[论文解读] Report of the Working Group on Strategic Exoplanet Initiatives with HST and JWST

Seth Redfield, Natasha E. Batalha+8 more|arXiv (Cornell University)|Apr 2, 2024

Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies被引用 6

一句话总结

工作组评估使用 HST 和 JWST 的系外行星观测策略，建议进行500 小时的 Director’s Discretionary Telescope (DDT) 调度观测，以获取岩石质-M 型矮星大气的初步信息，并在 JWST ~30,000 小时的系外行星计划中开展一个大型、约 10^4 小时的全波段大气观测。

ABSTRACT

This STScI Working Group (WG) was charged with soliciting community feedback and evaluating the strategic planning for exoplanet science with JWST and HST given the high quality of exoplanet observations, the significantly lengthened mission lifetime for JWST, and the pronounced expansion of the field over the last decade. We were charged with identifying key science themes, providing recommendations on issues associated with optimal timing and scale of resources, as well as providing a recommended DDT concept achievable with 500 hours of JWST time. We recommend a DDT concept to survey the atmospheres of rocky-M dwarf exoplanets. It is critical to quickly survey a wide sample of such targets to ascertain if they indeed host significant atmospheres, i.e., define the cosmic shoreline, and to identify high priority targets for future follow-up. It is important for this effort to occur early in the mission lifetime. In the context of strategic planning of exoplanet observations, it is useful to estimate the expected exoplanet observational commitment over JWST's lifetime. Given the current usage associated with exoplanets, extended over 20 cycles, it is anticipated that JWST will dedicate $\approx$30,000 hours to exoplanet observations. We recommend efforts to support GO-driven programs that will contribute to this unprecedented data product of JWST. Of the $\approx$30,000 hours of anticipated JWST full-mission time dedicated to exoplanets, we expect that 1/3 of it could, and perhaps inevitably would, form a comprehensive, high S/N, panchromatic, 10$^4$ hour atmospheric survey of planets. Such an observational sample would be a legacy archive that would address a broad range of science questions across various populations of planets. It would also bridge the direct imaging and transit communities and involve a multitude of techniques to detect and characterize exoplanets.

研究动机与目标

• 评估在任务生命周期内 JWST 和 HST 的系外行星科学的战略规划。
• 确定关键科学主题以及观测资源的时机/规模。
• 推荐一个可用 500 小时 JWST 时间实现的具体 DDT 计划。
• 描述 JWST 生命周期内对系外行星观测的总投入。
• 提出一个可作为遗产的高信噪比大气观测，桥接探测技术。

提出的方法

• 征集社区对 JWST 和 HST 的系外行星科学的反馈。
• 评估 JWST 系外行星分配时间和任务寿命的预期。
• 推荐一个面向岩石质-M 矮星大气的 500 小时 DDT 计划。
• 估算约 20 个观测循环内 JWST 系外行星时间的总量（≈ 30,000 小时）。
• 提出一个可扩展的 GO 驱动计划策略，贡献于广泛的大气观测项目。

实验结果

研究问题

• RQ1 HST 与 JWST 的系外行星观测有哪些关键科学主题？
• RQ2 哪些时间点和资源规模能使系外行星科学收益最大化？
• RQ3 500 小时的 DDT 计划是否足以有效覆盖岩石质-M 矮星大气？
• RQ4 JWST 的约 30,000 小时系外行星观测应该如何分配，以产出高信噪比的大气目录？
• RQ5 是否能把一个全面的、高信噪比的全波段大气观测设为一项遗产数据集？

主要发现

• 推荐一个 DDT 概念，调查岩石质-M 矮星大气以迅速评估大气存在性并确定后续观测的优先级。
• 在任务期间，预计 JWST 将用于系外行星观测约 30,000 小时。
• 约三分之一的系外行星观测时间可以形成一个全面的、高信噪比的全波段观测，总时长约为 10^4 小时。
• 这样的观测将创建一个遗产档案，解决多样化的科学问题并连接直接成像与凌日探测技术。
• GO 驱动的计划应得到支持，以贡献于这一大规模数据产品。