System Analysis for a high-precision high-accuracy Astrometric instrument for HWO

TL;DR

This paper conducts a detailed system analysis for a high-precision astrometric instrument on HWO, aiming to measure Earth-like exoplanet masses by achieving sub-micro arcsecond accuracy through error budgeting and technology assessment.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive system model, error budget, and technology development plan for a high-precision astrometric instrument tailored for exoplanet mass determination.

Findings

Error budget identifies key contributors to measurement precision.

Instrument architecture based on gigapixel CMOS focal plane.

Technology readiness level targeted to reach TRL 5 by 2029.

Abstract

This study presents a comprehensive system analysis for an instrument onboard the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO), designed for high-precision, high-accuracy differential astrometry, with the primary scientific goal to determine the mass of Earth-like planets around the nearest Sun-like stars. The analysis integrates the definition of the mission profile, the instrumental concept architecture, and an error budget that breaks down the key contributors to the sub-micro arcses precision required for a single measurement. A portion of this budget addresses photo-center estimation for both the target and calibration stars used in differential astrometry. Other major contributors are related to instrumental control of systematics in the reconstruction of differential angle measurements from pixel data (focal plane calibration) to on sky line of sight (telescope distortion calibration). End-of-mission astrometry requires multiple observations (typically 100) of the same target distributed over the mission lifetime. We assess the mission profile to estimate the fraction of survey time required for astrometric survey to achieve the science objective. The proposed architecture of the instrument concept is derived from error budget and mission constraints based on a large visible detector array composed of an assembly of multiple CMOS sensor chips resulting in an overall gigapixel focal plane. We evaluate the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) and propose a way forward reaching TRL 5 level for key technologies by the Mission Consolidation Review in 2029.