A groundbreaking collaboration between Michigan State University, Arizona State University and Lawrence-Livermore National Laboratory is unlocking the secrets of planet formation. Using the James Webb Space Telescope and advanced computational models, the KRONOS program is analyzing the atmospheres of young exoplanets, some of which are only as old as the dinosaurs. By studying how starlight interacts with planetary atmospheres, scientists hope to piece together the origins of these distant worlds - and perhaps discover conditions conducive to life.
Astronomers have long tried to answer a fundamental question: How do planets form? Now, a new collaboration from Michigan State University, Arizona State University, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory aims to use advanced telescopes and high-energy computing to unravel this mystery.
The research team has spent 154 hours aboard the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) studying the atmospheres of seven exoplanets (planets outside our solar system) that formed less than 300 million years ago, about the same time that dinosaurs walked the Earth. In addition to observations from JWST, the team will develop detailed atmospheric models using supercomputers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) under the KRONOS program. These models can provide important insights into how planets form, evolve, and whether they might support conditions conducive to life.
"Understanding the composition of the atmospheres of planets of different ages is still a huge unknown because these planets are difficult to find and even harder to characterize," said KRONOS project co-principal investigator Adina Feinstein, a NASA Sagan Fellow and an assistant professor at MSU. "With the precision and instruments on JWST, we're excited to start directly addressing questions about what natal planets look like."
JWST has been operating for three years as a joint mission of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency. There are as many as 6,000 planets in the Milky Way, and they are still increasing. It is obvious that planet formation is everywhere. However, details about the planet formation process remain elusive. One way to find out is to observe planets of different ages, especially young exoplanets younger than 300 million years old, as they pass by their host stars.
During this process, some of the starlight passes through the planet's atmosphere, and molecules such as water or carbon dioxide absorb some of the light. Scientists observe the transits of exoplanets at different wavelengths to explore how they absorb light, which can reveal the composition of exoplanet atmospheres.
Computing the secrets of distant worlds
By using physics-driven atmospheric models, astronomers can explore the composition of exoplanets and connect them to theories of planet formation and evolution. The problem is that these models are computationally expensive. To solve this problem, the KRONOS team won 22 million hours of computing time through the LLNL Computing Grand Challenge program. This program provides LLNL scientists with extensive institutional computing resources to conduct cutting-edge research.
The models created by KRONOS will be used to understand the composition of various exoplanet atmospheres. This in turn can be used to understand how planets form.
"We are taking some first steps to detect the atmospheres of young exoplanets—a largely unknown group. Through our strategic partnership, we will push the limits of models and data to find new insights into planetary atmospheres and their host stars," said KRONOS co-principal investigator Luis Welbanks, a 51Pegasib researcher and a new assistant professor at Arizona State University. "Our results will shed light on the physical and chemical processes that shape these distant worlds, providing guidance for future theoretical and observational studies."
Expanded scope: from seven planets to seventy planets
In addition to the seven planets KRONOS is studying, the team will generate models for all 70 exoplanets observed by JWST.
"Unified modeling of such a large sample of planets - from hot worlds more massive than Jupiter, to temperate planets and small Earth-mass planets - has never been done before," said LLNL principal investigator Peter McGill. "This task can only be truly accomplished using LLNL's world-class high-performance computing platform."
Once completed, the atmospheric model developed by the team will be made available to the astronomical community. The aim is to encourage open, collaborative science and have a lasting impact on the field.
Compiled from /ScitechDaily