The Exoplanet Characterization Observatory (EChO): performance model and applications

We present EclipseSim, a radiometric model for exoplanet transit spectroscopy that allows easy exploration of the fundamental performance limits of any space-based facility aiming to perform such observations. It includes a library of stellar model atmosphere spectra and can either approximate exoplanet spectra by simplified models, or use any theoretical or observed spectrum, to simulate observations. All calculations are done in a spectrally resolved fashion and the contributions of the various fundamental noise sources are budgeted separately, allowing easy assessment of the dominant noise sources, as a function of wavelength. We apply EclipseSim to the Exoplanet Characterization Observatory (EChO), a proposed mission dedicated to exoplanet transit spectroscopy that is currently in competition for the M3 launch slot of ESA’s cosmic vision programme. We show several case studies on planets with sizes in the super-Earth to Jupiter range, and temperatures ranging from the temperate to the ≍1500K regime, demonstrating the power and versatility of EChO. EclipseSim is publicly available.