperatures (~500-800 K), and a prevalence of high mean molecular weight atmospheres, perhaps indicating novel classes of…
Atmospheric convection behaves differently in hydrogen-rich atmospheres compared to higher mean molecular weight atmospheres due to compositional gradients of tracers. Previous 1D studies predict that when a condensible tracer exceeds a…
We present a three dimensional hot Jupiter model, extending from 200 bar to 1 mbar, using the Intermediate General Circulation Model from the University of Reading. Our horizontal spectral resolution is T31 (equivalent to a grid of 48x96),…