Center for Astrophysics Research and Technologies Seminar Series
From Fiery to Frozen: Detecting and Characterizing Short- and Long- Period Exoplanets
Presented by Zahra Essack, UNM
The cosmic landscape of exoplanets presents a fascinating array of worlds, from those in close, blistering orbits around their host stars to those ensconced in the frigid outer reaches of their systems. This talk will outline the results from my research on the detection and characterization of short-period, hot super-Earth exoplanets, which is structured into three main areas: surface characterization, atmospheric characterization, and planet detection. Surface characterization is explored through laboratory experiments to help explain the observed brightness (high geometric albedos) of some hot super-Earths. Atmospheric characterization is explored through modeling of planetary atmospheric escape and transmission spectra, to determine detectable observational signatures that can be used to probe the composition and evolution of rocky vapor atmospheres around hot super-Earths. The planet detection component uses photometric data, and precise radial velocity measurements to discover, and measure the mass of the exoplanet TOI-1075 b, one of the most massive super-Earths discovered to date. Finally, I will discuss my work on detecting and characterizing cooler, more distant planets from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) mission, particularly small planets orbiting M dwarf stars, to improve our understanding of planet formation and evolution.
2:00 pm, Thursday, November 9, 2023
PAIS-3205, PAIS
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