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Disequilibrium chemistry of exoplanets’ high-metallicity atmospheres in JWST times


Thesis topic details

General information

Organisation

The French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) is a key player in research, development and innovation in four main areas :
• defence and security,
• nuclear energy (fission and fusion),
• technological research for industry,
• fundamental research in the physical sciences and life sciences.

Drawing on its widely acknowledged expertise, and thanks to its 16000 technicians, engineers, researchers and staff, the CEA actively participates in collaborative projects with a large number of academic and industrial partners.

The CEA is established in ten centers spread throughout France
  

Reference

SL-DRF-25-0451  

Direction

DRF

Thesis topic details

Category

Corpuscular physics and outer space

Thesis topics

Disequilibrium chemistry of exoplanets’ high-metallicity atmospheres in JWST times

Contract

Thèse

Job description

In little more than two years of scientific operations, JWST has revolutionized our understanding of exoplanets and their atmospheres. The ARIEL space mission, to be launched in 2029, will soon contribute to this revolution. A main finding that has been enabled by the exquisite quality of the JWST data is that exoplanet atmospheres are in chemical disequilibrium. A full treatment of disequilibrium is complex, especially when the atmospheres are metal-rich, i.e. when they contain in significant abundances elements other than hydrogen and helium. In a first step, our project will numerically investigate the extent of chemical disequilibrium in the atmospheres of JWST targets suspected to have metal-rich atmospheres. We will use towards that end an in-house photochemical model. In a second step, our project will explore the effect of super-thermal chemistry as a driver of chemical disequilibrium. This will offer previously-unexplored insight into the chemistry of metal-rich atmospheres, with the potential to shed new light into the chemical and evolutionary paths of low-mass exoplanets.

University / doctoral school

Science de la Terre et de l’Environnement et Physique de l’Univers Paris (STEPUP)
Université de Paris

Thesis topic location

Site

Saclay

Requester

Person to be contacted by the applicant

Garcia Muñoz Antonio antonio.garciamunoz@cea.fr
CEA
DRF/IRFU DAp/LDE3
DRF/IRFU/DAp/LDE3 CEA Saclay
CEA Paris-Saclay, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex, France

Tutor / Responsible thesis director

Garcia Muñoz Antonio antonio.garciamunoz@cea.fr
CEA
DRF/IRFU DAp/LDE3
DRF/IRFU/DAp/LDE3 CEA Saclay
CEA Paris-Saclay, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex, France

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