Space-based infrared interferometry to study exoplanetary atmospheres
Artikel i vetenskaplig tidskrift, 2018
The quest for other habitable worlds and the search for life among them are major goals of modern astronomy. One way to make progress towards these goals is to obtain high-quality spectra of a large number of exoplanets over a broad range of wavelengths. While concepts currently investigated in the United States are focused on visible/NIR wavelengths, where the planets are probed in reflected light, a compelling alternative to characterize planetary atmospheres is the mid-infrared waveband (5–20 μm). Indeed, mid-infrared observations provide key information on the presence of an atmosphere, the surface conditions (e.g., temperature, pressure, habitability), and the atmospheric composition in important species such as H2O, CO2, O3, CH4, and N2O. This information is essential to investigate the potential habitability of exoplanets and to make progress towards the search for life in the Universe. Obtaining high-quality mid-infrared spectra of exoplanets from the ground is however extremely challenging due to the overwhelming brightness and turbulence of the Earth’s atmosphere. In this paper, we present a concept of space-based mid-infrared interferometer that can tackle this observing challenge and discuss the main technological developments required to launch such a sophisticated instrument.
Space interferometer
Infrared astronomy
Exoplanet
TPF-I
Bio-signatures
Darwin
Habitability
Författare
D. Defrere
Universite de Liège
A. Léger
Université Paris-Sud
O. Absil
Universite de Liège
C. Beichman
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
B. Biller
University of Edinburgh
W. Danchi
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
K. Ergenzinger
Airbus Group
C. Eiroa
Universidad Autonoma de Madrid (UAM)
S. Ertel
University of Arizona
Malcolm Fridlund
Universiteit Leiden
Antonio García Muñoz
Technische Universität Berlin
Michaël Gillon
Universite de Liège
A. Glasse
UK Astronomy Technology Centre
M. Godolt
Technische Universität Berlin
J. L. Grenfell
Deutsches Zentrums für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR)
S. Kraus
University of Exeter
L. Labadie
Universität zu Köln
S. Lacour
LESIA - Laboratoire d'Etudes Spatiales et d'Instrumentation en Astrophysique
René Liseau
Chalmers, Rymd-, geo- och miljövetenskap, Astronomi och plasmafysik
G. Martin
Institut de Planetologie et d'Astrophysique de Grenoble
B. Mennesson
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology
G. Micela
Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)
S. Minardi
Leibniz-Institut Für Astrophysik Potsdam
S. P. Quanz
Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich (ETH)
H. Rauer
Deutsches Zentrums für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR)
Technische Universität Berlin
S. Rinehart
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
N. C. Santos
Universidade do Porto
F. Selsis
Université de Bordeaux
J. Surdej
Universite de Liège
F. Tian
Tsinghua University
E. Villaver
Universidad Autonoma de Madrid (UAM)
P. J. Wheatley
The University of Warwick
M. Wyatt
University of Cambridge
Experimental Astronomy
0922-6435 (ISSN) 1572-9508 (eISSN)
Vol. 46 3 543-560Ämneskategorier
Astronomi, astrofysik och kosmologi
Interaktionsteknik
Infrastruktur
Onsala rymdobservatorium
DOI
10.1007/s10686-018-9613-2