Exo-Titans: Exploring Exoplanet Atmospheres through Titan Analogues

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The number of exoplanet discoveries has grown exponentially since the first discovery in 1992 to over 5,500 detections, thanks to dedicated space surveys such as Kepler. Super-Earths (planets up to 10 Earth masses) are the most abundant, yet very little is known about their properties. These planets often orbit M-dwarfs - ultracool stars that make up ~75% of the stellar population. The recent launch of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will yield a new era of high-quality exoplanetary atmospheric data, offering an exceptional opportunity to study a range of novel environments. Super-Earths may retain hydrogen-rich envelopes and possess reducing atmospheres akin to Saturn's moon, Titan, which serves as an important laboratory for studying prebiotic chemistry. This project explores the atmospheres of terrestrial exoplanets orbiting M-dwarfs through modelling Titan-like analogues with the goal of interpreting key atmospheric features using upcoming data collected by JWST. Existing models based on Titan's photochemistry and dynamics will be updated and cross-validated to study the radiative effects of haze formation on exoplanetary climate and habitability. Modelling these "exo-Titan" atmospheres will unlock unique insights into the anoxic environment of the early Earth and broaden our understanding of the Earth's atmosphere and habitability through comparative climatology.