Cloud Academy 3: Cloud Formation and Properties in Extrasolar Planets

Clouds and hazes form in nearly every type of planetary atmosphere. They can fundamentally impact the atmospheric structure and spectra, and even the planets’ evolution and habitability. Our school will focus on physical models for cloud and haze formation in different radiation environments. It will include reviews on exoplanet observations, atmospheric models, and laboratory studies, as well as contributed talks presenting the latest results. Continuing the legacy of Cloud Academy I, in Cloud Academy 3 we will bring together a multi-disciplinary community to connect observations, models, and experiments.

Dates: March 26-31, 2023

Venue: Les Houches Advanced School for Physics [ Link to the Venue ]

Topics covered:
Cloud and haze formation and evolution in Earth Atmosphere – Radiative Transfer and Polarization in Atmosphere Characterization – Atmospheric Circulation Regimes for Solar System and Exoplanets
– Clouds and Hazes in the Early Earth – Clouds and Planetary Habitability – Clouds and Hazes in Jupiter, Saturn, Titan – Clouds and Hazes in Strongly Irradiated Exoplanets – Clouds and Hazes in Weakly Irradiated -Exoplanets and Brown Dwarfs

Science Program: The school will consist of invited lectures, invited review talks, contributed talks, posters, and extended discussion sessions. The invited lectures will provide a thorough introduction to the key topics covered in the school and will be accompanied by practice / hands-on sessions, where participants put in practice what they have learned in the lectures. Invited review talks will provide overviews of the frontiers of the relevant fields. Contributed talks and posters will bring exciting new results to the school and will help engage the participants in the scientific discourse.

Venue and Lodging: The school will be held a the Les Houches Advanced School for Physics in the French Alps. The school is known for its long tradition of highly interactive, focused, and high-level schools on the frontiers of physics. The Les Houches School will offer accommodation on site, in charming chalets scattered on the hillside with a majestic view of the Mt Blanc. The school’s modern lecture hall provides an ideal setting for presentations and discussion sessions. The on-site restaurant provides breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the participants. The costs of the accommodation and food are included in the school registration fee. 

Application and Registration: We anticipate a significant oversubscription to the school, the attendance of which is limited to sixty participants. Those who were registered participants in Cloud Academy II will automatically be assigned a seat in Cloud Academy 3, as long as they registered by the deadline. There will be a few unallocated seats available at CA3. If you were not a CAII participant, and are interested in coming, please complete the application form. No payment or commitment is required for the application. We anticipate notifying the selected the participants latest by November 20th, 2022. Selected participants will then be asked to confirm their participation latest by December 1st. The school registration fee will be around 650 Euro, which includes the accommodation, food, school expenses, and coffee breaks. The registration fee will be paid directly to the school on-site. 

Organizing Committee:

Daniel Apai (Chair, University of Arizona, NExSS), Mickaël Bonnefoy (Université Grenoble Alpes, Department of Physics, CNRS, CNES, IPAG),  Christiane Helling (Institute for Space Research Graz, Austrian Academy of Science), Nicolas Iro (University of Vienna), Mark Marley (NASA Ames Research Center, NExSS), Veronique Vuitton (Institut de Planétologie et d’Astrophysique, Université Grenoble Alpes, Department of Physics, CNRS, CNES, IPAG). 

Lecturers and Invited Speakers:

Mickael Bonnefoy (U Grenoble), Gaël Chauvin (Côte d’Azur Observatory), Christiane Helling (Institute for Space Research Graz), Nicolas Iro (University Vienna), Mark Marley (NASA Ames Research Center, NExSS), Vivien Parmentier (Oxford), Daphne Stam (Delft University), Véronique Vuitton (Univ. Grenoble),  Daniel Apai (University of Arizona, NExSS), Laura Kreidberg (Max Planck Institute for Astronomy), Ruth Signorelli (ETH), Theodora Karalidi (University of Central Florida), Leigh Fletcher (University of Leicester).

School Program