Speaker
Description
By harnessing the unique capabilities afforded by optical interferometry, VLTI/GRAVITY+ has recently become a powerful new tool for the direct detection and characterisation of exoplanets. Its extreme astrometric precision allows us to accurately constrain orbital geometries and dynamical masses just as its direct K-band spectra permit peering into the atmospheres of these objects. On top of this, its unmatched inner working angle enables exoplanet detections at separations of a few AU from the stellar hosts, a parameter space currently inaccessible to classical imaging instruments. Combined with the plethora of astrometric data contained in Gaia DR4, we will soon be able to efficiently build a population-level sample of benchmark exoplanets with direct mass measurements on orbits comparable to those found in our own Solar System. Besides building an extensive target sample for future follow-up with ELT/METIS, exploiting the profound synergies between Gaia DR4 and GRAVITY+ in a concerted large-scale follow-up effort will shed light on long-standing questions as to the giant planet occurrence rate around the water ice line, preferred formation channels, the validity of initial entropy models, and cloud properties around the L-T transition. In this talk, we make the case for focussing these endeavours in a coordinated and collaborative ESO Large Programme.
| Talk category | NOVA Network 2 |
|---|---|
| Second preference | Splinter 2 |
