Exoplanet Atmospheres
Exoplanet Atmospheres Projects
Our research focuses on the observational characterization of exoplanet atmospheres using both low- and high-resolution transit spectroscopy.
To dissect the chemical makeup of alien atmospheres, we use data from low-resolution spectrographs at the Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC), the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), and the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), as well as high-resolution instruments including CARMENES at the CAHA 3.5-m telescope, GIARPS at the TNG, and ESPRESSO and CRIRES+ at the VLT).
Our primary research focus lies in transmission spectroscopy, a technique where we capture the «fingerprints» left by gases in a planet’s atmosphere as it passes in front of its host star. Through these observations, we have uncovered an extraordinary diversity of worlds. For example, we identified a surprisingly «feature-rich» and cloud-free spectrum for the «puffy» super-Neptune WASP-127b, a discovery that challenged our understanding of cloud formation in giant planets. We have also pushed the boundaries of detection by identifying Carbon Monoxide (CO) emission lines in the scorching dayside atmospheres of ultra-hot Jupiters like WASP-33b and WASP-189b using high-resolution spectrographs.
Atmospheric Evolution and Escape
Our team has been at the forefront of studying atmospheric evolution and escape, processes that dictate whether a planet can retain its atmosphere over millions of years.
We have successfully «caught» several planets in the act of losing their atmospheres to space by detecting extended helium tails around worlds like the Saturn-mass WASP-69b and the warm Neptune GJ 3470 b, and made populations studies of these processes. These results are critical for understanding the «evaporation» of planets and why some worlds eventually become barren rocks while others remain gaseous giants.
Looking toward the future
We are currently driving the development of next-generation techniques and missions that will soon allow us to analyze the atmospheres of small, rocky, «Earth-like» planets.
We are refining cross-correlation techniques, a sophisticated mathematical method that allows us to pull faint atmospheric signals out of noisy data, which is essential for detecting specific molecules in the thin air of terrestrial planets. We are currently participating the working group on Exoplanet Atmospheric Characterization for the ANDES spectrograph, which has been selected as the primary science case for the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), the world’s largest optical telescope. In the SPEAR project, we are exploring the feasibility and optimal strategies for characterizing the atmospheres of smaller and cooler planets with high-resolution spectroscopy using the ELTs.
ExoAtmospheres is maintained by and for the community. We encourage you to contribute and help us improve this resource
We have also developed and maintain the ExoAtmospheres database, an online tool for the community that offers up-to-date and easily navigable information on detections of exoplanet atmospheres. The database includes the basic parameters, summaries of atmospheric detection results, and associated publication lists.
Main Projects
SPEAR
Exoplanet Atmospheres
Astrobiology
MuSCAT2
Space Missions
Collaborations
Deciphering the atmospheres of distant worlds
“Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or European Research Council Executive Agency (ERCEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them."