Uploaded June 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago

---

Speaker : Prof. Barbara Ercolano (University Observatory Munich,
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität)
Date : 3rd June 2025
Title : The atmospheres of discs and planets
Abstract : The gaseous atmospheres of extrasolar planets and those of
their birth environments, the protoplanetary discs, may hold the key to
understanding the observed diversity of these distant worlds and might
provide important insights on fundamental questions, including
habitability. In this talk I will review the results of recent efforts
to connect the protoplanetary disc evolution, driven by their central
star, to the formation of planets. Special attention will be given to
outflows and what can be/ has been learnt from them. Some of the
unanswered questions, rely on the understanding of the chemical
composition of atmospheric gas, particularly with regards to important
species like (polycyclic aromatic) hydrocarbons, that control the
thermodynamics in the far ultra-violet regime and play an important role
in the coupling of the atmospheric gas to magnetic fields. The same
molecules may play a very important role in the evolution of planetary
atmospheres. Current and future efforts to constrain their abundances in
discs and planets will also be reviewed.