Related papers: Interferometric Space Missions for the Search for …
The DARWIN mission is an Infrared free flying interferometer mission based on the new technique of nulling interferometry. Its main objective is to detect and characterize other Earth-like planets, analyze the composition of their…
The proposed infrared space interferometry mission Darwin has two main aims: (i) to detect and characterize exo-planets similar to the Earth, and (ii) to carry out astrophysical imaging in the wavelength range 6 - 20 micron at a sensitivity…
One of the biggest challenges associated with a nulling interferometer-based approach to detecting extra-solar Earth-like planets comes from the extremely stringent requirements of pathlength, polarization and amplitude matching in the…
One of the long-term goals of exoplanet science is the (atmospheric) characterization of a large sample (>100) of terrestrial planets to assess their potential habitability and overall diversity. Hence, it is crucial to quantitatively…
Nulling interferometry is a technique providing high angular resolution which is the core of the space missions Darwin and the Terrestrail Planet Finder. The first objective is to reach a deep degree of starlight cancelation in the range 6…
During the last few years, considerable effort has been directed towards large-scale (>> $1 Billion US) missions to detect and characterize earth-like planets around nearby stars, such as the Terrestrial Planet Finder Interferometer (TPF-I)…
In this paper we present and discuss the criteria for selecting potential target stars suitable for the search for Earth like planets, with a special emphasis on the stellar aspects of habitability. Missions that search for terrestrial…
In this paper, we review the various ways in which an infrared stellar interferometer can be used to perform direct detection of extrasolar planetary systems. We first review the techniques based on classical stellar interferometry, where…
We use $N_{t}$, the number of exoplanets observed in time $t$, as a science metric to study direct-search missions like Terrestrial Planet Finder. In our model, $N$ has 27 parameters, divided into three categories: 2 astronomical, 7…
One of the persistent complications in searches for transiting exoplanets is the low percentage of the detected candidates that ultimately prove to be planets, which significantly increases the load on the telescopes used for the follow-up…
The Darwin and TPF-I missions are Infrared free flying interferometer missions based on nulling interferometry. Their main objective is to detect and characterize other Earth-like planets, analyze the composition of their atmospheres and…
Nulling interferometry, a powerful technique for high-resolution imaging of the close neighbourhood of bright astrophysical objets, is currently considered for future space missions such as Darwin or the Terrestrial Planet Finder…
The discovery of extra-solar planets is one of the greatest achievements of modern astronomy. The detection of planets with a wide range of masses demonstrates that extra-solar planets of low mass exist. In this paper we describe a mission,…
Diffraction fundamentally limits our ability to image and characterize exoplanets. Current and planned coronagraphic searches for exoplanets are making incredible strides but are fundamentally limited by the inner working angle of a few…
One of the great quests of astronomy is to obtain the spectrum of a terrestrial planet orbiting within the habitable zone of its star, and the dominant challenge in doing so is to isolate the light of the planet from that of the star.…
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…
We briefly review the various proposed scenarios that may lead to nonthermal radio emissions from exoplanetary systems (planetary magnetospheres, magnetosphere-ionosphere and magnetosphere-satellite coupling, and star-planet interactions),…
Earth-sized planets around nearby stars are being detected for the first time by ground-based radial velocity and space-based transit surveys. This milestone is opening the path towards the definition of missions able to directly detect the…
One of the primary objectives in modern astronomy is to discover and study planets with characteristics similar to Earth. This pursuit involves analyzing the spectra of exoplanets and searching for biosignatures. Contamination of spectra by…
Nulling interferometry is a promising technique for direct detection of exoplanets. However, the performance of current devices is limited by different perturbations sources and especially by its sensitivity to any phase aberrations. The…