The need for a far-infrared cold space telescope to understand the chemistry of planet formation

TL;DR

A large, cooled space-based far-infrared telescope like OST could revolutionize our understanding of planet formation by enabling sensitive surveys of water and gas in circumstellar disks across all stellar ages.

Contribution

This paper advocates for a far-infrared space telescope to significantly advance the study of planet formation chemistry, highlighting the capabilities of the proposed OST.

Findings

Enables complete surveys of water around young stars

Allows measurement of total planet-forming gas mass

Provides spectroscopic sensitivity improvements of 3-4 orders of magnitude

Abstract

At a time when ALMA produces spectacular high resolution images of gas and dust in circumstellar disks, the next observational frontier in our understanding of planet formation and the chemistry of planet-forming material may be found in the mid- to far-infrared wavelength range. A large, actively cooled far-infrared telescope in space will offer enormous spectroscopic sensitivity improvements of 3-4 orders of magnitude, making it possible to uniquely survey certain fundamental properties of planet formation. Specifically, the Origins Space Telescope (OST), a NASA flagship concept to be submitted to the 2020 decadal survey, will provide a platform that allows complete surveys of warm and cold water around young stars of all masses and across all evolutionary stages, and to measure their total planet-forming gas mass using the ground-state line of HD. While this white paper is formulated in the context of the NASA Origins Space Telescope concept, it can be applied in general to inform any future space-based, cold far-infrared observatory.