The Large UV Optical IR survey telescope Debra Fischer Yale University
How do we identify worlds that are most promising for life? Host star insolation determines the probability of retaining water. Habitable zone: Luminosity is a good filter for identifying potentially habitable worlds. (Kaltenegger 2017, Zeng et al 2016)
Transiting Planets in the HZ (dots scale to 0-1, 1-1.5, 1.5-2 R E ) (Kaltenegger 2017)
Period [days] 1 10 100 100 10,000 Distances RV detected exoplanets Transiting exoplanets...distance matters! 10 100 1000 Distance from Earth [parsecs] Image credit: Hanno Rein Open Exoplanet Catalog
Transiting Planets the TESS difference Non-Kepler Kepler TESS (simulated) Barclay, Pepper, Quintana 2018 (image credit to Z. Berta-Thompson)
Image credit: Aki Roberge Inner working angle: For IWA = 100 mas (1AU @ 10pc): 4-m telescope, 6-m starshade, z=6200 km
Technology development: Full scale petal with edge profile for contrast < 10-10 Photo credit: Aki Roberge
Advances in Coronagraphy Vector Vortex coronograph - Mostly insensitive to low-order - wavefront aberrations - Smaller inner working angle (~ 2!/D) - - High throughput, broad - instantaneous bandpass - - Machine learning post-processing - techniques
RV-detected Planets in the HZ (dots scale to 0-5, 5-10 M E ) All are orbiting lowmass stars We know the exoplanets are there How will we find them for next generation imaging missions? (Kaltenegger 2017)
Next-generation groundbased spectrographs; EXPRES just commissioned at the Lowell Obs 4.3-m DCT R=150,000 390 770 nm Vacuum chamber stability Vibration isolation Laser frequency comb Well-characterized CCD Short-term instrumental precision <10 cm/s.
The next generation of PRV instruments (e.g., ESPRESSO, EXPRES, NEID) are going to deliver rocky planets in the HZs around nearby stars.
Ecosystem of exoplanet missions: Gaia, TESS, CHEOPS, JWST, WFIRST NASA HQ four decadal mission concept studies to develop concept missions for next generation flagships. HabEx: image exoplanets, measure atmospheric spectra, general astrophysics Lynx: X-ray observatory with excellent angular resolution, high thoughput, large FOV, high spectral resolution OST: far IR observatory w/ 3 order magnitude gain in sensitivity relative to Herschel, high angular resolution, transmission spectroscopy
LUVOIR Large UV / Optical / Infrared Surveyor (LUVOIR) A space telescope concept in tradition of Hubble Broad science capabilities Far-UV to near-ir bandpass Two architectures: ~8-m and 15-m telescopes Suite of imagers and spectrographs 5-year prime mission, serviceable and upgradable Guest observer driven
Imagine astronomy with LUVOIR 2.4 m Low-mass galaxy at z = 2 with HST 15.1 m: LUVOIR-A Low-mass galaxy at z = 2 with LUVOIR-A Credit: G. Snyder (STScI)
Solar System remote sensing Pluto with HST Pluto with LUVOIR-A Credit: NASA / New Horizons / R. Parramon
Monitoring Solar System ocean moons Europa jets observed with HST UV hydrogen emission Europa jets observed with LUVOIR-A Roth et al. (2014) Credit: G. Ballester (LPL)
Imaging Earth 2.0 Solar System at13 parsec with coronagraph and 12-m telescope H 2 O H 2 O CH 4 Inner working angle ~ 3.5 λ / D O 2 0.4 microns 2.4 microns Credit: L. Pueyo / M. N Diaye / A. Roberge
The exoplanet zoo Apriil 24, 2018 Credit: LUVOIR Tools
The LUVOIR instruments Observational challenge Faint planets next to bright stars Extreme Coronagraph for LIving Planetary Systems (ECLIPS) Contrast < 10-10 Low resolution imaging spectroscopy Bandpass: 0.2 μm to 2.0 μm Tech development via WFIRST coronagraph WFIRST HLC WFIRST SPC Apriil 24, 2018 19
The LUVOIR instruments Observational challenge Very cold to very hot gases LUVOIR UV Multi-Object Spectrograph (LUMOS) R = 500 63,000 Bandpass: 100 nm to 400 nm FOV: 3 x 1.6 (FUV), 1.3 x 1.6 (NUV) FUV imaging channel Heritage from STIS, COS, & NIRSPEC Europa geysers HST STIS UV instrument
The LUVOIR instruments Observational challenge Imaging the ultra faint and very small at high resolution High-Definition Imager (HDI) 2 x 3 arcmin field-of-view Bandpass: 0.2 μm to 2.5 μm Nyquist sampled Micro-arcsec astrometry capability (measure planet masses, etc.) Heritage from HST WFC3 & WFIRST HST Wide Field Camera 3
POLLUX: a European contribution to the LUVOIR mission study UV spectro-polarimeter with high resolution point-source capability (R ~ 120,000). Circular + linear polarizations and unpolarized light Defined & designed by consortium of 10 European institutions, with leadership/support from CNES Builds off Arago mission concept. Instrument study could serve as basis for a future ESA contribution to LUVOIR
Segmented, deployable telescope
Difference between LUVOIR and HabEx? Both LUVOIR and HabEx have two primary science goals Habitable exoplanets & biosignatures Broad range of general astrophysics The two architectures will be driven by difference in focus For LUVOIR, both goals are on equal footing. LUVOIR will be a general purpose great observatory, a successor to HST and JWST in the 8 16 m class HabEx will be optimized for exoplanet imaging, but also enable a range of general astrophysics. It is a more focused mission in the 4 6.5 m class Similar exoplanet goals, differing in quantitative levels of ambition
The discovery of exoplanets resonates with the public. From music bands
to Citizen Science. K2-138 system with 5 planets discovered with the help of Exoplanet Explorers (Zooniverse)
The discovery of exoplanets resonate with the public. From music bands to Citizen Science. Zooniverse Planet Hunters have (uniquely) discovered: 10% of Kepler planet candidates with P > 100d 50% of planet candidates with P > 600d. (Schmidt et al. 2016)