The Clear Sky Corridor: Insights Towards Aerosol Formation in Exoplanets Using an AI-based Survey of Exoplanet Atmospheres
Producing optimized and accurate transmission spectra of exoplanets from telescope data has traditionally been a manual and labor intensive procedure. Here we present the results of the first attempt to improve and standardize this procedure by using artificial-intelligence-based (AI-based) processi...
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IOP Publishing
2025-01-01
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| Series: | The Astronomical Journal |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/ada353 |
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| author | Reza Ashtari Kevin B. Stevenson David Sing Mercedes López-Morales Munazza K. Alam Nikolay K. Nikolov Thomas M. Evans-Soma |
| author_facet | Reza Ashtari Kevin B. Stevenson David Sing Mercedes López-Morales Munazza K. Alam Nikolay K. Nikolov Thomas M. Evans-Soma |
| author_sort | Reza Ashtari |
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| description | Producing optimized and accurate transmission spectra of exoplanets from telescope data has traditionally been a manual and labor intensive procedure. Here we present the results of the first attempt to improve and standardize this procedure by using artificial-intelligence-based (AI-based) processing of light curves and spectroscopic data from transiting exoplanets observed with the Hubble Space Telescope's (HST) Wide Field Camera (WFC3) instrument. We implement an AI-based parameter optimizer that autonomously operates the Eureka! pipeline to produce homogeneous transmission spectra of publicly available HST WFC3 datasets, spanning exoplanet types from hot Jupiters to sub-Neptunes. Surveying 42 exoplanets with temperatures between 280 and 2580 K, we confirm modeled relationships between the amplitude of the water band at 1.4 μ m of hot Jupiters and their equilibrium temperatures. We also identify a similar, novel trend in Neptune/sub-Neptune atmospheres, but shifted to cooler temperatures. Excitingly, a planet-mass versus equilibrium-temperature diagram reveals a “Clear Sky Corridor,” where planets between 700 and 1700 K (depending on the mass) show stronger 1.4 μ m H _2 O band measurements. This novel trend points to metallicity as a potentially important driver of aerosol formation. With HST sculpting this foundational understanding for aerosol formation in various exoplanet types ranging from Jupiters to sub-Neptunes, we present a compelling platform for the James Webb Space Telescope to discover similar atmospheric trends for more planets across a broader wavelength range. |
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| id | doaj-art-31446f57b0de46a7967d99f23e9d49c9 |
| institution | OA Journals |
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| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
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| series | The Astronomical Journal |
| spelling | doaj-art-31446f57b0de46a7967d99f23e9d49c92025-08-20T02:25:43ZengIOP PublishingThe Astronomical Journal1538-38812025-01-01169210610.3847/1538-3881/ada353The Clear Sky Corridor: Insights Towards Aerosol Formation in Exoplanets Using an AI-based Survey of Exoplanet AtmospheresReza Ashtari0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8943-9148Kevin B. Stevenson1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7352-7941David Sing2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6050-7645Mercedes López-Morales3https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3204-8183Munazza K. Alam4https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4157-832XNikolay K. Nikolov5https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6500-3574Thomas M. Evans-Soma6https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5442-1300Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory , 11100 Johns Hopkins Rd., Laurel, MD 20723, USAJohns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory , 11100 Johns Hopkins Rd., Laurel, MD 20723, USAJohns Hopkins University , 3400 N. Charles St., Baltimore, MD 21218, USASpace Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Dr., Baltimore, MD 21218, USASpace Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Dr., Baltimore, MD 21218, USASpace Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Dr., Baltimore, MD 21218, USASchool of Information and Physical Sciences, University of Newcastle , Callaghan, NSW, Australia; Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie , Heidelberg, GermanyProducing optimized and accurate transmission spectra of exoplanets from telescope data has traditionally been a manual and labor intensive procedure. Here we present the results of the first attempt to improve and standardize this procedure by using artificial-intelligence-based (AI-based) processing of light curves and spectroscopic data from transiting exoplanets observed with the Hubble Space Telescope's (HST) Wide Field Camera (WFC3) instrument. We implement an AI-based parameter optimizer that autonomously operates the Eureka! pipeline to produce homogeneous transmission spectra of publicly available HST WFC3 datasets, spanning exoplanet types from hot Jupiters to sub-Neptunes. Surveying 42 exoplanets with temperatures between 280 and 2580 K, we confirm modeled relationships between the amplitude of the water band at 1.4 μ m of hot Jupiters and their equilibrium temperatures. We also identify a similar, novel trend in Neptune/sub-Neptune atmospheres, but shifted to cooler temperatures. Excitingly, a planet-mass versus equilibrium-temperature diagram reveals a “Clear Sky Corridor,” where planets between 700 and 1700 K (depending on the mass) show stronger 1.4 μ m H _2 O band measurements. This novel trend points to metallicity as a potentially important driver of aerosol formation. With HST sculpting this foundational understanding for aerosol formation in various exoplanet types ranging from Jupiters to sub-Neptunes, we present a compelling platform for the James Webb Space Telescope to discover similar atmospheric trends for more planets across a broader wavelength range.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/ada353ExoplanetsExoplanet atmospheresHubble Space TelescopeAstronomy data analysis |
| spellingShingle | Reza Ashtari Kevin B. Stevenson David Sing Mercedes López-Morales Munazza K. Alam Nikolay K. Nikolov Thomas M. Evans-Soma The Clear Sky Corridor: Insights Towards Aerosol Formation in Exoplanets Using an AI-based Survey of Exoplanet Atmospheres The Astronomical Journal Exoplanets Exoplanet atmospheres Hubble Space Telescope Astronomy data analysis |
| title | The Clear Sky Corridor: Insights Towards Aerosol Formation in Exoplanets Using an AI-based Survey of Exoplanet Atmospheres |
| title_full | The Clear Sky Corridor: Insights Towards Aerosol Formation in Exoplanets Using an AI-based Survey of Exoplanet Atmospheres |
| title_fullStr | The Clear Sky Corridor: Insights Towards Aerosol Formation in Exoplanets Using an AI-based Survey of Exoplanet Atmospheres |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Clear Sky Corridor: Insights Towards Aerosol Formation in Exoplanets Using an AI-based Survey of Exoplanet Atmospheres |
| title_short | The Clear Sky Corridor: Insights Towards Aerosol Formation in Exoplanets Using an AI-based Survey of Exoplanet Atmospheres |
| title_sort | clear sky corridor insights towards aerosol formation in exoplanets using an ai based survey of exoplanet atmospheres |
| topic | Exoplanets Exoplanet atmospheres Hubble Space Telescope Astronomy data analysis |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/ada353 |
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