Special Physics Seminar

Probing Space and Time in Exoplanet Atmospheres

Nikole Lewis

Space Telescope Science Institute

Atmospheres of solar system planets, exoplanets, and brown dwarfs are shaped by many physical process. Current exoplanet observations are largely focused on planet detection, determining bulk properties of the planet, and atmospheric composition. However there has been a recent growth in observations aimed at understanding exoplanet atmospheric three-dimensional structure and its evolution with time, which probes the interconnection of chemical, radiative, and dynamical process shaping exoplanet atmospheres. Here I will describe recent efforts to directly probe key time and length scales in exoplanet atmospheres. Understanding these scales helps to not only elucidate physical processes occurring in exoplanet atmospheres, but link those processes to similar ones observed in brown dwarfs and solar system planets. I will highlight recent work to bridge observations with Spitzer and Hubble with atmospheric theory and discuss future prospect for such observations with JWST and other future observatories.