Project A7
Project A7 - Climates of Super-Earths rotating around M-Dwarfs
Principal investigators: V. Lucarini, P. Hauschildt, and K. Fraedrich
Background and Motivation
Recent astrophysical findings suggest the existence of plenty of Earth-like rocky planets rotating around M-Dwarfs. It seems of great scientific urgency to study the their atmospheres, both in terms of radiative and dynamical properties. This will contribute to bridging the scientific gap between climate science, planetary science, and astrophysics.
Aims and Objectives
The goal of this PhD project is to study the climates of these objects by combining methods of radiative transfer and of geophysical and astrophysical fluid dynamics. The candidate will explore a large parametric range of astronomical parameters (stellar irradiance, planetary rotation, orbital eccentricity) and of atmospheric properties (optical thickness, presence of chemical phase transitions) and will benefit from the Phoenix and Planet Simulator modeling suites available in-house at the University of Hamburg. The focus will be on understanding general features of the radiative and dynamical/thermodynamical properties of this class of planets.