Title: The Big Picture Puzzle of Exoplanet High-Energy Irradiation

Abstract: X-ray and ultraviolet radiation sculpt the formation and evolution of planetary atmospheres, but our observations of these wavelength regimes are limited for most exoplanet host stars. The bulk of this emission for most cool dwarfs is formed in the hot layers of the star above the photosphere: the chromosphere, transition region, and corona, all of which are heated by a complicated combination of non-thermal processes and therefore difficult for current stellar atmosphere models to emulate. Many hours of space telescope time have been dedicated to remedying the lack of data, but some pieces of the puzzle remain, most notably in the extreme ultraviolet (1-912 Angstroms) which has no operational observing facilities. I will describe the differential emission measure method of filling in this gap using other data and outline the creation of a spectral library that will cover a wide range of stellar masses and ages, enabling statistically rigorous approaches to multiple open questions in exoplanet science.

Host: Arvind Gupta

Seminar held in 538 Davey or please email CEHW-SEMINAR-QUESTIONS@lists.psu.edu to attend virtually.