The ocean worlds science case for the Pollux spectropolarimeter

TL;DR

Pollux is a high-resolution UV-NIR spectropolarimeter designed to study ocean worlds and search for signs of life on extrasolar planets, offering broad spectral coverage and polarimetric capabilities for diverse astronomical investigations.

Contribution

This paper presents the scientific case for using Pollux's UV spectropolarimetric capabilities to study ocean worlds and their potential habitability, highlighting its unique broad spectral coverage.

Findings

Potential to characterize surface composition of ocean worlds

Ability to analyze atmospheric aerosols and airglow emissions

Enhanced search for biosignatures on exoplanets

Abstract

Pollux is a candidate European instrument contribution to the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO), designed to advance our understanding of the formation and evolution of cosmic structures in the universe, and specifically search signs of life on extrasolar planets. This high-resolution spectrograph (R\,$>$\,40,000) with polarimetric capabilities offers nearly continuous and simultaneous coverage from the FUV ($\sim$100\,nm) to the NIR ($\sim$1.9\,$\micron$), making it a versatile tool for a wide range of scientific investigations from solar system studies to cosmology. Several Solar System ocean worlds have been the focal point of the scientific community to understand the conditions of their internal saline oceans, as well as the possible emergence of life beyond Earth. The ocean world science case will leverage Pollux's UV spectropolarimetric capabilities to investigate surface reflectance and composition, characterize airglow emissions in the environments of giant-planet moons, as well as constrain the microphysical properties of atmospheric aerosols.