Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: Context. The increased brightness temperature of young rocky protoplanets during their magma ocean epoch makes them potentially amenable to atmospheric characterization at distances from the Solar System far greater than thermally equilibrated terrestrial exoplanets, offering observational opportunities for unique insights into the origin of secondary atmospheres and the near surface conditions of prebiotic environments. Aims. The Large Interferometer For Exoplanets (LIFE) mission will employ a space-based midinfrared nulling interferometer to directly measure the thermal emission of terrestrial exoplanets. In this work, we seek to assess the capabilities of various instrumental design choices of the LIFE mission concept for the detection of cooling protoplanets with transient high-temperature magma ocean atmospheres at the tail end of planetary accretion. In particular, we investigate the minimum integration times necessary to detect transient magma ocean exoplanets in young stellar associations in the Solar neighborhood. Methods. Using the LIFE mission instrument simulator (LIFEsim), we assessed how specific instrumental parameters and design choices, such as wavelength coverage, aperture diameter, and photon throughput, facilitate or disadvantage the detection of protoplan-ets. We focused on the observational sensitivities of distance to the observed planetary system, protoplanet brightness temperature (using a blackbody assumption), and orbital distance of the potential protoplanets around both G- and M-dwarf stars. Results. Our simulations suggest that LIFE will be able to detect (S/N ≥ 7) hot protoplanets in young stellar associations up to distances of 100 pc from the Solar System for reasonable integration times (up to a few hours). Detection of an Earth-sized protoplanet orbiting a Solar-sized host star at 1 AU requires less than 30 minutes of integration time. M-dwarfs generally need shorter integration times. The contribution from wavelength regions smaller than 6 µm is important for decreasing the detection threshold and discriminating emission temperatures. Conclusions. The LIFE mission is capable of detecting cooling terrestrial protoplanets within minutes to hours in several local young stellar associations hosting potential targets. The anticipated compositional range of magma ocean atmospheres motivates further architectural design studies to characterize the crucial transition from primary to secondary atmospheres.
Authors: Cesario, Lorenzo, Lichtenberg, Tim, Alei, Eleonora, Carrión-González, Óscar, Dannert, Felix A., Defrère, Denis, Ertel, Steve, Fortier, Andrea, García Muñoz, A., Glauser, Adrian M., Hansen, Jonah T., Helled, Ravit, Huber, Philipp A., Ireland, Michael J., Kammerer, Jens, Laugier, Romain, Lillo-Box, Jorge, Menti, Franziska, Meyer, Michael R., Noack, Lena, Quanz, Sascha P., Quirrenbach, Andreas, Rugheimer, Sarah, van der Tak, Floris, Wang, Haiyang S., Anger, Marius, Balsalobre-Ruza, Olga, Bhattarai, Surendra, Braam, Marrick, Castro-González, Amadeo, Cockell, Charles S., Constantinou, Tereza, Cugno, Gabriele, Davoult, Jeanne, Güdel, Manuel, Hernitschek, Nina, Hinkley, Sasha, Itoh, Satoshi, Janson, Markus, Johansen, Anders, Jones, Hugh R. A., Kane, Stephen R., van Kempen, Tim A., Kislyakova, Kristina G., Korth, Judith, Kovačević, Andjelka B., Kraus, Stefan, Kuiper, Rolf, Mathew, Joice, Matsuo, Taro, Miguel, Yamila, Min, Michiel, Navarro, Ramon, Ramirez, Ramses M., Rauer, Heike, Vow Ricketti, Berke, Romagnolo, Amedeo, Schlecker, Martin, Sneed, Evan L., Squicciarini, Vito, Stassun, Keivan G., Tamura, Motohide, Viudez-Moreiras, Daniel, Wordsworth, Robin D.
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funders: National Science Foundation, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, European Commission, National Research Foundation, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung, Danmarks Grundforskningsfond, Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, Nuclear Safety and Security Commission, Vetenskapsrådet, Vlaamse regering, Horizon 2020 Framework Programme, Science Mission Directorate, Science and Technology Facilities Council, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Agencia Estatal de Investigación
Awards: G1276317268, G1537376082, 東欧農業構造政策の史的研究, G2001806450, G210990444, G2188020438, Life in the Universe: How Carbon-Based Chemistry Shapes the Boundaries of Habitability, Research - Carnegie Institution of Washington (2021), G2987022399, Virtual Laboratories for Exoplanets and Planet Forming Disks, G3316910769, G3345895242, G3473149680, G3480869486, G434337789, G4455921192, G4484233699, G4937468798, G5080475149, G5175525644, G5392910068, G5458454780, Advanced Infrared Interferometry Techniques for Exoplanets Characterization (AIITEC), G6281504974, G6686480456, G683931746, NCCR PlanetS: Origin, evolution and characterisation of planets, G7084143925, Geburt und Leben von OB Sternen, 古代説話における諸寺縁起の研究, G7628805400, G7719629023, G7862341923, A unified picture of white dwarf planetary systems, G7984235579, G8020484511, G8466163884, G8505061131, G8512683158, Searching for the youngest population of gas giant planets, G8684520763
OpenAlex ID: W6884507773
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