Objective
Understanding the nature and distribution of habitable environments in the Universe is one of the fundamental goals of modern astrophysics. For the life we know, liquid water on the planetary surface is a prerequisite. However, a direct detection of liquid water on exoplanets, and especially on a potentially habitable Earth-size planet, is not yet possible. The existence of water almost certainly implies the presence of atmospheric water vapour which must evaporate under stellar irradiation from a cloud deck or from the surface, together with other related molecules. Therefore, devising sensitive methods to detect hot molecules on exoplanets is of high importance. This proposal develops several exploratory theoretical and observational aspects of precision spectropolarimetry for detecting water vapour and other volatiles on exoplanets and in the inner part of protoplanetary disks. These are new tools for making progress in our understanding which fraction of planets acquires water and how planet formation influences their habitability. As a “double differential” technique, spectropolarimetry has enormous advantages for dynamic range problems, like detection of weak line signals against a large stellar background and exploration at scales beyond the angular resolution of telescopes, which are crucial for both exoplanets and inner disks. Direct detection of polarized spectral lines enables recovering precise orbits of exoplanets (including non-transiting systems) and evaluating their masses as well as potentially their magnetic fields. First applied to hot Jupiters the developed tools will create a firm foundation for future exploration of Earth-like planets with larger telescopes. The same technique applied to planetesimals in the inner disks of young stars yields their orbits, temperature, and chemical composition. These will provide constraints on the formation of a planetary atmosphere in the vicinity of the star and its habitable zone.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
ERC-2011-ADG_20110209
See other projects for this call
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Host institution
79110 FREIBURG
Germany
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.