Bibiana Prinoth (Lund University): Revealing dynamics, atmospheric stratification and chemical inhomogeneities in the atmosphere of WASP-189 b

Thursday 24 Feb 2022, 14:00 → 15:00 Europe/Stockholm

https://uu-se.zoom.us/j/62091586806

Title: Revealing dynamics, atmospheric stratification and chemical inhomogeneities in the atmosphere of WASP-189 b
Speaker: Bibiana Prinoth
Affiliation: Lund University
Time: Thursday 24 February 2022, 1400 to 1500
Location: 90103Å and also online at https://uu-se.zoom.us/j/62091586806 (Zoom meeting ID: 620 9158 6806)

Abstract:

With the discovery of the first exoplanet orbiting a Sun-like star, a class of highly irradiated planets has emerged that has fundamentally changed our view of planetary systems. These planets are unlike any of the planets in our own solar system, and thus offer a unique perspective on atmospheric chemistry as well as the thermal structure of the hottest extrasolar gas giants. 

 

Ultra-hot Jupiters are in very close orbits around their host stars and are subject to extreme conditions, both in terms of temperature and chemical variations. They are thought to have entered tidal locking soon after their formation, so that they are divided into a permanently irradiated hot day side and a cooler night side that remains permanently in darkness.

 

The hot temperature regime causes a variety of different effects: Many molecules are thermally dissociated, atoms are partially thermally ionised, and thermal inversions due to metals or their oxides can occur, similar to ozone in the Earth's atmosphere. 

 

Using ground-based high-resolution spectroscopy, we have been able to study the atmosphere of the ultra-hot Jupiter WASP-189 b in great detail. In my talk, I will show you how we went from spectrum to the detection of a variety of different metals in the atmosphere of this ultra-hot planet, revealing dynamics (winds), possible atmospheric layers, and chemical inhomogeneities.

 

(Link to paper)