Exoplanet Systems Science and Planetary Habitability AND Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxies as a Tool for New Physics

Data from the Kepler space telescope and other ground and space-based observatories have allowed astronomers to detect 3,800 planets that orbit other stars in the galaxy. The orbital periods and measured radii and masses of confirmed exoplanets cover a broad parameter space from free-floating super-Jovian planets near the hydrogen-burning limit to tidally-locked sub-Martian worlds. Some are likely small and rocky like the Earth, and those of particular interest to astrobiologists are also located in the 'habitable zone' of their stars where liquid water could be stable on their surface. However, using an integrated systems science approach to simulate planetary climate, interior, and surface processes has allowed planetary scientists to investigate the myriad factors that act to control long-term planetary habitability beyond incoming stellar radiation, and also consider why this may be important in the search for life elsewhere. In this talk I will outline my previously-published work on the effect of planet size on the operation of the carbonate-silicate cycle, exoplanetary biosignatures, and introduce the projects I will be working on while at UCI.
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Name: Mauro Valli
Title: Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxies as a Tool for New Physics

Abstract:

Sitting at the faint end of the galaxy luminosity function, dwarf spheroidal galaxies of the Milky Way are among the most compelling targets for Dark Matter indirect searches, characterized by very high mass-to-light ratios and small baryonic background and foreground (in the gamma-ray band). Going beyond the standard Cold Dark Matter paradigm, the same galaxies also offer a unique opportunity in the quest for the origin of Dark Matter.
In this talk, I will briefly review why Milky Way dwarf satellites represent today one of the most important multidisciplinary laboratories where New Physics ideas coming from the world of Particle Physics can be crucially tested with Astrophysics and Cosmology.