Descripción del proyecto
Avanzar en el conocimiento de los exoplanetas
Desde el descubrimiento del primer exoplaneta orbitando alrededor de una estrella similar al Sol en 1995, se han encontrado otros miles. El estudio de los exoplanetas es un ámbito de investigación activo y que evoluciona rápidamente. El equipo del proyecto N-GINE, financiado por el Consejo Europeo de Investigación, pretende avanzar en nuestra comprensión de los planetas gigantes dentro y fuera del sistema solar, así como de sus orígenes. En el marco del proyecto se pretende incorporar al estudio de los exoplanetas los nuevos conocimientos adquiridos a partir de los datos recientes recogidos por las misiones Cassini y Juno. Estas misiones han revelado que el interior de Júpiter y Saturno es más complejo de lo que se creía. El objetivo de N-GINE es reducir la brecha de conocimientos mediante el desarrollo de nuevos modelos sobre el interior y la atmósfera de Júpiter, Saturno, Urano, Neptuno y los exoplanetas gigantes.
Objetivo
The prevalence of metals in exoplanet atmospheres is considered an important tracer of the formation of gas giants. However, the current theoretical framework is founded on the critical assumption that such planets are composed of a core surrounded by a homogeneous and well-mixed envelope. Recent data from Cassini and Juno show differently, resulting in a paradigm shift in the interiors of Jupiter and Saturn. Jupiter's envelope is now shown to be non-homogeneous, leading to new pathways for studying the interactions between giant planet interiors with their atmospheric constituents. This new knowledge desperately needs to be incorporated in exoplanet studies. This is the aim of N-GINE.
We are in a unique time for this study. We have extraordinary data to study the giants in the solar system, and the JWST will provide exceptional data on exoplanets’ atmospheres. Now is the time to gather the stunning amount of exoplanet data and the detailed insights supplied by our solar system and get integrated knowledge coming from all giant planets.
I have unique expertise in these fields to fill this gap and lead a team of 3 PhD students and 2 postdocs to work at the frontier of exoplanets and solar system science. We will provide the community with the first open-source retrieval tool for exoplanet interiors based on my state-of-the-art models for Jupiter, use JWST to compile the first database on refractory species in exoplanet atmospheres (indicating the solids accreted during formation), study atmosphere-interior interactions with self-consistent atmospheric radiative transfer and interior models, and go beyond the state-of-the-art with new interior models for Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune with non-homogenous interiors and using Neural Networks. The impact of the new interior models developed in N-GINE will also affect atmospheric chemical and retrieval calculations, revolutionizing the way of interpreting observations in exoplanets and learning about their origins.
Ámbito científico
- natural sciencescomputer and information sciencesdatabases
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesastronomyplanetary sciencesplanetsexoplanetology
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesastronomyplanetary sciencesplanetsgiant planetsgas giants
- natural sciencescomputer and information sciencesartificial intelligencecomputational intelligence
Palabras clave
Programa(s)
- HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme
Régimen de financiación
ERC - Support for frontier research (ERC)Institución de acogida
3526 KV Utrecht
Países Bajos