Unveiling haze formation and energy balance in the exoplanets atmospheres with the Hubble Space Telescope

• Grant number: 18/09984-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: September 15, 2018
• End date: September 14, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Astronomy - Stellar Astrophysics
• Principal Investigator: Adriana Benetti Marques Valio
• Grantee: Raissa de Lourdes Freitas Estrela
• Supervisor: Mark Swain
• Host Institution: Escola de Engenharia (EE). Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie (UPM). Instituto Presbiteriano Mackenzie. São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), United States
• Associated to the scholarship: 16/25901-9 - Star-planet magnetic interactions and its consequences for planetary habitability, BP.DR

Abstract

We have implemented in the PhD project the study of planetary atmospheres by analysing their composition during a transit. One of the major factors that impact in the evolution of an atmosphere is stellar activity. Therefore, by looking at the atmosphere of a planet, we can have a direct detection of the effects arising from this phenomena. For example, the UV radiation of the star can induce the formation of aerosols known as hazes that can influence the temperature of a planet and consequently its habitability. In this BEPE project, we intend to analyse the effects of exoplanet atmospheric hazes in the energy balance of exoplanets. Our objective can be accomplished by combining the spectroscopic observations of exoplanets atmospheres taken with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) in both ultraviolet and near-infrared ranges and interpreting them using radiative transfer models.

Scientific publications

(4)

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

SWAIN, MARK R.; ESTRELA, RAISSA; SOTIN, CHRISTOPHE; ROUDIER, GAEL M.; ZELLEM, ROBERT T.. Two Terrestrial Planet Families with Different Origins. ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL, v. 881, n. 2, AUG 20 2019. (18/09984-7)

ESTRELA, RAISSA; SWAIN, MARK R.; GUPTA, AKASH; SOTIN, CHRISTOPHE; VALIO, ADRIANA. The Evolutionary Track of H/He Envelopes of the Observed Population of Sub-Neptunes and Super-Earths. ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL, v. 898, n. 2, AUG 2020. (16/25901-9, 18/09984-7)

ROUDIER, GAEL M.; SWAIN, MARK R.; GUDIPATI, MURTHY S.; WEST, ROBERT A.; ESTRELA, RAISSA; ZELLEM, ROBERT T.. Disequilibrium Chemistry in Exoplanet Atmospheres Observed with the Hubble Space Telescope. ASTRONOMICAL JOURNAL, v. 162, n. 2, AUG 2021. (18/09984-7)

SWAIN, MARK R.; ESTRELA, RAISSA; ROUDIER, GAEL M.; SOTIN, CHRISTOPHE; RIMMER, PAUL B.; VALIO, ADRIANA; WEST, ROBERT; PEARSON, KYLE; HUBER-FEELY, NOAH; ZELLEM, ROBERT T.. Detection of an Atmosphere on a Rocky Exoplanet. ASTRONOMICAL JOURNAL, v. 161, n. 5, MAY 2021. (18/09984-7)