TENNYSON1	Molecules in Exoplanets
Type	Theoretical
#students	1 or 2 together
Orientation	Why is the scientific problem of interest at all? With the discovery that exoplanets are ubiquitous, the emphasis has shifted to trying to characterise them. This is done by studying molecular spectra which gives rise to a major demand for laboratory data.
How	How is the research going to shed light on the given problem?. The ExoMol project (see www.exomol.com), as funded by the European Research Council (ERC), aims to provide comprehensive data on the spectroscopy of all molecules which thought to be important components of exoplanet atmospheres. This will be done by constructing, testing (against laboratory experiment) and using appropriate theoretical models for each molecule.
What	What is the specific thing that the student will do, and how does it fit inside the overall project? There are a number of openings for student projects in this area: calculating molecular cooling functions, partition functions, linelists for simple (diatomic) molecules and constructing tables of experimental energy levels. The student will join a team working on this problem and will have the option of working singly or in a pair.
Special Knowledge	Student(s) doing this project will find MSci/MSc course 4431 Molecular Physics helpful.
Supervisor	Prof. Jonathan Tennyson j.tennyson@ucl.ac.uk