Haitian Worlds and JWST: Detecting Habitable Exoplanets and Biosignatures Beyond Earth

In a detailed exploration of exoplanet habitability, the speaker traces a shift from Earth-centric thinking to a broader class of planets called Haitian worlds, which may host oceans beneath hydrogen-rich atmospheres. The talk covers how transit spectroscopy and atmospheric retrieval with the James Webb Space Telescope are revealing carbon-bearing molecules on temperate sub-neptunes, and it discusses the ongoing debate around biosignatures such as dimethyl sulfide. With examples like the planet K218B, the presentation emphasizes theory-meets-observation and the promise of detecting habitable worlds within 124 light-years.