The Future of Exoplanet Direct Detection

TL;DR

This paper discusses how interferometry could overcome current limitations in exoplanet imaging, enabling breakthroughs in detecting and characterizing young and terrestrial exoplanets through advanced techniques like speckle suppression and nulling.

Contribution

It explores the potential scientific advantages of exoplanet interferometry, highlighting new methods for improved detection, astrometry, and infrared characterization of exoplanets.

Findings

Interferometry can enhance speckle suppression via spatial coherence.

It can significantly improve astrometric precision for exoplanet orbits.

Potential for space-based infrared nulling to detect terrestrial planets.

Abstract

Diffraction fundamentally limits our ability to image and characterize exoplanets. Current and planned coronagraphic searches for exoplanets are making incredible strides but are fundamentally limited by the inner working angle of a few lambda/D. Some crucial topics, such as demographics of exoplanets within the first 50 Myr and the infrared characterization of terrestrial planets, are beyond the reach of the single aperture angular resolution for the foreseeable future. Interferometry offers some advantages in exoplanet detection and characterization and we explore in this white paper some of the potential scientific breakthroughs possible. We demonstrate here that investments in 'exoplanet interferometry' could open up new possibilities for speckle suppression through spatial coherence, a giant boost in astrometric precision for determining exoplanet orbits, ability to take a census of young giant exoplanets (clusters <50 Myr age), and an unrivaled potential for infrared nulling from space to detect terrestrial planets and search for atmospheric biomarkers. All signs point to an exciting future for exoplanets and interferometers, albeit a promise that will take decades to fulfill.