Imaging Venus-like Worlds: Spectral, Polarimetric, and UV Diagnostics for the Habitable Worlds Observatory
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arXiv
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| Auteurs principaux: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Preprint |
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2026
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| author | Kane, Stephen R. Bott, Kimberly M. Gordon, Kenneth E. Goodis Miles, Emma L. Ostberg, Colby M. Byrne, Paul K. Carone, Ludmila Daylan, Tansu Munoz, Antonio Garcia Harada, Caleb K. Hu, Renyu Izenberg, Noam. R. Kohler, Erika Rice, Malena Sagynbayeva, Sabina Scherf, Manuel Schwieterman, Edward W. Woitke, Peter |
| author_facet | Kane, Stephen R. Bott, Kimberly M. Gordon, Kenneth E. Goodis Miles, Emma L. Ostberg, Colby M. Byrne, Paul K. Carone, Ludmila Daylan, Tansu Munoz, Antonio Garcia Harada, Caleb K. Hu, Renyu Izenberg, Noam. R. Kohler, Erika Rice, Malena Sagynbayeva, Sabina Scherf, Manuel Schwieterman, Edward W. Woitke, Peter |
| contents | Understanding planetary habitability requires a comparative approach that explores the divergent evolutionary outcomes of Earth and Venus. The Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) will be uniquely positioned to conduct a statistical and physical census of terrestrial exoplanets spanning the Venus Zone (VZ) and the Habitable Zone (HZ), enabling the detection and atmospheric characterization of post-runaway greenhouse worlds (``exoVenuses''). We present an updated list of VZ exoplanets, which raises the number of known candidates to 370. We describe a science case and an observing strategy for VZ exoplanets that integrates precursor exoplanet detection data and stellar characterization with HWO direct imaging, spectroscopy across the UV/optical/IR, and spectropolarimetry. Our proposed framework emphasizes a pathway toward the diagnosis of sulfur chemistry (SO$_2$) and aerosol physics (H$_2$SO$_4$ clouds/hazes), planetary redox states (O$_2$/O$_3$ false positives from hydrogen loss), and cloud microphysics detection (rainbow polarization). We quantify implications for HWO requirements, including UV access to 0.2--0.4 $μ$m, optical/NIR coverage to $\gtrsim$1.5 $μ$m, inner working angle (IWA) reaching 0.3--1.5 AU around nearby Sun-like stars, and the SNR/resolution needed for key features. Finally, we outline a community-driven path to producing robust demographic inferences and target selection for optimizing HWO observations. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2602_02728 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Imaging Venus-like Worlds: Spectral, Polarimetric, and UV Diagnostics for the Habitable Worlds Observatory Kane, Stephen R. Bott, Kimberly M. Gordon, Kenneth E. Goodis Miles, Emma L. Ostberg, Colby M. Byrne, Paul K. Carone, Ludmila Daylan, Tansu Munoz, Antonio Garcia Harada, Caleb K. Hu, Renyu Izenberg, Noam. R. Kohler, Erika Rice, Malena Sagynbayeva, Sabina Scherf, Manuel Schwieterman, Edward W. Woitke, Peter Earth and Planetary Astrophysics Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics Understanding planetary habitability requires a comparative approach that explores the divergent evolutionary outcomes of Earth and Venus. The Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) will be uniquely positioned to conduct a statistical and physical census of terrestrial exoplanets spanning the Venus Zone (VZ) and the Habitable Zone (HZ), enabling the detection and atmospheric characterization of post-runaway greenhouse worlds (``exoVenuses''). We present an updated list of VZ exoplanets, which raises the number of known candidates to 370. We describe a science case and an observing strategy for VZ exoplanets that integrates precursor exoplanet detection data and stellar characterization with HWO direct imaging, spectroscopy across the UV/optical/IR, and spectropolarimetry. Our proposed framework emphasizes a pathway toward the diagnosis of sulfur chemistry (SO$_2$) and aerosol physics (H$_2$SO$_4$ clouds/hazes), planetary redox states (O$_2$/O$_3$ false positives from hydrogen loss), and cloud microphysics detection (rainbow polarization). We quantify implications for HWO requirements, including UV access to 0.2--0.4 $μ$m, optical/NIR coverage to $\gtrsim$1.5 $μ$m, inner working angle (IWA) reaching 0.3--1.5 AU around nearby Sun-like stars, and the SNR/resolution needed for key features. Finally, we outline a community-driven path to producing robust demographic inferences and target selection for optimizing HWO observations. |
| title | Imaging Venus-like Worlds: Spectral, Polarimetric, and UV Diagnostics for the Habitable Worlds Observatory |
| topic | Earth and Planetary Astrophysics Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.02728 |