Kavlisymposium i astrofysikk

Lunsj

Velkommen ved Generalsekretær i Det Norske Videnskaps-Akademi, professor Gunn Elisabeth Birkelund

Symposiet åpnes av professor Willy Benz, president av International Astronomical Union

Prof. Ignas Snellen – The European Extremely Large Telescope and the search for Life in the Universe

^{While JWST is revolutionising the field of extrasolar planets as we speak, the next leap forward will come from the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) with its anticipated first light in 2028. In this talk I will discuss how the ELT will probe planetary systems around our nearest neighbours, will zoom in on the atmospheres of Earth-like planets around small dwarf stars, and will be able to identify oxygenated atmospheres like our own.}

Diana Powell: Connecting Planet Formation & Characterization

^{A fundamental understanding of planetary histories and characteristics requires an empirical connection between planet formation and evolved planets—a long-sought goal of astrophysics. This connection is now increasingly possible due to simultaneous revolutions in the observations of protoplanetary disks and exoplanet atmospheres. A key step towards relating these observations of different evolutionary stages is to characterize the composition of material in protoplanetary disks and relate these properties to the atmospheres of planets. In this talk, I will discuss initial steps taken towards this goal. I will discuss novel methods of determining the fundamental properties of protoplanetary disks, describe how the detailed properties of clouds shape observations of substellar atmospheres, and demonstrate that atmospheric physics can give a new understanding of the nature of protoplanetary disks.}

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Foredrag ved professor Malena Rice

Prof. Jonathan Fortney – Understanding the Composition of Planets:  Exoplanet and Solar System Synergies

^{The exoplanet revolution has opened our eyes to the tremendous diversity of planets, as exoplanets are found at a variety of masses, sizes, and orbits not seen in our solar system. Our planetary system is but one realization of the complex processes of planet formation and evolution. In this talk I will discuss what we are learning about the composition of planets and how it is challenging our theories of planetary atmospheres and interior structure.  Across a broad range of planet masses, I'll place our emerging understanding of gas giant exoplanets in the context of Jupiter and Saturn, and of rocky exoplanets in the context of Earth and Venus, while also examining the worlds in between.}

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Prof. Stephanie Werner – The Quest for Earth-like Exoplanets at the Centre for Planetary Habitability

^{The Centre for Planetary Habitability is one of the new NFR-funded Centres of Excellence (SFF), which started in July 2023, and which has at is core the search for worlds that can or could have been habitable. The idea that worlds around other stars could develop and maintain environments hospitable to life ― in a way similar to our planet ― has captivated scientists for centuries. Yet, to investigate this question, we must recognize and characterize the key conditions that make a planet habitable. This endeavour is the prime objective for PHAB.}

^{The only planet on which life is known to have originated (Earth) appears unique in many ways, including the presence of abundant surface water, a large moon, a long-lived magnetic field, and plate tectonics. Yet, which of these and other characteristics are essential for its long-term habitability? Equally, how have Earth’s physical and chemical attributes, and thus our planet’s proclivity for life, evolved? How can we recognize distant worlds around other stars that have been or could be habitable? These questions, and a new understanding of planetary habitability unfolding from them, are especially important as we now embark on an unprecedented era of exploration and discovery of extra-solar planetary systems. Knowledge collected from Earth and other rocky planets in the Solar System will enable us to recognize the key conditions for planetary habitability and to develop predictive models to identify habitable planets around other stars.}

Prof. Jackie Faherty – Explaining the Diversity of Cold Worlds with the James Webb Space Telescope

^{The James Webb Space Telescope has the capability to reveal complex chemistry in worlds formed beyond our own solar system.  A key class of objects that has been trailblazing our understanding of the diversity of atmosphere compositions for giant exoplanets is brown dwarfs.  In this talk I will show a library of data obtained using JWST on brown dwarfs with temperatures that range from ~700K all the way down to 250K – just 100 degrees warmer than Jupiter.  The spectra will highlight the key molecules we can detect in worlds beyond our own.  While we initially theorized that chemistry would be primarily guided by the temperature of a given source, what JWST reveals is a far more complicated landscape where secondary parameters like age, metallicity, and gravity strongly influence what we see.}

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