Related papers: Plan 9: Detecting Atmospheric Deterrence Against I…
(abridged) The Super-Earth candidate GL 581 d is the first potentially habitable extrasolar planet. Therefore, GL 581 d is used to illustrate a hypothetical detailed spectroscopic characterization of such planets. Atmospheric profiles from…
With over 1800 planets discovered outside of the Solar System in the past two decades, the field of exoplanetology has broadened our perspective on planetary systems. Research priorities are now moving from planet detection to planet…
Brown dwarfs bridge the gap between the stellar and planetary mass regimes. Evolving from conditions very similar to the lowest-mass stars, the atmospheres of older brown dwarfs closely resemble those expected in close-in extrasolar giant…
We present an outline of basic assumptions and governing structural equations describing atmospheres of substellar mass objects, in particular the extrasolar giant planets and brown dwarfs. Although most of the presentation of the physical…
Hazes are common in known planet atmospheres, and geochemical evidence suggests early Earth occasionally supported an organic haze with significant environmental and spectral consequences. The UV spectrum of the parent star drives organic…
Extrasolar super-Earths (1-10 M$_{\earth}$) are likely to exist with a wide range of atmospheres. Some super-Earths may be able to retain massive hydrogen-rich atmospheres. Others might never accumulate hydrogen or experience significant…
The search for life on extrasolar planets is based on the assumption that one can screen extrasolar planets for habitability spectroscopically. The first space born instruments able to detect as well as characterize extrasolar planets,…
We use thermochemical equilibrium calculations to model iron, magnesium, and silicon chemistry in the atmospheres of giant planets, brown dwarfs, extrasolar giant planets (EGPs), and low-mass stars. The behavior of individual Fe-, Mg-, and…
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…
Sulfur gases are common components in the volcanic and biological emission on Earth, and are expected to be important input gases for atmospheres on terrestrial exoplanets. We study the atmospheric composition and the spectra of terrestrial…
Dust storms are associated with certain respiratory illnesses across different areas in the world. Researchers have devoted time and resources to study the elements surrounding dust storm phenomena. This paper reviews the efforts of those…
In the last decade, about a dozen giant exoplanets have been directly imaged in the IR as companions to young stars. With photometry and spectroscopy of these planets in hand from new extreme coronagraphic instruments such as SPHERE at VLT…
Atmospheric regions below a refractive boundary are hidden in limb observations. Refraction thus creates a gray continuum in the planet's transmission spectrum which can hide spectral features associated with sources of atmospheric opacity.…
The detection of strong thermochemical disequilibrium in the atmosphere of an extrasolar planet is thought to be a potential biosignature. In this article we present a new kind of false positive that can mimic a disequilibrium or any other…
A long-term goal of exoplanet studies is the identification and detection of biosignature gases. Beyond the most discussed biosignature gas O$_2$, only a handful of gases have been considered in detail. Here we evaluate phosphine (PH$_3$).…
Identification of habitable planets beyond our solar system is a key goal of current and future space missions. Yet habitability depends not only on the stellar irradiance, but equally on constituent parts of the planetary atmosphere. Here…
JWST has revealed sulfur chemistry in giant exoplanet atmospheres, where molecules such as SO2 trace photochemistry, metallicity, and formation and migration. To ascertain the conditions that determine whether (or how much) SO2, H2S, and…
In the coming years and decades, advanced space- and ground-based observatories will allow an unprecedented opportunity to probe the atmospheres and surfaces of potentially habitable exoplanets for signatures of life. Life on Earth, through…
Chemical disequilibrium quantified via available free energy has previously been proposed as a potential biosignature. However, exoplanet biosignature remote sensing work has not yet investigated how observational uncertainties impact the…
Recent results showed that the magnetic field of M-dwarf (dM) stars, currently the main targets in searches for terrestrial planets, is very different from the solar one, both in topology as well as in intensity. In particular, the…