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Generation of an optimal target list for the exoplanet characterisation observatory (EChO)

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Abstract

The Exoplanet Characterisation Observatory (EChO) has been studied as a space mission concept by the European Space Agency in the context of the M3 selection process. Through direct measurement of the atmospheric chemical composition of hundreds of exoplanets, EChO would address fundamental questions such as: What are exoplanets made of? How do planets form and evolve? What is the origin of exoplanet diversity? More specifically, EChO is a dedicated survey mission for transit and eclipse spectroscopy capable of observing a large, diverse and well-defined planetary sample within its four to six year mission lifetime. In this paper we use the end-to-end instrument simulator EChOSim to model the currently discovered targets, to gauge which targets are observable and assess the EChO performances obtainable for each observing tier and time. We show that EChO would be capable of observing over 170 relativity diverse planets if it were launched today, and the wealth of optimal targets for EChO expected to be discovered in the next 10 years by space and ground-based facilities is simply overwhelming. In addition, we build on previous molecular detectability studies to show what molecules and abundances will be detectable by EChO for a selection of real targets with various molecular compositions and abundances. EChO’s unique contribution to exoplanetary science will be in identifying the main constituents of hundreds of exoplanets in various mass/temperature regimes, meaning that we will be looking no longer at individual cases but at populations. Such a universal view is critical if we truly want to understand the processes of planet formation and evolution in various environments. In this paper we present a selection of key results. The full results are available in Online Resource 1.

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Notes

  1. http://sci.esa.int/echo/

  2. http://sci.esa.int/echo/53446-echo-yellow-book/

  3. https://github.com/ryanvarley/open-exoplanet-catalogue-python

  4. http://archive.stsci.edu/hst/

  5. OEC Version (commit SHA-1) 305b90f (25th February 2014)

  6. http://www.ucl.ac.uk/exoplanets/echotargetlist/

  7. http://xoomer.virgilio.it/hrtrace/Sk.htm∖_SK3 from Schmid-Kaler (1982)

  8. Only C O 2 and H 2 O were ran for 55 Cnc b as the other cases are unrealistic given its temperature

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Acknowledgments

R. Varley is Funded by a UCL IMPACT Studentship, I. Waldmann is funded by the UK Space Agency and STFC, J. C. Morales is funded by a CNES fellowship. G. Tinetti is a Royal Society URF, G. Micela acknowledges support by the ASI/INAF contract I/022/12/0.

We would like to thank Vincent Coude du Foresto and Jean-Philippe Beaulieu for their help with this work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK

    R. Varley, I. Waldmann, M. Tessenyi, M. Hollis, G. Tinetti & B. Swinyard

  2. School of Physics Astronomy, Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF24 3AA, UK

    E. Pascale

  3. LESIA-Observatoire de Paris, CNRS, UPMC University Paris 06, University Paris-Diderot, 5 Pl. Jules Janssen, 92195, Meudon Cedex, France

    J. C. Morales

  4. Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, California, 91109-8099, USA

    P. Deroo

  5. IAS, Université de Paris-Sud, CNRS UMR 8617, Orsay, 91405, France

    M. Ollivier

  6. INAF - Osservatorio Astronomico di Palermo, Piazza del Parlamento 1, 90134, Palermo, Italy

    G. Micela

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  1. R. Varley
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Varley, R., Waldmann, I., Pascale, E. et al. Generation of an optimal target list for the exoplanet characterisation observatory (EChO). Exp Astron 40, 621–638 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10686-014-9436-8

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