The search for the closest life-bearing exoplanets

Dr. Olivier Guyon
University of Arizona / NAOJ

There is now strong evidence that a significant fraction (probably >10%) of stars host potentially habitable planets with mass and surface temperature similar to Earth. A few nearby candidates, such as Prox Cen b, have already been identified, and are excellent targets for imaging and spectroscopy with future large telescopes.
Astronomers can now leverage multiple complementary techniques to identify habitable exoplanets and observe them. These can be combined to answer three main interconnected questions: (1) What is the statistical occurrence of habitable planets as a function of stellar type ? (2) Where are the nearest such planets ? (3) How can their atmospheres be characterized to reveal biological activity?
I will describe three specific emerging opportunities to answer these questions, enabled by recent technology advances. First, the PANOPTES project aims to deploy a ground-based network of low-cost wide-field imaging cameras for all-sky photometric monitoring to reveal transiting exoplanets. Second, the cubesat TOLIMAN astrometry mission will monitor the Alpha Cen system with sufficient precision to detect Earth-mass planet(s). Third, a photonic nulling optical circuit deployed on large ground and space telescopes, will remove the bright starlight and direct the exoplanet light to a spectrograph for identification of biomarkers.

New Bldg. A 2F Conf. room A (1257),　Via Zoom

※通常と曜日が異なりますので、ご注意下さい。