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15 micron cutoff HgCdTe Infrared Detector Arrays for Exo-Astronomy
  • +2
  • William Forrest,
  • Mario S. Cabrera,
  • Craig W. McMurtry,
  • Meghan L. Dorn,
  • Judith L. Pipher
William Forrest
University of Rochester

Corresponding Author:forrest@pas.rochester.edu

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Mario S. Cabrera
University of Rochester
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Craig W. McMurtry
University of Rochester
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Meghan L. Dorn
University of Rochester
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Judith L. Pipher
University of Rochester
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Abstract

The holy grail of ExoPlanet research is finding and characterizing terrestrial planets orbiting in the habitable zones of a neighboring stars. The first question to be answered is: does the planet have an atmosphere, and what is it’s composition. Theory and observation confirm that the one universal atmospheric component should be CO_2. Hence a successful mission must determine it’s presence. The most direct path to detection is through the enormously strong 15 micron vibration-rotation feature of CO_2, hence the technology we’re developing. Because of the CO_2 in the earth’s atmosphere, this requires a space observatory, such as the JWST. Our technology can also be used to detect water vapor and ozone in exoplanet atmospheres, the latter of which indicates abundant life, probably indicative of a ‘Cambrian Explosion’ event on the exoplanet.