Colloque HoRSE : High Resolution Spectroscopy for Exoplanet atmospheres

IMPORTANT DATES

January, 2018: First announcement. Registration is OPEN
April 30th, 2018: Deadline for financial support request check here for information
June 30th, 2018: Deadline for registration and abstract submission
October 1st, 2018: The workshop starts

SCIENTIFIC RATIONALE

The search for signs of life elsewhere in the Universe requires the remote detection of molecules in the atmospheres of exoplanets. Progress with high-resolution spectroscopy with ground-based instruments has led to detections of atomic (Na) and molecular species (CO, H2O) in the atmospheres of hot giants. From the Doppler shift of the planet spectral lines, it has been possible to constrain atmospheric winds, planet rotation, and even the orbital inclination of non-transiting planets. Not only do current detections inform us about the composition and thermal structure of planetary atmospheres, but they also have the potential to constrain the universal mechanism for planet formation (preferential birth location of the planet in its protoplanetary disc, etc.). However, the planet-hosting stars are covered with a complex and stochastic patterns associated with convective heat transport (i.e., granulation). The resulting stellar activity, associated to other phenomena such as magnetic spots and rotation, can bias the detection and characterization of exoplanetary signals. The synergy between stellar physics and planetology is essential to interpret and quantify exoplanet spectra.

The advent of new high-resolution spectrographs at large and medium-size telescope facilities (CRIRES+, GIARPS, SPIRou, IGRINS, iSHELL, etc...) with unprecedented throughput and spectral range will extend the sample of exoplanets that can be targeted with this technique towards cooler and smaller planets. Given the high degree of complementarity between high-resolution spectroscopy from the ground and low-resolution spectroscopy from space, coupling measurements from the two techniques will be crucial for the next stage of comparative exo-planetology, especially on the targets found by the TESS mission. When finally implemented at Extremely Large Telescopes, high-resolution spectroscopy will have the potential to identify biomarkers in the atmospheres of terrestrial planets in the habitable zone of M-dwarf stars.

INVITED SPEAKERS

Atmospheric characterization of exoplanets at high spectral resolution and its synergy with low- resolution spectroscopy
Eliza Kempton - Grinnell College (USA)
Michael Line - Arizona State University (USA)
Ignas Snellen - University of Leiden (The Netherlands)

Stellar spectra as background sources in exoplanet characterization: modeling and understanding the star to avoid spurious noise and contextualize the system
Remo Collet - Aarhus University (Denmark) --- to be confirmed
Jean-Francois Donati - IRAP (France) --- to be confirmed
Raphaëlle Haywood - CfA Harward (USA)

A roadmap towards detecting biomarkers: Earth analogs
Christophe Lovis - Geneva Observatory (Switzerland)
Victoria Meadows - University of Washington (USA)
Clara Sousa-Silva - MIT (USA)