Exoplanets and Stellar Physics

Abstract:

Exoplanet Proxima b will be an important laboratory for the search for extraterrestrial life for the decades ahead. Here, we discuss the prospects of detecting carbon dioxide at 15 μm using a spectral filtering technique with the Medium Resolution Spectrograph (MRS) mode of the Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). At superior conjunction, the planet is expected to show a contrast of up to 100 ppm with respect to the star. At a spectral resolving power of R = 1790–2640, about 100 spectral CO₂ features are visible within the 13.2–15.8 μm (3B) band, which can be combined to boost the planet atmospheric signal by a factor of 3–4, depending on the atmospheric temperature structure and CO₂ abundance. If atmospheric conditions are favorable (assuming an Earth-like atmosphere), with this new application to the cross-correlation technique, carbon dioxide can be detected within a few days of JWST observations. However, this can only be achieved if both the instrumental spectral response and the stellar spectrum can be determined to a relative precision of ≤1 × 10⁻⁴ between adjacent spectral channels. Absolute flux calibration is not required, and the method is insensitive to the strong broadband variability of the host star. Precise calibration of the spectral features of the host star may only be attainable by obtaining deep observations of the system during inferior conjunction that serve as a reference. The high-pass filter spectroscopic technique with the MIRI MRS can be tested on warm Jupiters, Neptunes, and super-Earths with significantly higher planet/star contrast ratios than the Proxima system.

Abstract:

Recent geological and geophysical data suggest that a 1km thick ice shelf extended over the glacial Arctic Ocean during Marine Isotope Stage 6, about 140000 years ago. Here, we theoretically analyse the development and equilibrium features of such an ice shelf, using scaling analyses and a one-dimensional ice-sheet–ice-shelf model. We find that the dynamically most consistent scenario is an ice shelf with a nearly uniform thickness that covers the entire Arctic Ocean. Further, the ice shelf has two regions with distinctly different dynamics: a vast interior region covering the central Arctic Ocean and an exit region towards the Fram Strait. In the interior region, which is effectively dammed by the Fram Strait constriction, there are strong back stresses and the mean ice-shelf thickness is controlled primarily by the horizontally integrated mass balance. A narrow transition zone is found near the continental grounding line, in which the ice-shelf thickness decreases offshore and approaches the mean basin thickness. If the surface accumulation and mass flow from the continental ice masses are sufficiently large, the ice-shelf thickness grows to the point where the ice shelf grounds on the Lomonosov Ridge. As this occurs, the back stress increases in the Amerasian Basin and the ice-shelf thickness becomes larger there than in the Eurasian Basin towards the Fram Strait. Using a one-dimensional ice-dynamic model, the stability of equilibrium ice-shelf configurations without and with grounding on the Lomonosov Ridge are examined. We find that the grounded ice-shelf configuration should be stable if the two Lomonosov Ridge grounding lines are located on the opposites sides of the ridge crest, implying that the downstream grounding line is located on a downward sloping bed. This result shares similarities with the classical result on marine ice-sheet stability of Weertman, but due to interactions between the Amerasian and Eurasian ice-shelf segments the mass flux at the downstream grounding line decreases rather than increases with ice thickness.