dc.contributor.author
Janson, Markus
dc.contributor.author
Patel, Jayshil
dc.contributor.author
Ringqvist, Simon C.
dc.contributor.author
Lu, Cicero
dc.contributor.author
Rebollido, Isabel
dc.contributor.author
Lichtenberg, Tim
dc.contributor.author
Brandeker, Alexis
dc.contributor.author
Angerhausen, Daniel
dc.contributor.author
Noack, Lena
dc.date.accessioned
2023-08-11T08:10:59Z
dc.date.available
2023-08-11T08:10:59Z
dc.identifier.uri
https://refubium.fu-berlin.de/handle/fub188/40460
dc.identifier.uri
http://dx.doi.org/10.17169/refubium-40181
dc.description.abstract
Active comets have been detected in several exoplanetary systems, although so far only indirectly, when the dust or gas in the extended coma has transited in front of the stellar disk. The large optical surface and relatively high temperature of an active cometary coma also makes it suitable to study with direct imaging, but the angular separation is generally too small to be reachable with present-day facilities. However, future imaging facilities with the ability to detect terrestrial planets in the habitable zones of nearby systems will also be sensitive to exocomets in such systems. Here we examine several aspects of exocomet imaging, particularly in the context of the Large Interferometer for Exoplanets (LIFE), which is a proposed space mission for infrared imaging and spectroscopy through nulling interferometry. We study what capabilities LIFE would have for acquiring imaging and spectroscopy of exocomets, based on simulations of the LIFE performance as well as statistical properties of exocomets that have recently been deduced from transit surveys. We find that for systems with extreme cometary activities such as β Pictoris, sufficiently bright comets may be so abundant that they overcrowd the LIFE inner field of view. More nearby and moderately active systems such as є Eridani or Fomalhaut may turn out to be optimal targets. If the exocomets have strong silicate emission features, such as in comet Hale-Bopp, it may become possible to study the mineralogy of individual exocometary bodies. We also discuss the possibility of exocomets as false positives for planets, with recent deep imaging of α Centauri as one hypothetical example. Such contaminants could be common, primarily among young debris disk stars, but should be rare among the main sequence population. We discuss strategies to mitigate the risk of any such false positives.
en
dc.format.extent
16 Seiten
dc.rights.uri
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.subject
infrared: planetary systems
en
dc.subject
comets: general
en
dc.subject
planets and satellites: detection
en
dc.subject.ddc
500 Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik::520 Astronomie::520 Astronomie und zugeordnete Wissenschaften
dc.title
Imaging of exocomets with infrared interferometry
dc.type
Wissenschaftlicher Artikel
dcterms.bibliographicCitation.articlenumber
A114
dcterms.bibliographicCitation.doi
10.1051/0004-6361/202245402
dcterms.bibliographicCitation.journaltitle
Astronomy & Astrophysics
dcterms.bibliographicCitation.volume
671
dcterms.bibliographicCitation.url
https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202245402
refubium.affiliation
Geowissenschaften
refubium.affiliation.other
Institut für Geologische Wissenschaften / Fachrichtung Planetologie und Fernerkundung
refubium.resourceType.isindependentpub
no
dcterms.accessRights.openaire
open access
dcterms.isPartOf.eissn
1432-0746
refubium.resourceType.provider
WoS-Alert