A Fabry Perot Instrument for Oxygen Searches in Exoplanet Atmospheres -- Surangkhana Rukdee
The large light-gathering capacity of upcoming Giant Segmented Mirror Telescopes are expected to have enough collecting area to start searching for potential biosignature gases, notably molecular oxygen O2, in the atmospheres of small planets around nearby stars. Recent simulations have shown that spectral resolutions of 300,000 - 400,000 are optimal to detect O2 in the atmosphere of an earth analog. Typical high-resolution spectrographs have resolutions around 100,000. To increase detection capabilities, we have developed a Fabry Perot Interferometer for Oxygen Searches (FIOS), an interferometer array coupled to a high-resolution spectrograph. FIOS can achieve a spectral resolution of 500,000 at the O2 A-band (760 nm). It is optimal for O2 detection, while maintaining a higher throughput compared to instruments with similar spectral resolving power. We describe the instrument concept, a simulation of its sensitivity, and preliminary results from our lab prototype.