2005/10/01 by H. M. Schmid, Jean-Luc Beuzit, M. Feldt +15 · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · Engineering · #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #Astronomy and Astrophysical Research #Astronomical Observations and Instrumentation
paper · pdf · doi:10.1017/s1743921306009252
openalex publication_date 2005/10/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/04
Light reflected from planets is polarized. This basic property of planets provides the possibility for detecting and characterizing extra-solar planets using polarimetry. The expected polarization properties of extra-solar planets are discussed that can be inferred from polarimetry of “our” solar system planets. They show a large variety of characteristics depending on the atmospheric and/or surface properties. Best candidates for a polarimetric detection are extra-solar planets with an optically thick Rayleigh scattering layer.Even the detection of highly polarized extra-solar planets requires a very sophisticated instrument. We present the results from a phase A (feasibility) study for a polarimetric arm in the ESO VLT planet finder instrument. It is shown that giant planets around nearby stars can be searched and investigated with an imaging polarimeter, combined with a powerful AO system and a coronagraph at an 8 m class telescope.A similar type of polarimeter is also considered for the direct detection of terrestrial planets using an AO system on one of the future Extremely Large Telescopes.