The Surfaces and Atmospheres of Exoplanets

系外行星的表面和大气

• 批准号: RGPIN-2021-03590
• 负责人: Cowan, Nicolas
• 金额: $ 5.46万
• 依托单位: McGill University
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2021-01-01 至 2022-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=742630
• 关键词: Surfaces; Atmospheres; Exoplanets

My research team-the McGill Exoplanet Characterization Alliance (MEChA)-is a leader in using the Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescopes to study giant planets orbiting close to their host star. In the next five years, MEChA members will harness data from the Spitzer, Hubble, and James Webb space telescopes to study the climates of all sorts of exotic planets: hot Jupiters, lava worlds, warm sub-Neptunes, and temperate terrestrial planets orbiting nearby red dwarf stars. In parallel, we will continue laying the groundwork for future telescopes and missions, including the CSA's EPPE microsatellite mission concept for the middle of this decade, ESA's ARIEL mission, launching in 2028, the Extremely Large Telescopes, due for first light at the end of this decade, and NASA's HabEx and LUVOIR flagship mission concepts for the 2030's. The James Webb Space Telescope will make its first science observations in 2022. As a member of the JWST/NIRISS exoplanet team, I will lead the analysis of the first spectroscopic phase curve obtained by the Canadian near-infrared instrument as part of guaranteed time observations. We will start by studying well-known hot Jupiters, but aim to characterize temperate terrestrial planets orbiting nearby red dwarf stars using the same techniques we have pioneered for hot Jupiters. The atmospheres of rocky planets orbiting red dwarfs will eventually be probed with extremely large telescopes from the ground, provided we can combine high contrast imaging and high dispersion spectroscopy to separate the light of an exoplanet from that of its star. I am involved in long-term plans to design such instruments and the necessary data pipelines, for telescopes in both the southern and the northern hemispheres. In the nearer-term, I am a member of the Science Legacy Survey team for the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope's new SPIRou instrument, as well as the Science Team for the soon-to-be-commissioned NIRPS instrument on the European Southern Observatory's 3.6 meter telescope at La Silla, Chile. These cutting-edge infrared spectrographs were designed to detect new worlds orbiting nearby stars, but MEChA will use them to map molecules and winds in the atmospheres of short period planets. While exoplanet astronomers plan to use JWST to study dozens of short period planets, it will take a dedicated mission to characterize hundreds-thousands of diverse exoplanets. ESA's ARIEL is scheduled to launch in 2028 and will do just that, obtaining infrared spectra for a thousand planets. ARIEL can be thought of as a smaller JWST, but entirely dedicated to exoplanets. I am part of the ARIEL Consortium, one of very few North Americans in a leadership role. In addition to paving the way for these next generation of exoplanet tools, MEChA will spend the next five years using current and near-term telescopes uncovering new atmospheric phenomena and advancing our understanding of the diverse climates of planets, including those that could support life.

我的研究团队 - 麦吉尔系外行星特征联盟（MECHA） - 是使用哈勃和斯皮策太空望远镜来研究距离他们的寄主恒星附近的巨型行星的领导者。在接下来的五年中，Mecha成员将利用Spitzer，Hubble和James Webb太空望远镜的数据来研究各种异国情调的行星的气候：热木星，熔岩世界，温暖的子北极肠和绕着附近的红色Dwarf星星绕的狂热地球行星。同时，我们将继续为未来的望远镜和任务奠定基础，包括CSA的Eppe Microsatellite Mission Concept在这十年中期，ESA的Ariel Mission于2028年推出，这是非常大的望远镜，该望远镜非常大，该望远镜在这十年末获得了最初的灯光，以及NASA的Habex和Luvoir Missips概念的2030年。詹姆斯·韦伯（James Webb）太空望远镜将在2022年进行首次科学观察。作为JWST/NIRISS系外行星团队的成员，我将领导对加拿大近乎汇率仪器获得的第一光谱相曲线的分析，作为保证时间观察的一部分。我们将首先研究众所周知的热木星，但旨在用我们为热木星开创的相同技术来表征附近红色矮人恒星附近旋转的温带地球行星。最终将用极大的望远镜从地面探测岩石行星的大气，只要我们可以将高对比度成像和高色散光谱镜结合起来，以将外部球星的光与恒星分开。我参与了南半球和北半球的望远镜设计此类工具和必要的数据管道的长期计划。在近期期间，我是加拿大 - 弗朗西·哈瓦伊望远镜的新Spire仪器的科学传统调查团队的成员，也是欧洲南部观测站的3.6米表望远镜在智慧La Silla的欧洲南部天文台的3.6米表望远镜上的科学团队。这些尖端的红外光谱仪旨在检测附近恒星绕的新世界，但是Mecha将使用它们在短期行星的大气中绘制分子和风。尽管系外星天文学家计划使用JWST研究数十个短期行星，但要采取专门的任务来表征数十万种不同的系外行星。 ESA的Ariel计划于2028年推出，并将做到这一点，并获得一千个行星的红外光谱。可以将Ariel视为较小的JWST，但完全致力于系外行星。我是Ariel财团的一部分，这是少数北美人的领导角色之一。除了为这些下一代系外行星工具铺平道路外，Mecha还将在接下来的五年中使用当前和近期的望远镜揭示新的大气现象，并促进我们对行星各种环境的理解，包括可以支持生命的行星。