Exoplanets

Abstract

The study of exoplanets is one of the fastest-growing areas in astronomy. The number of known exoplanets has increased dramatically, providing new insights into the galaxy’s diversity and abundance of planetary systems. The field has progressed significantly from discovery and characterization to various new areas, including exploring the demographics of exoplanets, examining their atmospheres, investigating the process of planetary formation and evolution, studying the interactions between stars and planets, and searching for signs of life beyond our solar system. These advances are made by drawing expertise from astrophysics, planetary science, atmospheric science, and astrobiology. Recently, there has been a steady growth in the number of Indian astronomers involved in exoplanet research. This exoplanet vision document, prepared under the aegis of ASI, summarizes the field’s current status globally. It also highlights the efforts of various research groups in the country and identifies potential directions for future research. To be able to do competitive exoplanet science within the country, we suggest implementing capacity-building measures in the areas of modeling and theory, establishing new observational facilities, and fostering collaboration within the country and abroad. Specific recommendations of the exoplanet working group are as follows: (1) We identify RV follow-up observations of exoplanets discovered by ongoing and future space-based surveys such as TESS, Gaia, and PLATO as the highest priority areas for the community. We recommend a 4-m class (or large) telescope mounted with a high resolution (R 100 K) spectrograph for the RV follow-up and transit spectroscopy studies in the long-term (10–15 yr). In the interim, sufficient time should be made available to the community on the PARAS-2/PRL facility and the upcoming high-resolution spectrograph on DOT/ARIES for these studies. (2) Developing new technology and building state-of-the-art exoplanet instruments for the future 10 m facility class National Large Optical Telescope (NLOT). (3) Leveraging ISRO’s strength in the space program to plan and develop small (e.g., UV, optical, and IR transit payloads) and big space missions (e.g., ExoWorlds) for exoplanet science. (4) Setting up a 1 m class transit telescope for survey and follow-up studies and to have synergy with other observatories for continuous and time-critical observations across different longitudes. (5) Expanding computational resources and augmenting modeling/simulation efforts. (6) Taking the excitement of exoplanet discoveries to the public by integrating it with various outreach and educational activities of the institutes.