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 A21Ämneskategorier
Astronomi, astrofysik och kosmologi
Annan fysik
Signalbehandling
DOI
10.1051/0004-6361/202140366