Abstract Details
| Name: Ayanabha De Affiliation: Indian Institute of Astrophysics Conference ID: ASI2025_539 Title : Detectability of Snow-lines in protoplanetary disks and photometric variation of directly imaged exoplanets using SCALES Authors and Co-Authors : Ayanabha De 1, Ravinder K. Banyal 1, Arun Surya 1, Stephanie Sallum 2, Andrew Skemer 3, T. Sivarani 1 Abstract Type : Poster Abstract Category : Sun, Solar System, Exoplanets, and Astrobiology Abstract : Context: SCALES (Slicer Combined with Array of Lenslets for Exoplanet Spectroscopy) is the first exoplanet-dedicated integral field unit (IFU) planned to be commissioned on Keck in 2025. Backed by the best adaptive optics and the 10m aperture of Keck, SCALES shall provide a unique and powerful opportunity to spectrally characterize exoplanet atmospheres and study protoplanetary disks in more detail than ever at 2-5 microns wavelength ranges. Aim: This work explores the feasibility of two different science cases with SCALES. 1) Detectability of snow lines (e.g. of water, CO2 and CO) in face-on protoplanetary disks from scattered light at IR wavelengths - Several planet formation theories rely on the existence of snow-line, which separates molecules of certain types in the gas phase from the ice phase. However, snow lines have never been observed due to instrument limitations. 2) Detectability of photometric variation of directly imaged rotating exoplanets due to large cloud structures or transiting/eclipsing exomoons - This could pave the way for studying planetary clouds and measuring their rotational period. Additionally, this method holds the tantalizing possibility of detecting exomoons around young, bright exo-Jupiters. Methods: We define inhomogeneous exoplanetary atmospheres and model their spectra at different rotational phases using the PICASO radiative transfer code. For the protoplanetary disk, we obtain dust temperature maps from RADMC3D and interface it with LIME to get the gas and ice absorption lines in the scattered light spectrum. We then consider all primary noise sources (photon shot, speckle, detector crosstalk, etc.) to compute the allowed error budget for detecting our science targets with significant confidence with SCALES. |