Towards a holistic understanding of sub-Neptunes

Rafael Luque

Presentation information

[E] Oral

P (Space and Planetary Sciences ) » P-CG Complex & General

[P-CG19] Exoplanet

Tue. May 28, 2024 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM 102 (International Conference Hall, Makuhari Messe)

convener:Takanori Kodama(Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology), Shota Notsu(Earth and Planetary System Science Group, Department of Earth and Planetary Science, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo), Yui Kawashima(Tohoku University), Mayuko Mori(The University of Tokyo), Chairperson:Takanori Kodama(Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology), Shota Notsu(Earth and Planetary System Science Group, Department of Earth and Planetary Science, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo)

10:15 AM - 10:30 AM

[PCG19-06] Towards a holistic understanding of sub-Neptunes

★Invited Papers

*Rafael Luque¹ (1.University of Chicago)

Keywords:Sub-Neptunes, Atmospheres, HD110067

The nature and origin of sub-Neptune-sized planets is arguably the hottest debate in the field of exoplanets nowadays. While absent in the Solar System, they are the most common planet type in the Galaxy. Multiple models (gas dwarfs, water worlds, Hycean planets) appear to explain current observational evidence from mass-radius measurements and demographic analyses. JWST promises to break those degeneracies, but the first robust results are yet to be published. In the meantime, the top priority is the discovery and characterization of benchmark targets amenable to these studies. In this talk, I will give an overview of the questions surrounding the origin of the "Radius gap", recent sub-Neptune discoveries such as the 6-planet resonant chain orbiting HD 110067, and the latest efforts in the community to detect molecular species in their atmospheres.