Exoplanet Diversity in the Era of Space-based Direct Imaging Missions
Abstract
This whitepaper discusses the diversity of exoplanets that could be detected by future observations, so that comparative exoplanetology can be performed in the upcoming era of large space-based flagship missions. The primary focus will be on characterizing Earth-like worlds around Sun-like stars. However, we will also be able to characterize companion planets in the system simultaneously. This will not only provide a contextual picture with regards to our Solar system, but also presents a unique opportunity to observe size dependent planetary atmospheres at different orbital distances. We propose a preliminary scheme based on chemical behavior of gases and condensates in a planet's atmosphere that classifies them with respect to planetary radius and incident stellar flux.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.1803.03812,
title = {Exoplanet Diversity in the Era of Space-based Direct Imaging Missions},
author = {Ravi Kopparapu and Eric Hebrard and Rus Belikov and Natalie M. Batalha and Gijs D. Mulders and Chris Stark and Dillon Teal and Shawn Domagal-Goldman and Dawn Gelino and Avi Mandell and Aki Roberge and Stephen Rinehart and Stephen R. Kane and Yasuhiro Hasegawa and Wade Henning and Brian Hicks and Vardan Adibekyan and Edward W. Schwieterman and Erika Kohler and Johanna Teske and Natalie Hinkel and Conor Nixon and Kevin France and William Danchi and Jacob Haqq-Misra and Eric T. Wolf and Scott D. Guzewich and Benjamin Charnay and Giada Arney and Hilairy E. Hartnett and Eric D. Lopez and Dante Minniti and Joe Renaud and Vladimir Airapetian and Chuanfei Dong and Anthony D. Del Genio and Melissa Trainer and Gioia Rau and Adam Jensen and Michael Way and Carey M. Lisse and Wladimir Lyra and Franck Marchis and Daniel Jontof-Hutter and Patrick Young and Ray Pierrehumbert and Chester E. Harman and Jonathan Fortney and Bill Moore and Steven Beckwith and Everett Shock and Steve Desch and Kathleen E. Mandt and Noam Izenberg and Eric B. Ford and Shannon Curry and Caleb Scharf and Ariel Anbar},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1803.03812},
year = {2018}
}
Comments
A white paper submitted to the National Academy of Sciences Exoplanet Science Strategy