Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Sep 2011
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2011ess.....2.4027b&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, ESS meeting #2, #40.27
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Scientific paper
With the first spectral observations of potentially terrestrial planets, a need has arisen for methods to rigorously analyze such observations to characterize the planets’ atmospheres. Due to the complexity of the formation and evolution of super-Earth atmospheres, their compositions cannot be constrained a priori, suggesting that self-consistent modeling of super-Earth atmospheres for observational analysis is impractical. Here we present a novel retrieval method based on Bayesian inference that enables us to quantify molecular abundances in the atmosphere of transiting terrestrial exoplanets solely based on observations. We demonstrate the capability of the retrieval method for future observations by applying it to virtual observations of plausible scenarios for planets transiting nearby M-stars. By using the method in this way we obtain a predictive tool to assess the scientific potential for future observations. For representative scenarios, we show which atmospheric properties and quantitative constraints on molecular abundances can be found from spectral transit observations.
Benneke Bjoern
Seager Sara
No associations
LandOfFree
A Bayesian Approach to Quantify Molecular Abundances in Atmospheres of Transiting Super-Earths does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with A Bayesian Approach to Quantify Molecular Abundances in Atmospheres of Transiting Super-Earths, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and A Bayesian Approach to Quantify Molecular Abundances in Atmospheres of Transiting Super-Earths will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-833289