Space-based infrared interferometry to study exoplanetary atmospheres
Space-based infrared interferometry to study exoplanetary atmospheres
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DOI：
10.1007/s10686-018-9613-2
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发表时间：
2018-01
影响因子：
3
通讯作者：
D. Defrére;A. Léger;O. Absil;C. Beichman;B. Biller;W. Danchi;K. Ergenzinger;C. Eiroa;S. Ertel
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
D. Defrére;A. Léger;O. Absil;C. Beichman;B. Biller;W. Danchi;K. Ergenzinger;C. Eiroa;S. Ertel
寻找其他可居住的世界，并在其中寻找生命，是现代天文学的主要目标。实现这些目标的一种方法是在广泛的波长范围内获得大量系外行星的高质量光谱。虽然美国目前研究的概念主要集中在可见光/近红外波长上，在反射光中探测行星，但描述行星大气特征的一个引人注目的替代方法是中红外波段（5-20μm）。事实上，中红外观测提供了关于大气存在、表面条件（例如，温度、压力、可居住性）以及重要物种（如H2O、CO2、O3、CH 4和N2 O）的大气组成。这些信息对于研究系外行星的潜在可居住性以及在宇宙中寻找生命方面取得进展至关重要。然而，由于地球大气层的亮度和湍流，从地面获取系外行星的高质量中红外光谱极具挑战性。在本文中，我们提出了一个基于空间的中红外干涉仪的概念，可以解决这一观测挑战，并讨论了发射这样一个复杂的仪器所需的主要技术发展。
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 (5–20μm). 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.