A survey of exoplanet phase curves with Ariel

TL;DR

This survey outlines Ariel's strategy for observing exoplanet phase curves, aiming to analyze atmospheric properties of 35-40 exoplanets over 3.5 years, enhancing understanding of their atmospheres beyond traditional methods.

Contribution

It provides a detailed observing strategy, target list, and simulation-based estimates for phase curve measurements with Ariel, highlighting its potential scientific impact.

Findings

Full-orbit phase variations for 35-40 exoplanets can be observed.

The data will constrain atmospheric dynamics, composition, and thermal structure.

Ariel's phase curve observations are complementary to spectroscopic methods.

Abstract

The ESA-Ariel mission will include a tier dedicated to exoplanet phase curves corresponding to ~10% of the science time. We present here the current observing strategy for studying exoplanet phase curves with Ariel. We define science questions, requirements and a list of potential targets. We also estimate the precision of phase curve reconstruction and atmospheric retrieval using simulated phase curves. Based on this work, we found that full-orbit phase variations for 35-40 exoplanets could be observed during the 3.5-yr mission. This statistical sample would provide key constraints on atmospheric dynamics, composition, thermal structure and clouds of warm exoplanets, complementary to the scientific yield from spectroscopic transits/eclipses measurements.