A Framework for Thermal Atmospheric Escape from Extrasolar Planets

该奖项用于研究太阳系外行星所涉及的物理和化学过程，太阳系外行星是围绕其他恒星运行的行星。圆周率探测器将聚焦于距离主恒星如此之近的行星，以至于它们的大部分大气层都被S热星炸飞了。PI还将进行公共宣传，为高中生撰写关于系外行星研究的简报，并培训和指导一名研究生进行研究。这项工作的大部分重点是由外部辐射驱动的热大气逃逸。PI和她的团队将生成一个灵活的框架，用于模拟一系列行星质量、半径和环境中的热大气逃逸。然后，研究人员将使用这个框架来生成易于使用的表达式，以便从以氢为主的大气中逃逸。这些表达式将允许其他研究人员将他们最喜欢的系统的行星和恒星特性转化为(1)发生大气质量损失的物理状态，以及(2)该状态下的质量损失率。这项工作将通过扩展和应用PI创建的算法来完成，该算法用于估计热逃逸率。

This award funds work to study the physical and chemical processes involved in extrasolar planets, which are planets that orbit other stars. The PI will focus on planets that are so close to their host star that much of their atmospheres are being blasted away by the star?s heat. The PI will also conduct public outreach, write briefs on exoplanet research for high school students, and train and mentor a graduate student in research. The bulk of this work focuses on thermal atmospheric escape that is driven by external irradiation. The PI and her team will generate a flexible framework for modeling thermal atmospheric escape over a range of planetary masses, radii, and environments. The researchers will then use this framework to generate easy-to-use expressions for escape from hydrogen-dominated atmospheres. These expressions will allow other researchers to translate the planetary and stellar properties of their favorite systems into (1) the physical regime in which atmospheric mass loss occurs, and (2) the mass-loss rate in that regime. This work will be accomplished through the expansion and application of an algorithm, created by the PI, to estimate thermalescape rates.