A Population Study of Gaseous Exoplanets Tsiaras, A.; Waldmann, I. P.; Zingales, T. ...
The Astronomical journal,
04/2018, Volume:
155, Issue:
4
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
We present here the analysis of 30 gaseous extrasolar planets, with temperatures between 600 and 2400 K and radii between 0.35 and 1.9 RJup. The quality of the HST/WFC3 spatially scanned data ...combined with our specialized analysis tools allow us to study the largest and most self-consistent sample of exoplanetary transmission spectra to date and examine the collective behavior of warm and hot gaseous planets rather than isolated case studies. We define a new metric, the Atmospheric Detectability Index (ADI) to evaluate the statistical significance of an atmospheric detection and find statistically significant atmospheres in around 16 planets out of the 30 analyzed. For most of the Jupiters in our sample, we find the detectability of their atmospheres to be dependent on the planetary radius but not on the planetary mass. This indicates that planetary gravity plays a secondary role in the state of gaseous planetary atmospheres. We detect the presence of water vapour in all of the statistically detectable atmospheres, and we cannot rule out its presence in the atmospheres of the others. In addition, TiO and/or VO signatures are detected with 4 confidence in WASP-76 b, and they are most likely present in WASP-121 b. We find no correlation between expected signal-to-noise and atmospheric detectability for most targets. This has important implications for future large-scale surveys.
ABSTRACT Spectroscopy of exoplanetary atmospheres has become a well established method for the characterization of extrasolar planets. We here present a novel inverse retrieval code for exoplanetary ...atmospheres. -REx(Tau Retrieval for Exoplanets) is a line-by-line radiative transfer fully Bayesian retrieval framework. -REx includes the following features:(1) the optimized use of molecular line lists from the ExoMol project; (2) an unbiased atmospheric composition prior selection, through custom built pattern recognition software; (3) the use of two independent algorithms to fully sample the Bayesian likelihood space: nested sampling as well as a more classical Markov Chain Monte Carlo approach; (4) iterative Bayesian parameter and model selection using the full Bayesian Evidence as well as the Savage-Dickey Ratio for nested models; and (5) the ability to fully map very large parameter spaces through optimal code parallelization and scalability to cluster computing. In this publication we outline the -REx framework and demonstrate, using a theoretical hot-Jupiter transmission spectrum, the parameter retrieval and model selection. We investigate the impact of signal-to-noise ratio and spectral resolution on the retrievability of individual model parameters, both in terms of error bars on the temperature and molecular mixing ratios as well as its effect on the model's global Bayesian evidence.
A variationally computed line list for hot NH3 Yurchenko, S. N.; Barber, R. J.; Tennyson, J.
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society,
20/May , Volume:
413, Issue:
3
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
We present 'BYTe', a comprehensive 'hot' line list for the ro-vibrational transitions of ammonia, 14NH3, in its ground electronic state. This line list has been computed variationally using the ...program suite trove, a new spectroscopically determined potential energy surface and an ab initio dipole moment surface. BYTe, is designed to be used at all temperatures up to 1500 K. It comprises 1138 323 351 transitions in the frequency range from 0 to 12 000 cm−1, constructed from 1373 897 energy levels below 18 000 cm−1 having J values ≤36. Comparisons with laboratory data confirm the accuracy of the line list which is suitable for modelling a variety of astrophysical problems including the atmospheres of extrasolar planets and brown dwarfs.
ABSTRACT We report the analysis of two new spectroscopic observations in the near-infrared of the super-Earth 55 Cancri e, obtained with the WFC3 camera on board the Hubble Space Telescope. 55 Cancri ...e orbits so close to its parent star that temperatures much higher than 2000 K are expected on its surface. Given the brightness of 55 Cancri, the observations were obtained in scanning mode, adopting a very long scanning length and a very high scanning speed. We use our specialized pipeline to take into account systematics introduced by these observational parameters when coupled with the geometrical distortions of the instrument. We measure the transit depth per wavelength channel with an average relative uncertainty of 22 ppm per visit and find modulations that depart from a straight line model with a 6 confidence level. These results suggest that 55 Cancri e is surrounded by an atmosphere, which is probably hydrogen-rich. Our fully Bayesian spectral retrieval code, -REx, has identified HCN to be the most likely molecular candidate able to explain the features at 1.42 and 1.54 m. While additional spectroscopic observations in a broader wavelength range in the infrared will be needed to confirm the HCN detection, we discuss here the implications of such a result. Our chemical model, developed with combustion specialists, indicates that relatively high mixing ratios of HCN may be caused by a high C/O ratio. This result suggests this super-Earth is a carbon-rich environment even more exotic than previously thought.
ABSTRACT
A new hot line list for the main isotopologue of CO2, 12C16O2 is presented. The line list consists of almost 2.5 billion transitions between 3.5 million rotation-vibration states of CO2 in ...its ground electronic state, covering the wavenumber range 0–20 000 cm−1 (λ > 0.5 µm) with the upper and lower energy thresholds of 36 000 cm−1 and 16 000 cm−1, respectively. The ro-vibrational energies and wavefunctions are computed variationally using the accurate empirical potential energy surface Ames-2. The ro-vibrational transition probabilities in the form of Einstein coefficients are computed using an accurate ab initio dipole moment surface with variational program TROVE. A new implementation of TROVE which uses an exact nuclear-motion kinetic energy operator is employed. Comparisons with the existing hot line lists are presented. The line list should be useful for atmospheric retrievals of exoplanets and cool stars. The UCL-4000 line list is available from the CDS and ExoMol data bases.
A new molecular spectroscopic database for high-temperature modeling of the spectra of molecules in the gas phase is described. This database, called HITEMP, is analogous to the HITRAN database but ...encompasses many more bands and transitions than HITRAN for the absorbers H
2O, CO
2, CO, NO, and OH. HITEMP provides users with a powerful tool for a great many applications: astrophysics, planetary and stellar atmospheres, industrial processes, surveillance, non-local thermodynamic equilibrium problems, and investigating molecular interactions, to name a few. The sources and implementation of the spectroscopic parameters incorporated into HITEMP are discussed.
Cross section data for electron impact electronic excitation of electronically excited states of H2 are computed using fixed-nuclear R-matrix calculations. Specifically, there is a focus on ...transitions from the quasi-metastable excited states a Σ g + 3 and c Π u 3 . Data are compared with known theoretical data where available. Our calculations suggest that the published cross sections are generally too large in the low energy (<20 eV) collision region. The effect of shifting the electronic excitation thresholds to those given by essentially exact calculations is tested.
Prions are small petrels that are abundant around the Southern Ocean. Here we use mitochondrial DNA (COI and cytochrome b) and nuclear reduced representation sequencing (ddRADseq) to examine the ...relationships within and between fairy (Pachyptila turtur) and fulmar (P. crassirostris) prions from across their distributions. We found that neither species was recovered as monophyletic, and that at least three species were represented. Furthermore, we detected several genetic lineages that are also morphologically distinct occurring in near sympatry at two locations (Snares Islands and Chatham Islands). The factors that have driven diversification in the fairy/fulmar prion complex are unclear but may include philopatry, differences in foraging distribution during breeding, differences in non-breeding distributions and breeding habitat characteristics. The observed distribution of genetic variation in the fairy/fulmar prion complex is consistent with population expansion from ice-free Last Glacial Maximum refugia into previously glaciated areas.
ABSTRACT
Potassium hydroxide (KOH) and sodium hydroxide (NaOH) are expected to occur in the atmospheres of hot rocky super-Earth exoplanets but a lack of spectroscopic data is hampering their ...potential detection. Using robust first-principles methodologies, comprehensive molecular line lists for KOH and NaOH that are applicable for temperatures up to T = 3500 K are presented. The KOH OYT4 line list covers the 0–6000 cm−1 (wavelengths λ > 1.67 µm) range and comprises 38 billion transitions between 7.3 million energy levels with rotational excitation up to J = 255. The NaOH OYT5 line list covers the 0–9000 cm−1 (wavelengths λ > 1.11 µm) range and contains almost 50 billion lines involving 7.9 million molecular states with rotational excitation up to J = 206. The OYT4 and OYT5 line lists are available from the ExoMol database at www.exomol.com and should greatly aid the study of hot rocky exoplanets.
Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics published the first Plasma Roadmap in 2012 consisting of the individual perspectives of 16 leading experts in the various sub-fields of low temperature plasma ...science and technology. The 2017 Plasma Roadmap is the first update of a planned series of periodic updates of the Plasma Roadmap. The continuously growing interdisciplinary nature of the low temperature plasma field and its equally broad range of applications are making it increasingly difficult to identify major challenges that encompass all of the many sub-fields and applications. This intellectual diversity is ultimately a strength of the field. The current state of the art for the 19 sub-fields addressed in this roadmap demonstrates the enviable track record of the low temperature plasma field in the development of plasmas as an enabling technology for a vast range of technologies that underpin our modern society. At the same time, the many important scientific and technological challenges shared in this roadmap show that the path forward is not only scientifically rich but has the potential to make wide and far reaching contributions to many societal challenges.
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