The key physical-chemical processes determining the Composition and Temperature of (exo-)planetary atmospheres
 

A project to unravel the complex interplay of key chemical and physical processes that influence the composition and temperature of exoplanetary atmospheres.

Characterizing the atmospheres of extrasolar planets is a new frontier in exoplanetary science, and as such is dependent on observations and interpretation toolkits. This project aims to develop a novel strategy to address a key question in current exoplanetary atmospheric research: what are and how do the key chemical and physical processes determine the atmospheric composition and temperature of exoplanets? Our main objective is to assess if the inclusion and combination of the different physical and chemical mechanisms of planetary atmospheres into the predictions can lead to a more comprehensive understanding of planetary atmospheres, considering observations as a key to validation assessment. These issues have only been poorly understood so far, because observational data is still too sparse, present sources of uncertainties and compositions are largely unexplored, and, finally, models are limited by the physical and chemical treatment and lack of accurate predictions.