Thompson, MA orcid.org/0000-0001-5392-909X (2020) The statistical reliability of 267-GHz JCMT observations of Venus: no significant evidence for phosphine absorption. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters, 501 (1). L18-L22. ISSN 1745-3933
Abstract
In the light of the recent announcement of the discovery of the potential biosignature phosphine in the atmosphere of Venus, I present an independent reanalysis of the original James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT) data to assess the statistical reliability of the detection. Two line detection methods are explored: low-order polynomial fits and higher order multiple polynomial fits. A non-parametric bootstrap analysis reveals that neither line detection method is able to recover a statistically significant detection. Similar to the results of other reanalyses of ALMA(Atacama Large Millimetre Array) Venus spectra, the polynomial fitting process results in false positive detections in the JCMT spectrum. There is thus no significant evidence for phosphine absorption in the JCMT Venus spectra.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Keywords: | astrobiology, methods: statistical, planets and satellites: atmospheres; planets and satellites: individual: Venus |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences (Leeds) > School of Physics and Astronomy (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 24 Nov 2021 14:54 |
Last Modified: | 24 Nov 2021 15:18 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Oxford University Press (OUP) |
Identification Number: | 10.1093/mnrasl/slaa187 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:180761 |