SMuK 2023 – scientific programme
Parts | Days | Selection | Search | Updates | Downloads | Help
SYSC: Symposium Strange Clouds – from the Earth to Exoplanets
SYSC 1: Strange Clouds – From the Earth to Exoplanets
SYSC 1.5: Invited Talk
Tuesday, March 21, 2023, 12:35–13:00, HSZ/0004
Gemstone clouds in JWST target exoplanets — •Dominic Samra1 and Christiane Helling1,2 — 1Space Research Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Schmiedlstrasse 6, A-8042 Graz, Austria — 2Institute for Theoretical Physics and Computational Physics, Graz University of Technology, Petersgasse 16, A-8010 Graz, Austria
Exoplanets provide excellent test-beds for exploring the diversity of atmospheric physics. However, clouds remain a key challenge in observations by altering the local atmospheric composition through condensation, as well as obscuring deeper atmospheric layers. State-of-the-art instruments (e.g. JWST) will make spectral features of cloud particle composition observable. Cloud formation in exoplanet atmospheres traces local thermodynamic conditions. Microphysical cloud modelling is a powerful tool which provides the details of cloud formation processes (nucleation, growth, collisions, settling and mixing) necessary for understanding observations over a wide wavelength range. Gas-giant atmospheres condense clouds formed from a diverse range of materials, such as silicates, metal oxides and salts. We model cloud formation for 1D atmosphere profiles using a kinetic cloud formation model consistently combined with equilibrium gas-chemistry. Using results from 3D general circulation models as input to our model allows us to study cloud formation in JWST targets, such as WASP-96b. We find a significant gap between known theory and retrieved results from observations. However, additional processes could reconcile these differences and yield a greater understanding of the reality of cloud formation on such planets.