Higher-order atmospheric effects in the optical occultations and phase curves of exoplanets

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Exoplanet science is rapidly progressing from detection of planets towards the characterization of their atmospheres and surfaces. The occultation and phase curve of an exoplanet provides key information on the planet envelope. In the proposed research project, we will investigate: 1) the potential of exoplanet occultations and phase curves at optical wavelengths for the characterization of exoplanet atmospheres; 2) how optical and infrared observations of occultations and phase curves complement each other. Our investigation will assess the joint impact of both atmospheric and non-atmospheric effects on the measurements, and our capacity to subsequently disentangle these effects. This timely effort will help maximize the diagnostics capacities of the broadband optical photometric measurements to be delivered by a few space missions within the upcoming decade.