Colloquium Gudmundur Stefansson: Pathways to Detecting and Characterizing Rocky Habitable Planets

© Gudmundur Stefansson

One of the foremost goals of exoplanet science is the detailed characterization of terrestrial planets that potentially could harbor life. I will discuss near-term projects and instruments that are allowing for rapid progress on the detection and characterization of small planets. (1) Beam-shaping optical diffusers allow us to approach the precision of space-based photometry with ground-based telescopes, thereby enhancing our ability to detect and study terrestrial planets. (2) Improvements in Doppler spectrographs—including HPF, NEID and HARPS3—will expand our knowledge of the compositions, architectures, and atmospheres of small planets. (3) Synergy between M dwarf planet surveys and low-frequency radio surveys such as with LOFAR offer the possibility of opening the door to a new field within exoplanet science: star-planet magnetic interactions, which may affect planetary habitability.