Analytical and numerical instrumental noise simulations for the Large Interferometer For Exoplanets (LIFE)

Philipp A. Huber; Felix A. Dannert; Romain Laugier; Thomas Birbacher; Adrian M. Glauser; Jonah T Hansen; Sascha P. Quanz

doi:10.1117/12.3018644

28 August 2024 Analytical and numerical instrumental noise simulations for the Large Interferometer For Exoplanets (LIFE)

Philipp A. Huber, Felix A. Dannert, Romain Laugier, Thomas Birbacher, Adrian M. Glauser, Jonah T Hansen, Sascha P. Quanz

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 13095, Optical and Infrared Interferometry and Imaging IX; 130951F (2024) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3018644
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2024, Yokohama, Japan

Abstract

The Large Interferometer For Exoplanets (LIFE) is a proposed space-based mid-infrared nulling interferometer featuring an array of formation-flying collectors and a central beam combiner. Its primary objective is the direct detection of dozens of temperate, terrestrial exoplanets and the investigation of their atmospheres to understand their composition and identify potential biosignatures. To get a realistic performance estimate of LIFE and derive technical requirements, a comprehensive understanding of all major noise sources impacting the mission performance is essential. Previous studies on the performance of LIFE have focused on fundamental noise from astrophysical sources and assumed the impact of instrumental noise to be non-dominant. Here, we report on our ongoing effort to explicitly model instrumental noise for LIFE. We consider two different methods: one providing a numerical solution by explicitly propagating the instability-induced errors in Monte Carlo simulations, and one providing an analytical solution using a second-order approximation of the leakage from instrumental instability noise. We give an overview of the two methods and argue in favor of the numerical method to support the efforts of the LIFE initiative in the ongoing concept phase, due to its flexibility for different observatory architectures, its fidelity in modeling the correlation of errors and fewer limitations concerning the parameter space of potential errors sources.

Conference Presentation

(2024) Published by SPIE. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

Citation Download Citation

Philipp A. Huber, Felix A. Dannert, Romain Laugier, Thomas Birbacher, Adrian M. Glauser, Jonah T Hansen, and Sascha P. Quanz "Analytical and numerical instrumental noise simulations for the Large Interferometer For Exoplanets (LIFE)", Proc. SPIE 13095, Optical and Infrared Interferometry and Imaging IX, 130951F (28 August 2024); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3018644

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