Klaus Pontoppidan (JPL): "The Origins of Planetary Atmospheres"

This presentation explores questions related to the emergence of habitable conditions, and to the origins of the architecture and chemistry of planets in general. Planets form from materials transported from the interstellar medium into and through protoplanetary disks. Hence, to understand the ubiquity, or rarity, of elements critical for life as we know it, we must understand the chemically complicated conditions in planet-forming regions. Initial observations of the chemical composition of exoplanetary atmospheres – their complement of particularly carbon and oxygen – are often interpreted in the context of protoplanetary disks. I will review our current knowledge of the chemistry of the primary planet-forming region around young stars, show how JWST is revolutionizing our understanding, and look forward to the future in the context of the Probe Infrared Mission for Astrophysics (PRIMA).