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SUMMARY:The Hycean Paradigm in the Search for Life Elsewhere - Prof. Nikku
  Madhusudhan (University of Cambridge)
DTSTART:20231130T160000Z
DTEND:20231130T170000Z
UID:TALK206431@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:107123
DESCRIPTION:The search for life elsewhere is the holy grail of exoplanetar
 y science. The detection of atmospheric signatures of habitable Earth-like
  exoplanets is challenging due to their small planet-star size contrast an
 d thin atmospheres with high mean molecular weight. A new class of habitab
 le exoplanets\, called Hycean worlds\, promises to expand and accelerate t
 he search for planetary habitability and life elsewhere. Hycean planets ar
 e expected to be temperate ocean-covered worlds with H2-rich atmospheres. 
 Their large sizes and extended atmospheres\, compared to rocky planets of 
 the same mass\, make Hycean worlds significantly more accessible to atmosp
 heric spectroscopy. Several temperate Sub-Neptunes have been identified in
  recent studies as candidate Hycean worlds orbiting nearby M dwarfs that m
 ake them highly conducive for transmission spectroscopy with JWST. Recentl
 y\, we reported the first JWST spectrum of a possible Hycean world\, K2-18
  b\, with detections of multiple carbon-bearing molecules in its atmospher
 e. In this talk\, we will present observational constraints on the atmosph
 eric composition of K2-18 b\, its atmospheric temperature structure\, clou
 ds/hazes\, chemical disequilibrium and the possibility of a habitable ocea
 n underneath the atmosphere. We will discuss new observational and theoret
 ical developments in the characterisation of candidate Hycean worlds\, and
  their potential for habitability. Our findings demonstrate the unpreceden
 ted potential of JWST for characterising Hycean worlds\, and temperate sub
 -Neptunes in general\, and open a new era of atmospheric characterisation 
 of habitable-zone exoplanets with JWST.
LOCATION:Hoyle Lecture Theatre\, Institute of Astronomy
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