Exoplanet atmospheres: A theoretical outlook

With over two dozen exoplanet atmospheres observed today, the field of exoplanet atmospheres is solidly established. The highlights of exoplanet atmosphere studies include: detection of molecular spectral features; constraints on atmospheric vertical temperature structure; detection of day-night temperature gradients; and a new numerical approach to atmosphere temperature and abundance retrieval. As hot Jupiter observations and interpretation are maturing, the next frontier is super Earth atmospheres. Theoretical models of super Earth atmospheres are moving forward with observational hopes pinned on the James Webb Space Telescope, scheduled for launch in 2014. Further in the future lies direct imaging attempts to answer the enigmatic and ancient question, “Are we alone?” via atmospheric biosignatures.