Speaker
Description
Measuring the chemical and thermal properties of planetary atmospheres is the main goal of current exoplanet science. It allows us to understand their true nature, origin, and eventually the ability to support life. Ground-based, high-resolution spectroscopy (HRS, R>25,000) has emerged as one of the leading methods to detect atomic and molecular species in the atmospheres of exoplanets. At infrared wavelengths, it allows us to resolve molecular bands into the individual spectral lines and extract their signal through cross correlation with model templates. As an added bonus, HRS can measure planet rotation, winds and orbital motion directly.
HRS has produced a rapidly growing inventory of detected species. Furthermore, recent developments of the technique have unlocked the ability to measure absolute abundances and temperatures, at a level comparable to expected JWST observations but using different and complementary spectral information. This ability sets the stage for a strong synergy between space and ground observations of hot and warm gaseous planets during the current decade.
