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This white paper outlines the goals, milestones, and alignment of the ARC Exoplanet Team's research with NASA's missions. It covers ground-based validation and characterization, atmospheric modeling, JWST and WFIRST observations, biosignatures, and technology development for exoplanet imaging. The paper highlights the team's leadership in exoplanet discoveries and characterization, determination of habitability assessments, and core capabilities in science and technology.
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Tiger Team White Paper: Title, Authors, Summary • Exoplanet Characterization into the 2020s • Tom Greene, Niki Parenteau, Mark Marley, Rachel Matson, Ruslan Belikov, Eduardo Bendek, Steve Howell • Summary: Our exoplanet research encompasses: • Ground-based exoplanet validation and characterization Exoplanet atmospheric modeling, • HST observations, JWST instrumentation >O/early science • Data analysis& data retrieval techniques • WFIRST planning and technology development, • Biosignatures and life detection
White Paper: Goals and Objectives I • Goal 1 – Provide Unique Leadership in Exoplanet Discoveries and Characterization • Perform ground-based high-resolution imaging observations • Perform JWST observations of Warm Planets • Develop Innovative Exoplanet and Stellar Atmosphere Models • Calculate Occurrence Rates • Goal 2 – Conduct Technology Development for Direct Imaging of Exoplanets • Support JWST coronographic work with JWST • Develop binary star models for WFIRST • Work on next generation exoplanet imaging and mass measurements with LUVIOR and HabEx
White Paper: Goals and Objectives II • Goal 3 – Determine the measurements required to assess habitability • Leverage inter-branch expertise with SSX • Vet potential exoplanet biosignatures • Combine biologic and atmospheric models • Develop observational strategies for the next generation mission – LUVOIR, HabEx, OST, etc.
White Paper: Milestones –Years 1 & 3-5 • Milestones – Year 1 • Continue K2 and start TESS ground-based imaging, data to archive, write papers • Develop new approaches to interpretation of cloudy exoplanet atmospheres • Write occurrence rate paper and successful OR proposal, JWST proposals • Enable cross-disciplinary modeling efforts • Characterize biosignatures and quantify biogenic fluxes • Milestones Years 3-5 • Continue TESS and WFIRST target imaging – data to public archive • Completed analysis of numerous JWST exoplanet spectra • Contribute to planning of WFIRST Exoplanet observations • Test biosignature detectability using Earth • Cross-disciplinary retrievals (astro/Earth)
White Paper: Milestones Years 5-10, Core Capabilities • Milestones Years 5-10 • Continue observational effort, Ground-based & JWST • 3-D modeling of disk averaged biosignatures • Engage in 2020 Exoplanet mission • Combine exoplanet atm. theory with life detection /biosignatures • Participate in WFIRST, provide expertise for interpreting observations • Core Capability (ies) in Science and Technology– • At the end of 5 years, the ARC exoplanet team will be leaders in exoplanet characterization including observational, theoretical, and modeling tasks aimed at habitable worlds and life detection.
White paper: Alignment to NASA Goals, Future Missions • Benefit to and alignment with NASA Goals • Exoplanet observations, data products, models and biosignature efforts, placed in the public domain, will benefit the community and allow NASA to successfully reach its started goals. • How this effort would support relevant NASA missions • We will be leaders in the scientific community in extracting the maximum amount of knowledge from JWST, TESS, WFIRST, and Astro 2020missions using our unique interdisciplinary expertise in instrumentation, observations, atmospheres, biosignatures, and planet formation.
