[en] The Hi-5 instrument, a proposed high-contrast L’ band (3.5-4.0 μm) nulling interferometer for the visitor focus of the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI), will characterize young extra-solar planetary systems and exozodiacal dust around nearby main-sequence stars. Thanks to VLTI’s angular resolution (λ/B = 5 mas for the longest UT baseline), it will fill the gap between young giant exoplanets discovered by ongoing single-aperture direct imaging surveys and exoplanet populations discovered by radial velocity surveys.
In this paper, we investigate the exoplanet detection yield of Hi-5. First, we present the latest catalog of stars identified as members of young stellar associations within 150 pc of the Sun thanks to the BANYAN algorithm and other searches for young moving group members. Realistic exoplanet populations are then generated around these stars and processed with the SCIFYsim tool, the end-to-end simulator for the Hi-5 instrument. Then, two formation models are used to estimate the giant planet’s luminosity. The first is the New Generation Planetary Population Synthesis (NGPPS), also known as the Bern model, and the second is a statistical model based on gravitational instability (hot-start model - AMES-Dusty model).
We show that Hi-5 is insensitive to cold-start planets but can detect giant hot-start planets. With ATs, more than 40 planets could be detected assuming 20 nights of observations. With its unique capabilities, Hi-5 is also able to constrain in mass the observed systems. Hi-5 is sensitive to planets with a mass > 2 Mjup around the snow line.
Research Center/Unit :
CSL - Centre Spatial de Liège - ULiège STAR - Space sciences, Technologies and Astrophysics Research - ULiège
Disciplines :
Space science, astronomy & astrophysics
Author, co-author :
Dandumont, Colin ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Unités de recherche interfacultaires > Space sciences, Technologies and Astrophysics Research (STAR)
Laugier, Romain
Emsenhuber, Alexandre
Gagne, Jonathan
Absil, Olivier ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Unités de recherche interfacultaires > Space sciences, Technologies and Astrophysics Research (STAR)
Bigioli, Azzurra
Bonavita, Mariangela
Garreau, Germain
Ireland, Michael J.
Martinod, Marc-Antoine
Loicq, Jerôme ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Unités de recherche interfacultaires > Space sciences, Technologies and Astrophysics Research (STAR)
Defrere, Denis ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département d'astrophysique, géophysique et océanographie (AGO) > Planetary & Stellar systems Imaging Laboratory
Language :
English
Title :
VLTI/Hi-5: detection yield predictions for young giant exoplanets
ERC - European Research Council [BE] Union Européenne [BE]
Funding number :
866070
Funding text :
SCIFY has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (grant agreement CoG - 866070). This project has received funding from the European Unions Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 101004719.