6 papers
Organosulfur Chemistry on sub-Neptunes: Implications for hazes and biosignatures
Sean Jordan, Shang-Min Tsai, Paul B. Rimmer +1
The organosulfur biosignature gases dimethylsulfide (DMS) and dimethlydisulfide (DMDS) have recently been claimed to be present in the atmosphere of sub-Neptune exoplanet K2-18b, l…
Three outstanding physical questions for K2-18 b and other temperate sub-Neptunes
Shang-Min Tsai, Piero Ferrari, Mats Kuipers +7
Recent transmission spectra of the temperate sub-Neptune K2-18 b obtained with JWST have attracted significant attention. Debates have quickly arisen over the interpretation of the…
Hydrocarbon complexity and photochemical shielding of prebiotic feedstock molecules in exoplanet atmospheres
Marrick Braam, Ellery Gopaoco, Shang-Min Tsai +4
The potential of prebiotic chemistry to propagate on an exoplanet fundamentally depends on whether the atmospheric conditions can facilitate the production of prebiotic feedstock m…
K2-18b Does Not Meet The Standards of Evidence For Life
Kevin B. Stevenson, Jacob Lustig-Yaeger, E. M. May +7
K2-18b, a temperate sub-Neptune, has garnered significant attention due to claims of possible biosignatures in its atmosphere. Low-confidence detections of dimethyl sulfide (DMS) a…
HCN and C2H2 in the atmosphere of a T8.5+T9 brown dwarf binary
Elisabeth C. Matthews, Paul Mollière, Helena Kühnle +22
T-type brown dwarfs present an opportunity to explore atmospheres teeming with molecules such as H2O, CH4 and NH3, which exhibit a wealth of absorption features in the mid-infrared…
Examining the Potential for Methyl Halide Accumulation and Detectability in Possible Hycean-Type Atmospheres
Michaela Leung, Shang-Min Tsai, Edward W Schwieterman +2
Some sub-Neptune planets may host habitable conditions; for example "Hycean" worlds with H2 envelopes over liquid water oceans can maintain potentially hospitable pressures and tem…