The Science of Exoplanets and Their Systems
Journal article, 2013

A scientific forum on The Future Science of Exoplanets and Their Systems, sponsored by Europlanet(*) and the International Space Science Institute (ISSI)(dagger) and co-organized by the Center for Space and Habitability (CSH)(double dagger) of the University of Bern, was held during December 5 and 6, 2012, in Bern, Switzerland. It gathered 24 well-known specialists in exoplanetary, Solar System, and stellar science to discuss the future of the fast-expanding field of exoplanetary research, which now has nearly 1000 objects to analyze and compare and will develop even more quickly over the coming years. The forum discussions included a review of current observational knowledge, efforts for exoplanetary atmosphere characterization and their formation, water formation, atmospheric evolution, habitability aspects, and our understanding of how exoplanets interact with their stellar and galactic environment throughout their history. Several important and timely research areas of focus for further research efforts in the field were identified by the forum participants. These scientific topics are related to the origin and formation of water and its delivery to planetary bodies and the role of the disk in relation to planet formation, including constraints from observations as well as star-planet interaction processes and their consequences for atmosphere-magnetosphere environments, evolution, and habitability. The relevance of these research areas is outlined in this report, and possible themes for future ISSI workshops are identified that may be proposed by the international research community over the coming 2-3 years.

habitable zone

hot jupiters

giant planets

hd 189733b

Exoplanets

Planet formation

super-earths

mass-loss

Stellar activity

Water delivery

Water origin

Habitability

Disks

terrestrial planet formation

emission-spectrum

primitive atmospheres

transiting exoplanets

Author

H. Lammer

Osterreichische Akademie Der Wissenschaften

M. Blanc

Observatoire Midi-Pyrenees

W. Benz

University of Bern

M. Fridlund

European Space Agency (ESA)

V. C. du Foresto

LESIA - Laboratoire d'Etudes Spatiales et d'Instrumentation en Astrophysique

International Space Science Institute

M. Gudel

Institut fur Astronomie, Vienna

H. Rauer

German Aerospace Center (DLR)

S. Udry

University of Geneva

R. M. Bonnet

International Space Science Institute

M. Falanga

International Space Science Institute

D. Charbonneau

Harvard University

R. Helled

Tel Aviv University

W. Kley

University of Tübingen

J. Linsky

University of Colorado at Boulder

L. T. Elkins-Tanton

Carnegie Institution of Washington

Y. Alibert

University of Bern

E. Chassefière

University of Paris-Sud

T. Encrenaz

LESIA - Laboratoire d'Etudes Spatiales et d'Instrumentation en Astrophysique

A. Hatzes

Thüringer Landessternwarte Tautenburg

D. Lin

University of California

René Liseau

Chalmers, Earth and Space Sciences, Radio Astronomy and Astrophysics

W. Lorenzen

University of Rostock

S. N. Raymond

Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux

Astrobiology

1531-1074 (ISSN)

Vol. 13 9 793-813

Subject Categories (SSIF 2011)

Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology

DOI

10.1089/ast.2013.0997

More information

Latest update

4/23/2025