With the revolutionary James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), we are taking a peek into the exoplanet atmosphere's detailed physics and chemistry for the first time. We need theoretical exoplanetary atmospheric models to interpret these JWST observations physically. Although many such theoretical models exist, critical gaps remain in these models. The biggest of these gaps is the 7-8 orders of magnitude uncertainty in the fundamental atmospheric eddy diffusion coefficient. This proposal shows how this uncertainty makes our atmospheric models very uncertain and is the key factor impeding our understanding of exoplanetary atmospheric chemistry and atmosphere-interior connection.
The project aims to constrain these extremely uncertain parameters with JWST observations. We also show that JWST is suitable for measuring these uncertain parameters. The study will use state-of-the-art atmospheric models with JWST observational data to constrain the eddy diffusion coefficient, intrinsic heat, and photochemical processes in exoplanet atmospheres. This pursuit will significantly improve available theoretical atmospheric models through carefully designed JWST observations providing fundamental constraints and a new look at exoplanet atmospheres and interiors.
For the duration of the grant, the Fellow will have a doctoral advisor (Jonathan Fortney) at the legal organization (Regents of the University of California) and a cross-discipline advisor (David Sing) at the partnering organization (Johns Hopkins University).
