Space-based infrared interferometry to study exoplanetary atmospheres

التفاصيل البيبلوغرافية
العنوان: Space-based infrared interferometry to study exoplanetary atmospheres
المؤلفون: Defrère, D., Léger, A., Absil, O., Beichman, C., Biller, B., Danchi, W. C., Ergenzinger, K., Eiroa, C., Ertel, S., Fridlund, M., Munoz, A. Garcia, Gillon, M., Glasse, A., Godolt, M., Grenfell, J. L., Kraus, S., Labadie, L., Lacour, S., Liseau, R., Martin, G., Mennesson, B., Micela, G., Minardi, S., Quanz, S. P., Rauer, H., Rinehart, S., Santos, N. C., Selsis, F., Surdej, J., Tian, F., Villaver, E., Wheatley, P. J., Wyatt, M.
المصدر: Experimental Astronomy 2018 (https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10686-018-9613-2)
سنة النشر: 2018
المجموعة: Astrophysics
مصطلحات موضوعية: Astrophysics - Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics, Astrophysics - Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
الوصف: 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~$\mu$m). 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 H$_2$O, CO$_2$, O$_3$, CH$_4$, and N$_2$O. 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 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.
Comment: 20 page, 3 figures, 1 table
نوع الوثيقة: Working Paper
DOI: 10.1007/s10686-018-9613-2
URL الوصول: http://arxiv.org/abs/1801.04150
رقم الأكسشن: edsarx.1801.04150
قاعدة البيانات: arXiv
الوصف
DOI:10.1007/s10686-018-9613-2