Spring 2022, MIT. PC: Y.H.

       



About Me

I am a PhD student at Massachusetts Institute of Technology working with Professor Sara Seager. My research interests include biosignatures, habitability, photochemistry in exoplanet atmospheres, transit spectroscopy, and planetary interiors.

I got my bachelor's degree from Cornell University with major in astronomy. At Cornell, I worked under the mentorship of Professor Lisa Kaltenegger on simulation of high-resolution spectra using radiative transfer code.


Publications

High-Resolution spectral models of TRAPPIST-1e seen as a Pale Blue Dot for ELT and JWST observations
Zifan Lin and Lisa Kaltenegger
MNRAS
[ADS] [arXiv]
Hot Earth or Young Venus? A nearby transiting rocky planet mystery
Kaltenegger, L., Payne, R. C., Lin, Z., Kasting, J., Delrez, L.
[arXiv]
Photochemical Runaway in Exoplanet Atmospheres: Implications for Biosignatures
Sukrit Ranjan, Sara Seager, Zhuchang Zhan, Daniel D. B. Koll, William Bains, Janusz J. Petkowski, Jingcheng Huang, and Zifan Lin
ApJ
[ADS] [arXiv]
H2-dominated Atmosphere as an Indicator of Second-generation Rocky White Dwarf Exoplanets
Zifan Lin, Sara Seager, Sukrit Ranjan, Thea Kozakis, and Lisa Kaltenegger
ApJ Letters
[ADS] [arXiv]
Differentiating modern and prebiotic Earth scenarios for TRAPPIST-1e: high-resolution transmission spectra and predictions for JWST
Zifan Lin, Ryan J MacDonald, Lisa Kaltenegger, and David J Wilson
MNRAS
[ADS] [arXiv] [data]
Finding Signs of Life in Transits: High-resolution Transmission Spectra of Earth-like Planets around FGKM Host Stars
Lisa Kaltenegger and Zifan Lin
ApJ Letters
[ADS] [arXiv] [data]
Finding Signs of Life on Transiting Earth-like Planets: High-resolution Transmission Spectra of Earth through Time around FGKM Host Stars
Lisa Kaltenegger, Zifan Lin, and Sarah Rugheimer
ApJ
[ADS] [arXiv] [data]
High-resolution Spectra and Biosignatures of Earth-like Planets Transiting White Dwarfs
Thea Kozakis, Zifan Lin, and Lisa Kaltenegger
ApJ Letters
[ADS] [arXiv] [data]
High-resolution Transmission Spectra of Earth Through Geological Time
Lisa Kaltenegger, Zifan Lin, and Jack Madden
ApJ Letters
[ADS] [arXiv] [data]
High-resolution reflection spectra for Proxima b and Trappist-1e models for ELT observations
Zifan Lin and Lisa Kaltenegger
MNRAS
[ADS] [arXiv] [data]
The Habitability of GJ 357 d: Possible Climate and Observability
Lisa Kaltenegger, Jack Madden, Zifan Lin, Sarah Rugheimer, Antígona Segura, Rafael Luque, Enric Pallé, and Néstor Espinoza
ApJ Letters
[ADS] [arXiv] [data]


Conferences & Talks

Gordon Research Conference: Research at High Pressure
July 2022, Holderness, New Hampshire, United States
Hydrogen atmosphere as an indicator of Second-generation Rocky White Dwarf Exoplanets
Cornell Planetary Lunch Seminar
Online talk
March 2022
High-resolution transmission and reflection spectra models for terrestrial exoplanets orbiting M stars
Zifan Lin, Ryan J MacDonald, Lisa Kaltenegger, and David J Wilson
Workshop: Spatially Resolved Spectroscopy with ELTs
Online poster presentation
September 2021
Life After (Stellar) Death: Habitability Around White Dwarfs
T. Kozakis, R. MacDonald, Z. Lin, L. Kaltenegger, N. Lewis, E. Mamajek, J. McDowell, and A. Vanderburg
237th meeting of the American Astronomical Society
Poster
[ADS]
Model Spectra for Close-by Potentially Earth-like Planets Orbiting Red Suns
Zifan Lin and Lisa Kaltenegger
235th meeting of the American Astronomical Society
Poster presentation
January 2020, Honolulu, Hawai'i, United States
[ADS]
Model Spectra for the Closest Potentially Earth-like Planets Orbiting Red Suns
Zifan Lin and Lisa Kaltenegger
Emerging Researchers in Exoplanet Science (ERES) fifth annual symposium
Poster presentation
June 2019, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, United States


Education

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts
September 2020 - Present
PhD candidate in planetary science
Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
August 2016 - May 2020
Bachelor of Arts, Astronomy, Concentration in Astrophysics


Experience & Honors

  • Teaching assistant: graduate TA, MIT, 12.003, Introduction to Atmosphere, Ocean, and Climate Dynamics (Spring 2022)
  • Teaching assistant: undergraduate TA, Cornell University, PHYS 2213, Physics II: Electromagnetism (Spring 2018)
  • Travel grant ($2,000) from the Carl Sagan Institute at Cornell and Heising-Simons Foundation for presenting my work at the 235th AAS meeting (Jan 2020)
  • Phi Beta Kappa Honors Society (Spring 2019 - Present)
  • Cornell University Dean's list (4 semesters, Spring 2017 - Fall 2018)


© Zifan Lin, 2022. Template credit to Yining Hua.