Atmospheres as Probes of the Interiors and Formation pathways of Earth, super-Earths and sub-Neptunes

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• Professor Hilke Schlichting (UCLA)
• Tuesday 28 October 2025, 13:00-14:00
• Ryle seminar room + ONLINE - Details to be sent by email.

If you have a question about this talk, please contact James Rogers.

Super-Earths and sub-Neptunes are the most abundant exoplanets discovered in our galaxy to date. However, much of their nature and origin remains shrouded in mystery. Generally speaking, super-Earths and sub-Neptunes are thought to have formed as one population with primordial hydrogen-dominated envelopes. However, most super-Earths lost their primordial atmospheres via thermally driven winds. In my talk, I will present global chemical equilibrium models of Earth, super-Earths and sub-Neptunes. I will show that magma-ocean atmosphere interactions expected in sub-Neptunes exoplanets lead to signatures in their transmission spectra that are readily observable with JWST . In addition, hydrogen is efficiently sequestered into the interior, oxidizing iron and endogenously producing water. I will conclude by discussing possible parallels between Earth’s formation and that of super-Earths, shedding new light on Earth’s primary water reservoir, origin of the light elements in its iron core and oxidation state.

This talk is part of the Exoplanet Seminars series.

This talk is included in these lists:

• Cambridge Astronomy Talks
• Combined External Astrophysics Talks DAMTP
• Cosmology, Astrophysics and General Relativity
• Exoplanet Seminars
• Institute of Astronomy Talk Lists
• LCLU Departmental Talks
• Ryle seminar room + ONLINE - Details to be sent by email

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