Initial technology assessment for the Large-Aperture UV-Optical-Infrared (LUVOIR) mission concept study

Bolcar, Matthew R.; Feinberg, Lee; Rauscher, Bernard J.; Redding, David C.; Schiminovich, David

doi:10.1117/12.2230769

Cited by 28 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Future telescopes capable of direct imaging (Dalcanton et al 2015), such as the LUVOIR (Bolcar et al 2016) or HabEx (Mennesson et al 2016) mission concepts, as well as ground-based facilities, could potentially probe down to such short wavelengths. Alternatively, sulfur hazes may be discernible by thermal emission spectroscopy in the infrared, which has been conducted on young, bright giant exoplanets by groundbased observational campaigns (e.g., Kenworthy et al 2016;Macintosh et al 2016;Wagner et al 2016) and will be especially powerful in the era of theJames Webb Space Telescope (JWST).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sulfur Hazes in Giant Exoplanet Atmospheres: Impacts on Reflected Light Spectra

Gao

Marley

Zahnle

et al. 2017

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Recent work has shown that sulfur hazes may arise in the atmospheres of some giant exoplanets, due to the photolysis of H 2 S. We investigate the impact such a haze would have on an exoplanet's geometric albedo spectrum and how it may affect the direct imaging results of the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST), a planned NASA space telescope. For temperate (250 K<T eq <700 K) Jupiter-mass planets, photochemical destruction of H 2 S results in the production of ∼1 ppmv of S 8 between 100 and 0.1 mbar, which, if cool enough, will condense to form a haze. Nominal haze masses are found to drastically alter a planet's geometric albedo spectrum: whereas a clear atmosphere is dark at wavelengths between 0.5 and 1 μm, due to molecular absorption, the addition of a sulfur haze boosts the albedo there to ∼0.7, due to scattering. Strong absorption by the haze shortward of 0.4 μm results in albedos <0.1, in contrast to the high albedos produced by Rayleigh scattering in a clear atmosphere. As a result, the color of the planet shifts from blue to orange. The existence of a sulfur haze masks the molecular signatures of methane and water, thereby complicating the characterization of atmospheric composition. Detection of such a haze by WFIRST is possible, though discriminating between a sulfur haze and any other highly reflective, high-altitude scatterer will require observations shortward of 0.4 μm, which is currently beyond WFIRST's design.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sulfur Hazes in Giant Exoplanet Atmospheres: Impacts on Reflected Light Spectra

Gao

Marley

Zahnle

et al. 2017

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“…Moreover, the wavefront control precision needed to sufficiently suppress unwanted starlight is ∼100× better than provided by current state-of-the-art adaptive optics (AO) systems. The discovery of life on these worlds via imaging spectroscopy may therefore need to wait for next-generation extreme AO on a giant segmented mirror ground-based telescopes, such as the Planetary Systems Imager (PSI) on the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT), or large-aperture space telescopes such as the Large Ultraviolet/Optical/Infrared Surveyor (LUVOIR; Bolcar et al 2016;Pueyo et al 2017). Even with a primary mirror diameter of TMT (D=30 m), this application requires an instrument that provides robust rejection of light from the star whose photon noise contribution overwhelms the relatively few photons from a planet with an angular separation of λ/D (Kawahara et al 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Efficient Spectroscopy of Exoplanets at Small Angular Separations with Vortex Fiber Nulling

Ruane

Mawet

et al. 2018

ApJ

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Instrumentation designed to characterize potentially habitable planets may combine adaptive optics and high-resolution spectroscopy techniques to achieve the highest possible sensitivity to spectral signs of life. Detecting the weak signal from a planet containing biomarkers will require exquisite control of the optical wavefront to maximize the planet signal and significantly reduce unwanted starlight. We present an optical technique, known as vortex fiber nulling (VFN), that allows polychromatic light from faint planets at extremely small separations from their host stars ( λ/D) to be efficiently routed to a diffraction-limited spectrograph via a single-mode optical fiber, while light from the star is prevented from entering the spectrograph. VFN takes advantage of the spatial selectivity of a single-mode fiber to isolate the light from close-in companions in a small field of view around the star. We provide theoretical performance predictions of a conceptual design and show that VFN may be utilized to characterize planets detected by radial velocity (RV) instruments in the infrared without knowledge of the azimuthal orientation of their orbits. Using a spectral template-matching technique, we calculate an integration time of ∼400, ∼100, and ∼30 hr for Ross 128 b with Keck, the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT), and the Large Ultraviolet/Optical/Infrared (LUVOIR) Surveyor, respectively.

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“…The WFIRST CGI technology requirements are being developed to increase the technology readiness level and decrease risk for future flagship observatory missions such as the Habitable Exoplanet Imaging Mission Habitable Exoplanet Imaging Mission (HabEx) 16,17 or the Large UV Optical Infrared Surveyor Large Ultraviolet Visible and InfraRed Surveyor (LUVOIR). 18,19 The WFIRST CGI will demonstrate technologies such as wavefront control and understanding the effect of telescope stability in a space environment on high-contrast coronagraphic images. High level requirements flow for the WFIRST mission.…”

Section: Requirements Relationship To Future Missionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

WFIRST coronagraph technology requirements: status update and systems engineering approach

Douglas

Carlton

Cahoy

et al. 2018

Modeling, Systems Engineering, and Project Management for Astronomy VIII

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The Coronagraph Instrument (CGI) on the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) will demonstrate technologies and methods for high-contrast direct imaging and spectroscopy of exoplanet systems in reflected light, including polarimetry of circumstellar disks. The WFIRST management and CGI engineering and science investigation teams have developed requirements for the instrument, motivated by the objectives and technology development needs of potential future flagship exoplanet characterization missions such as the NASA Habitable Exoplanet Imaging Mission (HabEx) and the Large UV/Optical/IR Surveyor (LUVOIR). The requirements have been refined to support recommendations from the WFIRST Independent External Technical/Management/Cost Review (WIETR) that the WFIRST CGI be classified as a technology demonstration instrument instead of a science instrument.This paper provides a description of how the CGI requirements flow from the top of the overall WFIRST mission structure through the Level 2 requirements, where the focus here is on capturing the detailed context and rationales for the CGI Level 2 requirements. The WFIRST requirements flow starts with the top Program Level Requirements Appendix (PLRA), which contains both high-level mission objectives as well as the CGI-specific baseline technical and data requirements (BTR and BDR, respectively). Captured in the WFIRST Mission Requirements Document (MRD), the Level 2 CGI requirements flow from the PLRA objectives, BTRs, and BDRs. There are five CGI objectives in the WFIRST PLRA, which motivate the four baseline technical/data requirements. There are nine CGI level 2 (L2) requirements presented in this work, which have been developed and validated using predictions from increasingly refined observatory and instrument performance models.We also present the process and collaborative tools used in the L2 requirements development and management, including the collection and organization of science inputs, an open-source approach to managing the requirements database, and automating documentation. The tools created for the CGI L2 requirements have the potential to improve the design and planning of other projects, streamlining requirement management and maintenance.The WFIRST CGI passed its System Requirements Review (SRR) and System Design Review (SDR) in May 2018. The SRR examines the functional requirements and performance requirements defined for the system and the preliminary program or project plan and ensures that the requirements and the selected concept will satisfy the mission, and the SDR examines the proposed system architecture and design and the flow down to all functional elements of the system.

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Initial technology assessment for the Large-Aperture UV-Optical-Infrared (LUVOIR) mission concept study

Cited by 28 publications

References 30 publications

Sulfur Hazes in Giant Exoplanet Atmospheres: Impacts on Reflected Light Spectra

Sulfur Hazes in Giant Exoplanet Atmospheres: Impacts on Reflected Light Spectra

Efficient Spectroscopy of Exoplanets at Small Angular Separations with Vortex Fiber Nulling

WFIRST coronagraph technology requirements: status update and systems engineering approach

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