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Harrison Nicholls (he/him)

PhD student

Research theme

  • Astronomy and astrophysics

Sub department

  • Atmospheric, Oceanic and Planetary Physics

Research groups

  • Planetary Climate Dynamics
harrison.nicholls@physics.ox.ac.uk
Atmospheric Physics Clarendon Laboratory, room 113
www.h-nicholls.space
  • About
  • Publications

Summary

I am interested in the chemical evolution of planetary atmospheres. The complex relationship between their interiors, surfaces, atmospheres is not yet well understood. We can trace out the evolution pathways of these planets using numerical models, which is not only critical for interpreting telescope observations but also important for understanding how planets change over time.

I have developed a 1D model for magma ocean planets which resolves their physics from core to space, including processes such as radiative transfer and chemical kinetics. By using this model, we can test which atmospheres are developed during a planet's solidification, and how that links to their modern-day conditions.

Previously, I investigated the chemical evolution of hot-Jupiter atmospheres forced by with stellar activity. In some cases, the impact of stellar flares on these planets yields compositional changes which are observable with JWST.

I am supported by a Clarendon Scholarship, a Margaret Thatcher Scholarship, and the Science and Technology Facilities Council.

Research interests

Exoplanets
Astrochemistry
Radiative transfer
Planet formation
Thermodynamics

Selected publications

Convective shutdown in the atmospheres of lava worlds

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Oxford University Press (OUP) 536:3 (2024) 2957-2971
Harrison Nicholls, Raymond T Pierrehumbert, Tim Lichtenberg, Laurent Soucasse, Stef Smeets

Self-limited tidal heating and prolonged magma oceans in the L 98-59 system

(2025)
Harrison Nicholls, Claire Marie Guimond, Hamish CFC Hay, Richard D Chatterjee, Tim Lichtenberg, Raymond T Pierrehumbert

Magma Ocean Evolution at Arbitrary Redox State.

Journal of geophysical research. Planets 129:12 (2024) e2024JE008576
Harrison Nicholls, Tim Lichtenberg, Dan J Bower, Raymond Pierrehumbert

AGNI: A radiative-convective model for lava planet atmospheres

Journal of Open Source Software The Open Journal 10:109 (2025) 7726-7726
Harrison Nicholls, Raymond Pierrehumbert, Tim Lichtenberg
261944
See all publications

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