Related papers: Extrasolar Giant Planets under Strong Stellar Irra…
We summarize and extend recent work on the theory of extrasolar giant planets (EGPs) and brown dwarfs, paying particular attention to Gliese 229 B, the albedos of EGPs, the compositions of substellar atmospheres, the connections with the…
The extragalactic background light (EBL) from the far infrared through the visible and extending into the ultraviolet is thought to be dominated by starlight, either through direct emission or through absorption and reradiation by dust.…
We present results of numerical simulations of the flux (irradiance), F, and the degree of polarization (i.e. the ratio of polarized to total flux), P, of light that is reflected by Earth-like extrasolar planets orbiting solar-type stars,…
Detection of the signature of Rayleigh scattering in the transmission spectrum of an exoplanet is increasingly becoming the target of observational campaigns because the spectral slope of the Rayleigh continuum enables one to determine the…
We have developed a new non-gray theory of the evolution, spectra, and colors of extrasolar giant planets (EGPs) and brown dwarfs that reveals their exotic nature and uniqueness. We have discovered that the fluxes of such objects for…
Polarimetry of extrasolar planets becomes a new tool for their investigation, which requires the development of diagnostic techniques and parameter case studies. Our goal is to develop a theoretical model which can be applied to interpret…
Robust atmospheric and radiative transfer modeling will be required to properly interpret reflected light and thermal emission spectra of terrestrial exoplanets. This will help break observational degeneracies between the numerous…
The presence of aerosols in an exoplanet atmosphere can veil the underlying material and can lead to a flat transmission spectrum during primary transit observations. In this work, we explore forward scattering effects from super-micron…
The large eccentricities of many giant extrasolar planets may represent the endpoint of gravitational scattering in initially more crowded systems. If so, the early evolution of the giant planets is likely to be more restrictive of…
The recent discoveries of giant planets around nearby stars have galvanized the planetary science community, astronomers, and the public at large. Since {\it direct} detection is now feasible, and is suggested by the recent acquisition of…
We have investigated the impact of circumplanetary rings consisting of spherical micrometer-sized particles on the net scattered light polarization of extrasolar gas giants. Using the three-dimensional Monte Carlo radiative transfer code…
Exoplanet atmospheres are known to be vulnerable to mass loss through irradiation by stellar X-ray and extreme-ultraviolet emission. We investigate how this high-energy irradiation varies with time by combining an empirical relation…
High-resolution spectroscopy (HRS) has grown into one of the main techniques to characterise the atmospheres of extrasolar planets. High spectral resolving power allows for the efficient removal of telluric and host-star contamination.…
It is now recognized that energetic stellar photon and particle radiation evaporates and erodes planetary atmospheres and controls upper atmospheric chemistry. Key exoplanet host stars will be too faint at X-ray wavelengths for accurate…
Giant exoplanets located >1 AU away from their parent stars have atmospheric environments cold enough for water and/or ammonia clouds. We have developed a new equilibrium cloud and reflected light spectrum model, ExoREL, for widely…
We revisit the possibility of detecting an extrasolar planet around a background star as it crosses the fold caustic of a foreground binary lens. During such an event, the planet's flux can be magnified by a factor of ~100 or more. The…
Close-in giant planets with strong stellar irradiation show atmospheric circulation patterns with strong equatorial jets and global-scale stationary waves. So far, almost all modeling works on atmospheric circulations of such giant planets…
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…
We present a time-dependent radiative model for the atmosphere of extrasolar planets that takes into account the eccentricity of their orbit. In addition to the modulation of stellar irradiation by the varying planet-star distance, the…
Clouds have an important role in the atmospheres of planetary bodies. It is expected that, like all the planetary bodies in our solar system, exoplanet atmospheres will also have substantial cloud coverage, and evidence is mounting for…