Speaker
Description
Exoplanets are not only ubiquitous, but diverse in nature. The mechanisms governing their formation and evolution remain elusive, yet theoretical modelling suggests that the atmospheres of gaseous worlds can offer clues into their history. However, due to the required precision on these measurements, studying planets individually is not sufficient to test these models: one must conduct population studies of exoplanetary atmospheres. Moreover, if we are to unlock the secrets of planet formation and evolution, we must be vigilant when conducting these: biases in our analyses could create trends which don’t exist, and we are especially vulnerable if there is no structure to the target selection.
I will provide an overview of current population studies of exoplanetary atmospheres, discussing their findings and limitations. I will discuss what we can learn from previous endeavours to develop clear strategies for future target selection, particularly in the context of Ariel which will perform a dedicated survey of hundreds of exoplanet atmospheres. Finally, I will discuss the need to leverage the complementarities between different facilities, as well as their niches, to enable a meticulous chemical survey of exoplanet atmospheres in the next decade.
