Large Interferometer For Exoplanets (LIFE): I. Improved exoplanet detection yield estimates for a large mid-infrared space-interferometer mission
Artikel i vetenskaplig tidskrift, 2022

Context. One of the long-term goals of exoplanet science is the atmospheric characterization of dozens of small exoplanets in order to understand their diversity and search for habitable worlds and potential biosignatures. Achieving this goal requires a space mission of sufficient scale that can spatially separate the signals from exoplanets and their host stars and thus directly scrutinize the exoplanets and their atmospheres. Aims. We seek to quantify the exoplanet detection performance of a space-based mid-infrared (MIR) nulling interferometer that measures the thermal emission of exoplanets. We study the impact of various parameters and compare the performance with that of large single-aperture mission concepts that detect exoplanets in reflected light. Methods. We have developed an instrument simulator that considers all major astrophysical noise sources and coupled it with Monte Carlo simulations of a synthetic exoplanet population around main-sequence stars within 20 pc of the Sun. This allows us to quantify the number (and types) of exoplanets that our mission concept could detect. Considering single visits only, we discuss two different scenarios for distributing 2.5 yr of an initial search phase among the stellar targets. Different apertures sizes and wavelength ranges are investigated. Results. An interferometer consisting of four 2 m apertures working in the 4'18.5 m wavelength range with a total instrument throughput of 5% could detect up to 550 exoplanets with radii between 0.5 and 6 R-with an integrated S=N 7. At least-160 of the detected exoplanets have radii 1.5 R-. Depending on the observing scenario 25'45 rocky exoplanets (objects with radii between 0.5 and 1.5 R-) orbiting within the empirical habitable zone (eHZ) of their host stars are among the detections. With four 3.5 m apertures, the total number of detections can increase to up to 770, including-60'80 rocky eHZ planets. With four times 1 m apertures, the maximum detection yield is-315 exoplanets, including-20 rocky eHZ planets. The vast majority of small, temperate exoplanets are detected around M dwarfs. The impact of changing the wavelength range to 3'20-m or 6'17-m on the detection yield is negligible. Conclusions. A large space-based MIR nulling interferometer will be able to directly detect hundreds of small, nearby exoplanets, tens of which would be habitable world candidates. This shows that such a mission can compete with large single-aperture reflected light missions. Further increasing the number of habitable world candidates, in particular around solar-type stars, appears possible via the implementation of a multi-visit strategy during the search phase. The high median S/N of most of the detected planets will allow for first estimates of their radii and effective temperatures and will help prioritize the targets for a second mission phase to obtain high-S/N thermal emission spectra, leveraging the superior diagnostic power of the MIR regime compared to shorter wavelengths.

Infrared: planetary systems

Planets and satellites: detection

Methods: numerical

Planets and satellites: terrestrial planets

Telescopes

Instrumentation: high angular resolution

Författare

S. P. Quanz

Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich (ETH)

National Center of Competence in Research PlanetS

M. Ottiger

Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich (ETH)

E. Fontanet

Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich (ETH)

J. Kammerer

University of Delhi

Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)

European Southern Observatory (ESO)

Australian National University

F. Menti

Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich (ETH)

F. Dannert

Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich (ETH)

A. Gheorghe

Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich (ETH)

O. Absil

Universite de Liège

V. S. Airapetian

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

E. Alei

Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich (ETH)

National Center of Competence in Research PlanetS

R. Allart

Université de Montréal

D. Angerhausen

Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich (ETH)

National Center of Competence in Research PlanetS

S. Blumenthal

University of Oxford

L. A. Buchhave

Danmarks Tekniske Universitet (DTU)

J. Cabrera

Deutsches Zentrums für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR)

Carrión-González

Technische Universität Berlin

G. Chauvin

Université Grenoble Alpes

W. Danchi

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

C. Dandumont

Universite de Liège

D. Defrere

KU Leuven

C. Dorn

Universität Zürich

D. Ehrenreich

Université de Genève

S. Ertel

University of Arizona

Large Binocular Telescope Observatory

Malcolm Fridlund

Universiteit Leiden

Chalmers, Rymd-, geo- och miljövetenskap, Astronomi och plasmafysik

A. García Muñoz

Technische Universität Berlin

C. Gascón

Institut de Ciències de l'Espai (ICE) - CSIC

J. H. Girard

Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)

A. M. Glauser

Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich (ETH)

J. L. Grenfell

Deutsches Zentrums für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR)

G. Guidi

National Center of Competence in Research PlanetS

Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich (ETH)

J. Hagelberg

Université de Genève

R. Helled

Universität Zürich

Michael Ireland

Australian National University

University of Delhi

Markus Janson

Stockholms universitet

R. K. Kopparapu

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Judith Korth

Chalmers, Rymd-, geo- och miljövetenskap, Astronomi och plasmafysik

T. Kozakis

Danmarks Tekniske Universitet (DTU)

S. Kraus

University of Exeter

A. Léger

Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale

L. Leedjärv

Tartu Ülikool

T. Lichtenberg

University of Oxford

J. Lillo-Box

Centro de Astrobiologia (CAB)

H. Linz

Max-Planck-Gesellschaft

René Liseau

Chalmers, Rymd-, geo- och miljövetenskap, Astronomi och plasmafysik

J. Loicq

Universite de Liège

V. Mahendra

SRM Institute of Science and Technology

F. Malbet

Université Grenoble Alpes

J. Mathew

Australian National University

University of Delhi

B. Mennesson

Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology

M. Meyer

University of Michigan

L. Mishra

National Center of Competence in Research PlanetS

Université de Genève

Universität Bern

K. Molaverdikhani

Max-Planck-Gesellschaft

Landessternwarte Heidelberg-Königstuhl

L. Noack

Freie Universität Berlin

A. V. Oza

Universität Bern

Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology

Enric Palle

Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias

Universidad de la Laguna

H. Parviainen

Universidad de la Laguna

Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias

A. Quirrenbach

Landessternwarte Heidelberg-Königstuhl

H. Rauer

Deutsches Zentrums für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR)

I. Ribas

Institut d'Estudis Espacials de Catalunya (IEEC)

Institut de Ciències de l'Espai (ICE) - CSIC

M. Rice

Yale University

A. Romagnolo

Polish Academy of Sciences

S. Rugheimer

University of Oxford

E. W. Schwieterman

University of California

E. Serabyn

Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology

S. Sharma

Vanderbilt University

Keivan G. Stassun

University of Cambridge

J. Szulágyi

Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich (ETH)

H. S. Wang

Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich (ETH)

National Center of Competence in Research PlanetS

F. Wunderlich

Deutsches Zentrums für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR)

M. Wyatt

Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich (ETH)

Astronomy and Astrophysics

0004-6361 (ISSN) 1432-0746 (eISSN)

Vol. 664 A21

Ämneskategorier

Astronomi, astrofysik och kosmologi

Annan fysik

Signalbehandling

DOI

10.1051/0004-6361/202140366

Mer information

Senast uppdaterat

2022-09-27