About Me

My name is Liton Majumdar, and I am a faculty member at India’s first multi- and inter-disciplinary School of Earth and Planetary Sciences (SEPS) — a unique hub that brings together Astrophysics, Planetary Science, and Earth Science under one roof — at the National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER) in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India. I lead the Exoplanets and Planetary Formation Group, where we explore the exciting frontiers of how planets are born and how they evolve. I also hold a visiting scientist position at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California, USA.

Our research lies at the intersection of exoplanetary atmospheres, molecular astrophysics (also known as astrochemistry), planet formation, and exoplanetary interiors. We aim to unravel the physical and chemical processes in protoplanetary disks, trace the pathways of planet formation, and characterize the atmospheres and interiors of distant worlds. I am also actively engaged in developing and applying machine learning techniques—particularly deep learning—to study exoplanetary atmospheres. By harnessing massive datasets from missions such as the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), alongside high-resolution grids of theoretical models, my group and I are working to advance the characterization of planets beyond our solar system. These data-driven approaches are unlocking new insights into the diversity, structure, and origins of exoplanetary atmospheres.

In our group, we have developed modern, state-of-the-art forward and retrieval models of exoplanetary atmospheres — NEXOTRANS — and exoplanetary interiors — SERPINT. We use these models in conjunction with high-resolution observational data from the JWST to explore atmospheric diversity and its possible interaction with the unobservable interiors of different classes of exoplanets. In parallel, we study planet formation by constraining the ongoing physical processes and chemical composition of protoplanetary disks using our modern, state-of-the-art disk thermochemical model, PEGASIS, which we integrate with high-resolution interferometric observations from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). These efforts help quantify the reservoirs of volatile elements—carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen—available for incorporation into forming planets. By bridging insights from atmospheric forward models and retrievals (via JWST + NEXOTRANS) with disk physics and chemistry (via ALMA + PEGASIS), our research aims to uncover how the initial chemical environments of planet-forming disks shape the observable diversity of exoplanetary atmospheres.

I am also deeply involved in contributing to the development of future space- and ground-based observatories. I collaborate with NASA's Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) and ESA's Large Interferometer For Exoplanets (LIFE), as well as next-generation ground-based facilities such as the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT), and the Square Kilometre Array (SKA). I currently serve on the steering committee of the HWO Science Working Group, focusing on the origin and evolution of planetary systems (HWO: SSIC Birth & Evolution). This NASA-selected team is tasked with refining the mission’s science priorities—guided by recommendations from Astro2020— and defining the scientific goals and objectives of the observatory.

In parallel, I am actively involved with an Indian consortium as a core science team member of a proposed dedicated Indian space mission, ExoWorlds, which is focused on the atmospheric characterization of exoplanets beyond the era of JWST. This mission aims to contribute significantly to our growing understanding of how exoplanetary systems form, evolve, and potentially harbor life.