Related papers: SIOUX project: a simultaneous multiband camera for…
The characterization of extrasolar earth-like atmospheres for biosignatures remains one of the most compelling and elusive challenges in astronomy. Coronagraphy, nulling interferometry and free-flying occulters have been advanced as…
While high-resolution cross-correlation spectroscopy (HRCCS) techniques have proven effective at characterizing the atmospheres of transiting and non-transiting hot Jupiters, the limitations of these techniques are not well understood. We…
Multi-wavelength transit and secondary-eclipse light-curve observations are some of the most powerful techniques to probe the thermo-chemical properties of exoplanets. Although the large planet-to-star brightness contrast and few available…
Temperate terrestrial exoplanets are likely common objects, but their discovery and characterization is very challenging. Concepts for optimized space missions to overcome these challenges are being studied. The LIFE initiative focuses on…
The far-infrared (far-IR) spectral window plays host to a wide range of spectroscopic diagnostics with which to study planetary disk systems and exoplanets at wavelengths completely blocked by the Earth atmosphere. These include the thermal…
Escaping exoplanet atmospheres have been observed as deep transit signatures in a few specific spectral lines. Detections have been made in the hydrogen Ly-$\alpha$ line, the metastable helium line at 10830 {\AA} and some UV lines of…
Within the next few years, GAIA and several instruments aiming at imag- ing extrasolar planets will see first light. In parallel, low mass planets are being searched around red dwarfs which offer more favourable conditions, both for radial…
The search for habitable exoplanets and life beyond the Solar System is one of the most compelling scientific opportunities of our time. Nevertheless, the high cost of building facilities that can address this topic and the keen public…
Exoplanets orbiting close to their host star are expected to support a large ionosphere, which extends to larger pressures than witnessed in our Solar System. These ionospheres can be investigated with ground-based transit observations of…
By providing sensitive sub-arcsecond images and integral field spectroscopy in the 25 - 400 micron wavelength range, a far-IR interferometer will revolutionize our understanding of planetary system formation, reveal otherwise-undetectable…
High-resolution spectroscopy provides unique constraints on exoplanet atmospheric composition and dynamics. The past decade of ground-based campaigns has accumulated extensive public archives, yet many observations remain unanalysed. We…
With over 1800 planets discovered outside of the Solar System in the past two decades, the field of exoplanetology has broadened our perspective on planetary systems. Research priorities are now moving from planet detection to planet…
One of the big challenges in exoplanet science is to determine the atmospheric makeup of extrasolar planets, and to find biosignatures that hint at the existence of biochemical processes on another world. The biomarkers we are trying to…
CONTEXT: High-precision stellar analyses require hydrodynamic modeling to interpret chemical abundances or oscillation modes. Exoplanet atmosphere studies require stellar background spectra to be known along the transit path while detection…
The technique of simultaneous spectral differential imaging (SSDI) is used to image directly brown dwarfs and exoplanets around nearby stars. An analytical PSF model is first presented with numerical simulations to estimate the PSF noise…
High-resolution Doppler spectroscopy is a powerful tool for identifying molecular species in the atmospheres of both transiting and non-transiting exoplanets. Currently, such data is analysed using cross-correlation techniques to detect the…
When the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) was conceived and its first science cases defined, exoplanets had not been detected. Later studies, however, showed that optical and near-infrared photometric and…
Measuring the orbits of directly-imaged exoplanets requires precise astrometry at the milliarcsec level over long periods of time due to their wide separation to the stars ($\gtrsim$10 au) and long orbital period ($\gtrsim$20 yr). To reach…
Direct detection of exoplanets around nearby stars requires advanced Adaptive Optics (AO) systems. High order systems are needed to reach high Strehl Ratio (SR) in near infrared and optical wavelengths on future Giant Segmented Mirror…
Previous generation of instruments have the opportunity to discover thousands of extra-solar planets and more will come with the current and future planet-search missions. In order to go one step further in the characterization of…