Importance of Sample Selection in Exoplanet-atmosphere Population Studies
Importance of Sample Selection in Exoplanet-atmosphere Population Studies
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DOI：
10.3847/1538-3881/ac9f45
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发表时间：
2022-11
期刊：
影响因子：
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通讯作者：
N. Batalha;A. Wolfgang;J. Teske;M. Alam;L. Alderson;N. Batalha;M. López-Morales;H. Wakeford
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文献类型：
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作者：
N. Batalha;A. Wolfgang;J. Teske;M. Alam;L. Alderson;N. Batalha;M. López-Morales;H. Wakeford
了解行星的形成需要强有力的人口研究，这是为了揭示行星特性的趋势。在这项工作中，我们的目标是确定使用JWST选择系外行星种群进行大气表征的不同方法是否以及如何影响种群水平的推断。我们对超级地球/亚海王星进行了三次假设调查，每次调查都被设计为跨越类似的半径-日照通量空间。调查样本是基于三种不同的选择标准（均匀间隔的眼睛，分类和定量选择函数）构建的。使用注入-回收技术，我们测试了单个行星大气参数和种群水平参数的可靠程度。我们发现，所有三种调查设计结果都同样适合单个大气特征的目标，但不适合约束种群参数的目标。只有用定量方法构建的样本或眼睛间距足够均匀的样本才能产生鲁棒的总体参数约束。此外，我们发现具有单个大气研究的最佳目标的样本不一定会产生最佳约束的总体参数。必须考虑样本选择的方法。我们还发现，样本小到足以适应一个JWST周期（~ 12个行星），种群水平的结果可能存在很大的可变性，这表明最成功的种群水平分析将是多周期的。最后，我们推断，我们对样本选择的探索受到少数具有测量质量的凌日行星围绕明亮恒星的限制。我们的结果可以指导未来计划的发展，旨在确定系外行星-大气特性的潜在趋势，并通过扩展，形成和演化过程。
Understanding planet formation requires robust population studies, which are designed to reveal trends in planet properties. In this work we aim to determine if and how different methods for selecting populations of exoplanets for atmospheric characterization with JWST could influence population-level inferences. We generate three hypothetical surveys of super-Earths/sub-Neptunes, with each survey designed to span a similar radius-insolation flux space. The survey samples are constructed based on three different selection criteria (evenly spaced by eye, binned, and a quantitative selection function). Using an injection-recovery technique, we test how robustly individual-planet atmospheric parameters and population-level parameters can be retrieved. We find that all three survey designs result in equally suitable targets for individual atmospheric characterization, but not equally suitable targets for constraining population parameters. Only samples constructed with a quantitative method or that are sufficiently evenly spaced-by-eye result in robust population parameter constraints. Furthermore, we find that the sample with the best targets for individual atmospheric study does not necessarily result in the best-constrained population parameters. The method of sample selection must be considered. We also find that there may be large variability in population-level results with a sample that is small enough to fit in a single JWST cycle (∼12 planets), suggesting that the most successful population-level analyses will be multicycle. Lastly, we infer that our exploration of sample selection is limited by the small number of transiting planets with measured masses around bright stars. Our results can guide future development of programs that aim to determine underlying trends in exoplanet-atmospheric properties, and, by extension, formation and evolution processes.