Related papers: A Framework for Relative Biosignature Yields from …
Characterizing rocky exoplanet atmospheres is a key goal of exoplanet science, but interpreting such observations will require understanding the stellar UV irradiation incident on the planet from its host star. Stellar UV mediates…
In this outlook we describe what could be the next steps of the direct characterization of habitable exoplanets after first the medium and large mission projects and investigate the benefits of the spectroscopic and direct imaging…
The Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) will seek to detect and characterize potentially Earth-like planets around other stars. To ensure that the mission achieves the Astro2020 Decadal's recommended goal of 25 exoEarth candidates (EECs), we…
The recent detection of Earth-sized planets in the habitable zone of Proxima Centauri, Trappist-1 and many other nearby M-type stars has led to speculations, whether liquid water and life actually exist on these planets. To a large extent,…
The first opportunity to detect indications for life outside the Solar System may be provided already within the next decade with upcoming missions such as the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the European Extremely Large Telescope…
It may be possible to detect biosignatures of photosynthesis in an exoplanet's atmosphere. However, such a detection would likely require a dedicated study, occupying a large amount of telescope time. It is therefore prudent, while…
A planet's atmospheric constituents (e.g., O$_2$, O$_3$, H$_2$O$_v$, CO$_2$, CH$_4$, N$_2$O) can provide clues to its surface habitability, and may offer biosignature targets for remote life detection efforts. The plethora of rocky…
In the coming years and decades, advanced space- and ground-based observatories will allow an unprecedented opportunity to probe the atmospheres and surfaces of potentially habitable exoplanets for signatures of life. Life on Earth, through…
With the first observations of debris disks as well as proposed planets around white dwarfs, the question of how rocky planets around such stellar remnants can be characterized and probed for signs of life becomes tangible. White dwarfs are…
Recent discoveries of potentially habitable exoplanets have ignited the prospect of spectroscopic investigations of exoplanet surfaces and atmospheres for signs of life. This chapter provides an overview of potential surface and temporal…
The search for biosignatures necessitates developing our understanding of life under different conditions. If life can influence the climate evolution of its planet then understanding the behaviour of life-climate feedbacks under extreme…
Future space telescopes may be able to directly image $\sim$10 - 100 planets with sizes and orbits consistent with habitable surface conditions ("exo-Earth candidates" or EECs), but observers will face difficulty in distinguishing these…
Stellar X-ray and UV radiation can significantly affect the survival, composition, and long-term evolution of the atmospheres of planets in or near their host star's habitable zone (HZ). Especially interesting are planetary systems in the…
Biosignature detection in the atmospheres of Earth-like exoplanets is one of the most significant and ambitious goals for astronomy, astrobiology, and humanity. Molecular oxygen is among the strongest indicators of life on Earth, but it…
Launching a starshade to rendezvous with the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope would provide the first opportunity to directly image the habitable zones of nearby sunlike stars in the coming decade. A report on the science and feasibility…
Resolved observations of millimetre-sized dust, tracing larger planetesimals, have pinpointed the location of 26 Edgeworth-Kuiper belt analogs. We report that a belt's distance $R$ to its host star correlates with the star's luminosity…
The detection of exoplanets orbiting other stars has revolutionized our view of the cosmos. First results suggest that it is teeming with a fascinating diversity of rocky planets, including those in the habitable zone. Even our closest…
(abridged) Context. Wide binaries are a potential pathway for the formation of hot Jupiters. The binary fraction among host stars is an important discriminator between competing formation theories, but has not been well characterised.…
We use a probability theory framework to discuss the search for biosignatures. This perspective allows us to analyse the potential for different biosignatures to provide convincing evidence of extraterrestrial life and to formalise…
The investigation of exoplanetary habitability is integral to advancing our knowledge of extraterrestrial life potential and detailing the environmental conditions of distant worlds. In this analysis, we explore the properties of exoplanets…