Large Interferometer For Exoplanets (LIFE)

XIII. The value of combining thermal emission and reflected light for the characterization of Earth twins

¹ ETH Zurich, Institute for Particle Physics & Astrophysics, Wolfgang-Pauli-Str. 27, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland
e-mail: elalei@phys.ethz.ch
² National Center of Competence in Research PlanetS, Gesellschaftsstrasse 6, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
³ NASA Postdoctoral Program Fellow, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
e-mail: eleonora.alei@nasa.gov
⁴ ETH Zurich, Department of Earth Sciences, Sonneggstrasse 5, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
⁵ NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
⁶ American University, 4400 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington, DC 20016, USA
⁷ Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie, Königstuhl 17, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
⁸ Department of Astronomy, The University of Michigan West Hall 323, 1085 S. University Avenue Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
⁹ Lunar & Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
¹⁰ Department of Physics and Astronomy, York University, 4700 Keele St., Toronto, ON M3J 1P3, Canada

Received: 10 April 2024
Accepted: 23 June 2024

Abstract

Context. Following the recommendations to NASA (in the Astro2020 Decadal survey) and ESA (through the Voyage2050 process), the search for life on exoplanets will be a priority in the next decades. Two concepts for direct imaging space missions are being developed for this purpose: the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) and the Large Interferometer for Exoplanets (LIFE). These two concepts operate in different spectral regimes: HWO is focused on reflected light spectra in the ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared (UV/VIS/NIR), while LIFE will operate in the mid-infrared (MIR) to capture the thermal emission of temperate exoplanets.

Aims. In this study, we aim to assess the potential of HWO and LIFE to characterize a cloud-free Earth twin orbiting a Sun-like star at a distance of 10 pc, both as separate missions and in synergy with each other. We aim to quantify the increase in information that can be gathered by joint atmospheric retrievals on a habitable planet.

Methods. We performed Bayesian retrievals on simulated data obtained by an HWO-like mission and a LIFE-like one separately, then jointly. We considered the baseline spectral resolutions currently assumed for these concepts and used two increasingly complex noise simulations, obtained using state-of-the-art noise simulators.

Results. An HWO-like concept would allow one to strongly constrain H₂O, O₂, and O₃ in the atmosphere of a cloud-free Earth twin, while the atmospheric temperature profile is not well constrained (with an average uncertainty ≈100 K). LIFE-like observations would strongly constrain CO₂, H₂O, and O₃ and provide stronger constraints on the thermal atmospheric structure and surface temperature (down to ≈10 K uncertainty). For all the investigated scenarios, both missions would provide an upper limit on CH₄. A joint retrieval on HWO and LIFE data would accurately define the atmospheric thermal profile and planetary parameters. It would decisively constrain CO₂, H₂O, O₂, and O₃ and find weak constraints on CO and CH₄. The significance of the detection is in all cases greater than or equal to the single-instrument retrievals.

Conclusions. Both missions provide specific information that is relevant for the characterization of a terrestrial habitable exoplanet, but the scientific yield can be maximized by considering synergistic studies of UV/VIS/NIR+MIR observations. The use of HWO and LIFE together will provide stronger constraints on biosignatures and life indicators, with the potential to be transformative for the search for life in the Universe.