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Report by the ESA–ESO Working Group on Extra-Solar Planets 4 March 2005 Summary Various techniques are being used to search for extra-solar planetary signatures, including accurate measurement of radial velocity and positional (astrometric) displacements, gravitational microlensing, and photometric transits. Planned space experiments promise a considerable increase in the detections and statistical knowledge arising especially from transit and astrometric measurements over the years 2005–15, with some hundreds of terrestrial-type planets expected from transit measurements, and many thousands of Jupiter-mass planets expected from astrometric measurements. Beyond 2015, very ambitious space (Darwin/TPF) and ground (OWL) experiments are targeting direct detection of nearby Earth-mass planets in the habitable zone and the measurement of their spectral characteristics. Beyond these, ‘Life Finder’ (aiming to produce confirmatory evidence of the presence of life) and ‘Earth Imager’ (some massive interferometric array providing resolved images of a distant Earth) appear as distant visions. This report, to ESA and ESO, summarises the direction of exo-planet research that can be expected over the next 10 years or so, identifies the roles of the major facilities of the two organisations in the field, and concludes with some recommendations which may assist development of the field. The report has been compiled by the Working Group members and experts (page iii) over the period June–December 2004.
Introduction & Background Following an agreement to cooperate on science planning issues, the executives of the European Southern Observatory (ESO) and the European Space Agency (ESA) Science Programme and representatives of their science advisory structures have met to share information and to identify potential synergies within their future projects. The agreement arose from their joint founding membership of EIROforum (http://www.eiroforum.org) and a recognition that, as pan-European organisations, they served essentially the same scientific community. At a meeting at ESO in Garching during September 2003, it was agreed to establish a number of working groups that would be tasked to explore these synergies in important areas of mutual interest and to make recommendations to both organisations. The chair and co-chair of each group were to be chosen by the executives but thereafter, the groups would be free to select their membership and to act independently of the sponsoring organisations. The first working group to be established was on the topic of Extra-Solar Planet research, both detection and physical study, over a period extending from now until around 2015. The group worked on its report from June until December 2004 and reported its conclusions and recommendations to a second ESA-ESO meeting, held at ESA HQ in Paris in February 2005. Terms of Reference and Composition The goals set for the working group were to provide: • A survey of the field: this will comprise: (a) a review of the methods used or envisaged for extra-solar planet detection and study; (b) a survey of the associated instrumentation world-wide (operational, planned, or proposed, onground and in space); (c) for each, a summary of the potential targets, accuracy and sensitivity limits, and scientific capabilities and limitations. • An examination of the role of ESO and ESA facilities: this will: (a) identify areas in which current and planned ESA and ESO facilities will contribute; (b) analyse the expected scientific returns and risks of each; (c) identify areas of potential scientific overlap, and thus assess the extent to which the facilities complement or compete; (d) identify open areas which merit attention by one or both organisations (for example, follow-up observations by ESO to maximise the return from other major facilities); (e) conclude on the scientific case for the very large facilities planned or proposed. ii
Page 4 and 5: The working group membership was es
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een produced, diffraction effects c
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3.2 Space Observations: 2015-2025 T
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Table 8: Detection capabilities: Ea
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3.2.3 Terrestrial Planet Finder (TP
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∼ 5 × 10 5 m, or 1.5 × 10 −4
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of Earth-like planets in general, a
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4 The Role of ESO and ESA Facilitie
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Figure 7: Links between detection m
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4.2.3 Summary of Follow-Up Faciliti
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4.4 Astrophysical Characterisation
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Without any further mission dedicat
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and their suitability for supportin
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overlap of public and research inte
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2.4. Evaluate observation time for
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A Space Precursors: Interferometers
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B Beyond 2025: Life Finder and Plan
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C ESO 1997 Working Group on Extra-S
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Table 10: ESO Working Group 1997: R
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Charbonneau, D., Brown, T. M., Noye
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Pedretti, E., Labeyrie, A., Arnold,
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Report - School of Physics

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