Visible spectro-polarimetry of exoplanets with SPICES

While more than 450 exoplanets have been discovered, mid-infrared photometry and near-infrared (NIR) low-resolution spectroscopy (∼40) were obtained for a few transiting gazeous planets. Nevertheless, transit photometry and spectroscopy are limited to close-in planets (∼0.05 AU). In order to perform photometry and spectroscopy of wide-separated planets (>1 AU), direct imaging is requested. To date, 12 planet candidates were detected by this method. In a near future (2011-2014), dedicated ground-based instruments (SPHERE, GPI) and the JWST will provide the first NIR photometry and spectroscopy measurements of gazeous planets around young stars and M-dwarf stars in the solar neighborhood. However, the detection and the characterization of terrestrial planets require extremely good and stable conditions that are met in space. Our team propose the SEE-COAST mission, a 1.5-m space telescope, that aims at visible spectroscopy and polarimetry of mature giant and massive terrestrial planets. My PhD work deals with the simulation of the SEE-COAST instrumental concept and image analysis techniques to assess its ability to retrieve the spectrum of these planets in conditions as realistic as possible.