Spectral fingerprints of the first detectable habitable planets

• Applicant: Professorin Dr. Lisa Kaltenegger
• Subject Area: Astrophysics and Astronomy
• Term: from 2010 to 2015
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 141722662

The scope of this proposal is to found, build and lead an entirely new research group, based in the MPIA, focused on the identification of extrasolar planets, with a strongly interdisciplinary component collaborating with several other academic departments. My research group will be embedded in a rich environment of established international interdisciplinary collaboration and will have the unique capability to model habitable rocky exoplanets ranging in mass from several Earth masses (SuperEarths) to Earths using and expanding a unique and very powerful tool to explore the physics of the atmosphere of rocky exoplanets: An established, self consistent climate, photochemistry and radiative transfer code. The main goal of this theoretical effort is to model atmospheric spectral signatures, including biosignatures, of known and hypothetical exoplanets that are potentially habitable. We will focus on planets orbiting stars bright enough for future atmosphere followup: especially SuperEarths (rocky terrestrial planets of 1-10 Earth masses) orbiting in the “Habitable Zones” around their host stars.The atmospheric characterization of such SuperEarths, proposed in this innovative interdisciplinary Research group, will allow us to explore the condition on the first detectable rocky exoplanets and potentially characterize the first detectable Habitable Exoplanet.

• DFG Programme: Independent Junior Research Groups