Derek Still
Pronouns: He/Him/His
Research Mentor(s): Ryan Challener
Co-Presenter:
Research Mentor School/College/Department: Astronomy / LSA
Presentation Date: April 20
Presentation Type: Poster
Session: Session 6 – 4:40pm – 5:30 pm
Room: League Ballroom
Authors: Derek Still, Ryan Challener, Emily Rauscher
Presenter: 16
Abstract
Instrumentation aboard the recently launched James Webb Space Telescope will soon allow for the characterization of three-dimensional exoplanet atmospheres by utilizing spectroscopic eclipse mapping techniques. We expect the formation of clouds in cold and warm exoplanetary atmospheres to change observed pressures and temperatures, thereby incentivizing a method to account for the clouds’ opacity in planetary emission models. The following is an extension of ThERESA’s, a three-dimensional exoplanet mapping code, to incorporate clouds into the 3D model by adding parameters for cloud properties like particle size and cloud deck depth. Employing the use of clear and cloudy general circulation models of HD209458b, we generate synthetic spectroscopic light curves that include the opacity of clouds at varying pressure levels, with wavelength dependence based on the molecular composition of the cloud species. Applying ThERESA to these light curves, we test a basic cloud model parameterization, with a single horizontally homogeneous cloud deck and single particle size, recovering 3D temperature maps and estimated cloud properties, and comparing them with the input general circulation models. ThERESA is open-source and publicly available as a tool for the community.
Interdisciplinary, Physical Sciences
