Probing the atmospheres of extrasolar planets with high-resolution spectroscopy

The study of exoplanet atmospheres is the best (and only way) to study the chemistry, weather, climate, and formation histories of these foreign worlds.

The study of exoplanets does not only inform the history of the particular planet but also sheds light on planet formation in general and places our own solar system in the galactic context. To date, most observations of these planets are either space-based (e.g. Hubble, Spitzer or James Webb Space Telescope) or ground-based (e.g.

VLT/Keck). Both, space and ground-based observations probe complementary pressure regimes of the atmospheres. This said, to date, little work has been undertaken to combine both space and ground approaches.

In this PhD project, the student will work on developing a new atmospheric retrieval code (i.e. atmospheric analysis tool) based on the TauREx 3 retrieval framework developed at UCL.

The student is already trained in the analysis of high-resolution spectra data analysis and will be able to start with the algorithmic development immediately.