The Masses of Gas Giant Worlds on the Cold Frontier of Exoplanetary Science

Paul Dalba被授予美国国家科学基金会天文学和天体物理学博士后奖学金，在加州大学河滨分校进行研究和教育项目。通过高精度的径向速度观测，Dalba将推断出低温气体巨型系外行星的质量、大小和组成。将这些系外行星的性质与木星和土星等气态巨行星进行比较，将有助于更好地理解行星的形成和演化。除了这项研究，Dalba还将培训本科生在科学、技术、工程和数学（STEM）领域的计算机编程应用。拟议的研究计划旨在提高我们对被其主恒星弱辐射的冷气体巨型系外行星的理解。Dalba将使用光谱和光度观测来描述这些行星的特征，测试行星形成和演化的模型，并将木星和土星等行星置于银河系环境中。对于他工作的教育部分，Dalba将开发一系列研讨会，为社区大学生提供计算机编程和计算工具的一般知识，这些知识对学术界或工业界的STEM应用很有用。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Paul Dalba is awarded an NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellowship to conduct a program of research and education at the University of California, Riverside. Using high-precision radial velocity observations, Dalba will infer the masses, sizes, and compositions of cold gas giant exoplanets. Comparing the nature of these exoplanets with gas giant planets like Jupiter and Saturn would lead to a better understanding of planet formation and evolution. Alongside this research, Dalba will train undergraduate students in computer programming applicable in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. The proposed research program seeks to advance our understanding of cold gas giant exoplanets that are weakly irradiated by their host stars. Dalba will use spectroscopic and photometric observations to characterize these planets, test models of planet formation and evolution, and place planets like Jupiter and Saturn in a galactic context. For the education component of his work, Dalba will develop a series of workshops that will provide community college students with a general knowledge of computer programming and computational tools that are useful for STEM applications in academia or industry.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.