Nikku Madhusudhan is an Indian Professor of Astrophysics and Exoplanetary Science at the Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge. He is credited with developing the technique of atmospheric retrieval to infer the compositions of exoplanets, and with coining the term “hycean planet” to describe a theorised class of planet which hosts a liquid water ocean beneath a hydrogen-rich atmosphere.
Nikku Madhusudhan | |
|---|---|
| Born | Nikku Madhusudhan |
| Alma mater | IIT-BHU (B. Tech) MIT (MS, PhD) |
| Awards | |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Exoplanets |
| Institutions | Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge MIT Princeton University Yale University |
| Thesis | Retrieval of Atmospheric Properties of Extrasolar Planets (2009) |
| Doctoral advisor | Sara Seager |
| Website | people |
Biography
editMadhusudhan obtained a B. Tech at Indian Institute of Technology (BHU) Varanasi before pursuing an MS and PhD at MIT. His doctoral advisor was Sara Seager.[4]
During his PhD, Madhusudhan developed an improved method for atmospheric retrieval, the process of inferring the composition and temperature structure of exoplanet atmospheres from their observed spectra.[5] In 2012, Madhusudhan showed that the mass and radius of the super-Earth 55 Cancri e was consistent with a carbon-rich interior.[6] In 2014, he led a team which obtained high-precision measurements of the atmospheric water abundances of three hot Jupiters, finding less water than would be expected given planet formation models at the time.[7]
Madhusudhan was part of a team that detected titanium oxide in the atmosphere of the planet WASP-19b.[8] In 2020, Madhusudhan led a team who studied the interior and atmosphere of the mini-Neptune exoplanet K2-18b.[9] They found that in certain cases, liquid water may exist on the planet's surface, albeit at temperatures and pressures higher than STP.[10]
References
edit- ^ "MERAC Prizes". unige.ch.
- ^ "News, IUPAP". iupap.org.
- ^ "Professor M. K. Vainu Bappu Gold Medal, IUPAP". iupap.org.
- ^ "Exoplanet Atmospheres - Sara Seager". saraseager.com.
- ^ Madhusudhan, Nikku; et al. (December 2009). "A Temperature and Abundance Retrieval Method for Exoplanet Atmospheres". The Astrophysical Journal. 707 (1): 24–39. arXiv:0910.1347. Bibcode:2009ApJ...707...24M. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/707/1/24.
- ^ "Diamond Planet Found - Part of a "Whole New Class?"". nationalgeographic.com. Archived from the original on 26 February 2021.
- ^ "Hubble Finds Three Surprisingly Dry Exoplanets". hubblesite.org.
- ^ Sedaghati, Elyar; et al. (2017). "Detection of titanium oxide in the atmosphere of a hot Jupiter". Nature. 549 (7671): 238–241. arXiv:1709.04118. Bibcode:2017Natur.549..238S. doi:10.1038/nature23651.
- ^ Madhusudhan, Nikku; et al. (March 2020). "The Interior and Atmosphere of the Habitable-zone Exoplanet K2-18b". The Astrophysical Journal Letters. 891 (1). L7. arXiv:2002.11115. Bibcode:2020ApJ...891L...7M. doi:10.3847/2041-8213/ab7229.
- ^ "Potentially habitable exoplanet could broaden the search for life beyond Earth". cnn.com.