| Name: Ushasi Bhowmick |
| Affiliation: Space Applications Centre, ISRO |
| Conference ID: ASI2026_533 |
| Title: Investigating the impact of instrument noise in characterizing exoplanet atmospheres by transmission spectroscopy. |
| Abstract Type: Poster |
| Abstract Category: Sun, Solar System, Exoplanets, and Astrobiology |
| Author(s) and Co-Author(s) with Affiliation: Ushasi Bhowmick(Space Applications Centre, Ahmedabad - 380015, India), Manish Chauhan(Space Applications Centre, Ahmedabad - 380015, India), Asif M Mandayapuram(Space Applications Centre, Ahmedabad - 380015, India), Dr. Munn Vinayak Shukla(Space Applications Centre, Ahmedabad - 380015, India), Dr. Mehul R Pandya(Space Applications Centre, Ahmedabad - 380015, India), Dr. Jayesh Goyal(NISER, Bhubaneshwar - 752050, India), Dr. Anandmayee Tej(IIST, Thiruvananthapuram - 695547, India) |
| Abstract: With more than 6000 confirmed exoplanets detected as of 2025, the field of exoplanet studies has transitioned from detection of exoplanets to the characterization of their atmospheres. This is achieved by transit spectroscopy observations from space-based instruments such as the Hubble Space Telescope and the James Webb Telescope (JWST). With dedicated missions for atmospheric characterization being planned, such as the ARIEL and upcoming ISRO’s ExoWorlds mission, understanding the effects of spectral resolution and instrument signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is paramount for efficient investigation of exoplanets. Multi-transit
observations are necessary for characterizing earth-like planets with JWST. Upcoming dedicated missions will offer the necessary observation time required for large number of transits enabling high sensitivity detections of diverse molecular species.
This study presents a comparative analysis between exoplanets observable with JWST NIRSpec and upcoming instruments such as Ariel and a 2-m class telescope as proposed for the ExoWorlds mission. We simulate SNR figures for JWST-NIRSpec instruments using the Exposure-Time calculator (ETC) Pandeia, and use it as a baseline for comparison against that of upcoming missions. We extend the instrument systematics known for JWST to estimate SNR for Ariel and ExoWorlds, using ETC model ExoRad. We estimate the number of transits required for obtaining JWST-like sensitivity across known systems in the exoplanet catalog. We show the differences in observability of known systems and the impact of integration time, saturation conditions on detection thresholds for key atmospheric species. The preliminary estimates obtained in this study will complement upcoming studies and exposure time calculations for the ExoWorlds mission. |
