A Response to Elvis' 2015 Critique of the AURA Report "From Cosmic Birth to Living Earths"

TL;DR

This paper defends the proposed 12-meter class space telescope, HDST, highlighting its unique capabilities for exoplanet research and broad astrophysics, countering recent critiques and emphasizing its transformative potential.

Contribution

The paper clarifies and supports the scientific value of the HDST concept, emphasizing its unique role in exoplanet studies and broad astrophysics, countering Elvis's critique.

Findings

HDST would uniquely advance exoplanet characterization.

HDST's capabilities remain unparalleled even in 2035.

The telescope would significantly contribute to broad astrophysics.

Abstract

To ensure progress in astronomy over the coming decades, the key questions are "what facilities will we build, and when?" Toward this end, the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) recently commissioned a study on future space-based options for UV and optical astronomy. The resulting study - "From Cosmic Birth to Living Earths" - concluded that a space telescope equipped with a 12-meter class primary mirror would make fundamental advances across virtually all of astrophysics, including finding and characterizing the atmospheres of dozens of Earth-like planets. This ambitious telescope concept is referred to as the High Definition Space Telescope (HDST). In a recent arXiv white paper, Elvis (2015) critiqued a subset of the findings of the AURA study, focusing on the detection and characterization of rocky exoplanets in the habitable zone. In this response, we clarify these issues to confirm that HDST would play a transformative role in the study of terrestrial worlds. Its capabilities for studying exoplanets would be truly unique, even in 2035, and would complement HDST's broad and deep range of exciting astrophysics.