EChOSim: The Exoplanet Characterisation Observatory software simulator

Pascale, Enzo; Waldmann, I. P.; MacTavish, C. J.; Παπαγεωργίου, Ανδρέας; Amaral-Rogers, A.; Varley, R.; Foresto, V. Coudé du; Griffin, Matthew Joseph; Ollivier, M.; Sarkar, Subhajit; Spencer, L. D.; Swinyard, Bruce; Tessenyi, Marcell; Tinetti, Giovanna

doi:10.1007/s10686-015-9471-0

Cited by 14 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…23). The associated error bars are computed using a dynamical fitting method implemented in the observation pipeline [122]. This figure clearly shows that the transit depth chromatic variations associated with atmospheric Fig.…”

Section: Simulations Of Echo Planetary Spectramentioning

confidence: 90%

“…The frequency band over which the requirement applies is between 2.8×10 −5 Hz and 3.7 mHz, or~5 min to 10 h [60,122,127,187]. This implies having the capability to remove any residual systematics and to co-add the elementary observations from many repeat visits to a given target.…”

Section: Echo Performance Requirementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The photometric stability budget is described by Puig et al [127], Pascale et al [122], and Waldmann and Pascale [187]. To achieve the required performance, particular attention is required to:…”

Section: Echo Performance Requirementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The second approach is to construct a model that simulates the actual performance of the mission as realistically as possible (EChOSim). This end-to-end simulation is fully dynamic and accounts for the major systematic influences on the performance such as pointing jitter, internal thermal radiation sources, detector dark current and noise [122,187]. Both models have been used to calculate the observation duration needed for the targets in the EChO sample.…”

Section: Performance Evaluation Toolsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The first is a static model built using more generic assumptions about the instrument and mission performance (ESA Radiometric Model, [127]). The second approach models the instrument as designed and uses a dynamic approach to the performance simulation using realistic stellar and planetary parameters to model to actual time domain signal from the observation (EChOSim, [122]). The list of known targets was run through the ESA-RM and EChOSim performance models.…”

Section: Echo's Current Core Samplementioning

confidence: 99%

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The EChO science case

et al. 2015

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The discovery of almost two thousand exoplanets has revealed an unexpectedly diverse planet population. We see gas giants in few-day orbits, whole multi-planet systems within the orbit of Mercury, and new populations of planets with masses between that of the Earth and Neptune-all unknown in the Solar System. Observations to date have shown that our Solar System is certainly not representative of the general population of planets in our Milky Way. The key science questions that urgently need addressing are therefore: What are exoplanets made of? Why are planets as they are? How do planetary systems work and what causes the exceptional diversity observed as compared to the Solar System? The EChO (Exoplanet Characterisation Observatory) space mission was conceived to take up the challenge to explain this diversity in terms of formation, evolution, internal structure and planet and atmospheric composition. This requires in-depth spectroscopic knowledge of the atmospheres of a large and well-defined planet sample for which precise physical, chemical and dynamical information can be obtained. In order to fulfil this ambitious scientific program, EChO was designed as a dedicated survey mission for transit and eclipse spectroscopy capable of observing a large, diverse and well-defined planet sample within its 4-year mission lifetime. The transit and eclipse spectroscopy method, whereby the signal from the star and planet are differentiated using knowledge of the planetary ephemerides, allows us to measure atmospheric signals from the planet at levels of at least 10 −4 relative to the star. This can only be achieved in conjunction with a carefully designed stable payload and satellite platform. It is also necessary to provide broad instantaneous wavelength coverage to detect as many molecular species as possible, to probe the thermal structure of the planetary atmospheres and to correct for the contaminating effects of the stellar photosphere. This requires wavelength coverage of at least 0.55 to 11 μm with a goal of covering from 0.4 to 16 μm. Only modest spectral resolving power is needed, with R~300 for wavelengths less than 5 μm and R~30 for wavelengths greater than this. spectroscopy technique means that no spatial resolution is required. A telescope collecting area of about 1 m 2 is sufficiently large to achieve the necessary spectro-photometric precision: for the Phase A study a 1.13 m 2 telescope, diffraction limited at 3 μm has been adopted. Placing the satellite at L2 provides a cold and stable thermal environment as well as a large field of regard to allow efficient time-critical observation of targets randomly distributed over the sky. EChO has been conceived to achieve a single goal: exoplanet spectroscopy. The spectral coverage and signal-to-noise to be achieved by EChO, thanks to its high stability and dedicated design, would be a game changer by allowing atmospheric composition to be measured with unparalleled exactness: at least a factor 10 more precise and a factor 10 to 1000 more accurate tha...

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Section: Simulations Of Echo Planetary Spectramentioning

confidence: 90%

Section: Echo Performance Requirementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Echo Performance Requirementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Performance Evaluation Toolsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Echo's Current Core Samplementioning

confidence: 99%

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The EChO science case

et al. 2015

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The ARIEL mission reference sample

Zingalès

Tinetti

Pillitteri³

et al. 2018

Exp Astron

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The ARIEL (Atmospheric Remote-sensing Exoplanet Large-survey) mission concept is one of the three M4 mission candidates selected by the European Space Agency (ESA) for a Phase A study, competing for a launch in 2026. ARIEL has been designed to study the physical and chemical properties of a large and diverse sample of exoplanets, and through those understand how planets form and evolve in our galaxy.Here we describe the assumptions made to estimate an optimal sample of exoplanets -including both the already known exoplanets and the "expected" ones yet to be discovered -observable by ARIEL and define a realistic mission scenario. To achieve the mission objectives, the sample should include gaseous and rocky planets with a range of temperatures around stars of different spectral type and metallicity. The current ARIEL design enables the observation of ∼1000 planets, covering a broad range of planetary and stellar parameters,

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A chemical survey of exoplanets with ARIEL

et al. 2018

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Thousands of exoplanets have now been discovered with a huge range of masses, sizes and orbits: from rocky Earth-like planets to large gas giants grazing the surface of their host star. However, the essential nature of these exoplanets remains largely mysterious: there is no known, discernible pattern linking the presence, size, or orbital parameters of a planet to the nature of its parent star. We have little idea whether the chemistry of a planet is linked to its formation environment, or whether the type of host star drives the physics and chemistry of the planet's birth, and evolution. ARIEL was conceived to observe a large number (~1000) of transiting planets for statistical understanding, including gas giants, Neptunes, super-Earths and Earth-size planets around a range of host star types using transit spectroscopy in the 1.25-7.8 μm spectral range and multiple narrow-band photometry in the optical. ARIEL will focus on warm and hot planets to take advantage of their well-mixed atmospheres which should show minimal condensation and sequestration of high-Z materials compared to their colder Solar System siblings. Said warm and hot atmospheres are expected to be more representative of the planetary bulk composition. Observations of these warm/hot exoplanets, and in particular of their elemental composition (especially C, O, N, S, Si), will allow the understanding of the early stages of planetary and atmospheric formation during the nebular phase and the following few million years. ARIEL will thus provide a representative picture of the chemical nature of the exoplanets and relate this directly to the type and chemical environment of the host star. ARIEL is designed as a dedicated survey mission for combined-light spectroscopy, capable of observing a large and welldefined planet sample within its 4-year mission lifetime. Transit, eclipse and phasecurve spectroscopy methods, whereby the signal from the star and planet are differentiated using knowledge of the planetary ephemerides, allow us to measure atmospheric signals from the planet at levels of 10-100 part per million (ppm) relative to the star and, given the bright nature of targets, also allows more sophisticated techniques, such as eclipse mapping, to give a deeper insight into the nature of the atmosphere. These types of observations require a stable payload and satellite platform with broad, instantaneous wavelength coverage to detect many molecular species, probe the thermal structure, identify clouds and monitor the stellar activity. The wavelength range proposed covers all the expected major atmospheric gases from e.g. H 2 O, CO 2 , CH 4 NH 3 , HCN, H 2 S through to the more exotic metallic compounds, such as TiO, VO, and condensed species. Simulations of ARIEL performance in conducting exoplanet surveys have been performedusing conservative estimates of mission performance and a

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EChOSim: The Exoplanet Characterisation Observatory software simulator

Cited by 14 publications

References 23 publications

The EChO science case

The EChO science case

The ARIEL mission reference sample

A chemical survey of exoplanets with ARIEL

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