small exoplanet chemical evolution

I coupled my atmospheric escape model, IsoFATE, to the magma ocean/equilibrium chemistry model, Atmodeller and predicted an oxidation gradient spanning the radius valley. Through atmospheric fractionation and interior exchange, planets become He-, CO2/CO- and O2-enriched with increasing oxidation state.

Cherubim et al. 2025

I wrote an escape code from scratch and predicted strong deuterium and helium enrichment through atmospheric fractionation for small planets near the radius valley.

deuterium/helium atmospheres

Cherubim et al. 2024

I led the discovery of TOI-1695 b, a potential water world. Through a statistical analysis of keystone planets - those with competing predictions from thermally-driven escape vs. gas-depleted formation - I showed that planet formation around low-mass stars is likely dominated by a different formation pathway than for Sun-like stars.

keystone water world discovery

Cherubim et al. 2023

coming soon: first Earth-like exoplanet atmosphere!

I've detected an unambiguous transmission spectroscopy feature in the atmosphere of a super-Earth. The survey was motivated by, and is consistent with, my model predictions.

in review