event
Wednesday 20 Nov 2019: [Seminar] ExoMol 2019: Challenges of modern spectroscopy of exoplanets and other hot atmospheres
Dr Sergey Yurchenko - UCL
4th floor, Physics building 14:00-15:00
The ExoMol project aims to provide molecular line lists for exoplanets and other atmosphere with a particular emphasis on those atmospheres which
are significantly hotter than the Earth's. The ExoMol database (www.exomol.com) contains approximately trillion molecular transitions covering 80 molecules plus many isotopologues. ExoMol aims to provide complete and comprehensive line lists; it is the go-to source of data for exoplanet models and observations. The advent of new space missions, such as Ariel and JWST and ELTs, and ground-based telescopes, allied to new high resolution techniques, will begin to answer fundamental questions about the composition, formation and properties of exoplanets through detailed spectroscopic studies of their atmospheres. However, a prerequisite for advances to be made is the availability of fundamental atomic and molecular data necessary for interpreting these new observations. In my talk I will review the current status of ExoMol and discuss new opacity initiatives as a response to these and other challenges of the modern spectroscopy of exoplanets, including:
- Spectroscopy of hot Super-Earth;
- ExoMol HD: New level of accuracy required by and critical for the HR spectroscopy of exoplanets;
- Opacity data for isotopologues;
- A systematic production of half-widths and line shifts;
- UV opacities for exoplanetary species;
- Opacity for non-LTE atmospheric conditions.
