Paper
24 July 2014 Planet formation imager (PFI): introduction and technical considerations
Author Affiliations +
Abstract
Complex non-linear and dynamic processes lie at the heart of the planet formation process. Through numerical simulation and basic observational constraints, the basics of planet formation are now coming into focus. High resolution imaging at a range of wavelengths will give us a glimpse into the past of our own solar system and enable a robust theoretical framework for predicting planetary system architectures around a range of stars surrounded by disks with a diversity of initial conditions. Only long-baseline interferometry can provide the needed angular resolution and wavelength coverage to reach these goals and from here we launch our planning efforts. The aim of the Planet Formation Imager" (PFI) project is to develop the roadmap for the construction of a new near-/mid-infrared interferometric facility that will be optimized to unmask all the major stages of planet formation, from initial dust coagulation, gap formation, evolution of transition disks, mass accretion onto planetary embryos, and eventual disk dispersal. PFI will be able to detect the emission of the cooling, newlyformed planets themselves over the first 100 Myrs, opening up both spectral investigations and also providing a vibrant look into the early dynamical histories of planetary architectures. Here we introduce the Planet Formation Imager (PFI) Project (www.planetformationimager.org) and give initial thoughts on possible facility architectures and technical advances that will be needed to meet the challenging top-level science requirements.
© (2014) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
John D. Monnier, Stefan Kraus, David Buscher, J.-P. Berger, Christopher Haniff, Michael Ireland, Lucas Labadie, Sylvestre Lacour, Herve Le Coroller, Romain G Petrov, Jörg-Uwe Pott, Stephen Ridgway, Jean Surdej, Theo ten Brummelaar, Peter Tuthill, and Gerard van Belle "Planet formation imager (PFI): introduction and technical considerations", Proc. SPIE 9146, Optical and Infrared Interferometry IV, 914610 (24 July 2014); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2057262
Lens.org Logo
CITATIONS
Cited by 15 scholarly publications.
Advertisement
Advertisement
RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS
Get copyright permission  Get copyright permission on Copyright Marketplace
KEYWORDS
Planets

Telescopes

Space telescopes

Stars

Imaging systems

Spatial resolution

Interferometry

RELATED CONTENT


Back to Top