[P-AE17] Exoplanets

[PAE17-P08] Japanese Scientific Contribution to Ariel

*Masahiro Ikoma¹, Yuichi Ito¹, Yui Kawashima², Yuka Fujii¹, Norio Narita³, Akihiko Fukui³, Keigo Enya⁴, Go Murakami⁴, Shingo Kameda^5,4 (1.NAOJ, 2.RIKEN, 3.Univ. Tokyo, 4.ISAS, 5.Rikkyo Univ.)

Keywords:Exoplanet, Planetary atmosphere, Space mission

Exoplanet surveys such as Kepler and TESS have discovered thousands of planets outside our Solar System, demonstrating that planetary systems are common in the Galaxy. In addition, the diversity of physical properties of planets such as radius, mass, and orbital period has been revealed, which has greatly influenced our understanding of the formation and evolution of planetary systems. The next milestone in exoplanet science will be the observational collection of information on chemical and material science properties in addition to such physical properties to better understand the diversity of planets and planetary systems. In November 2020, the Atmospheric Remote-sensing Infrared Exoplanet Large-survey mission (Ariel) was adopted as the M4 mission of the European Space Agency (ESA). Ariel will perform infrared spectroscopic observations (in the wavelength range of 1.1 μm - 7.8 μm) of transiting exoplanets, primarily to characterize planetary atmospheres. This is the first spectroscopic space telescope dedicated to the observation of exoplanets, and by taking advantage of its dedicated nature, we plan to investigate the atmospheric characteristics of about 1000 exoplanets. The statistical information obtained is expected to provide beneficial constraints for understanding the chemical diversity of exoplanets and the formation and evolution of planets. In this talk, we will present the scientific significance and activities toward Japanese participation in Ariel.