Planet Formation Imager (PFI): project update and future directions

John D. Monnier; Stefan Kraus; Michael J. Ireland

doi:10.1117/12.3028919

28 August 2024 Planet Formation Imager (PFI): project update and future directions

John D. Monnier, Stefan Kraus, Michael J. Ireland

Proceedings Volume 13095, Optical and Infrared Interferometry and Imaging IX; 130950K (2024) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3028919
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2024, Yokohama, Japan

Abstract

The Planet Formation Imager (PFI) Project is dedicated to defining a next-generation facility that can answer fundamental questions about how planets form, including detection of young giant exoplanets and their circumplanetary disks. The proposed expansive design for a 12-element array of 8m class telescopes with >1.2km baselines would indeed revolutionize our understanding of planet formation and is technically achievable, albeit at a high cost. It has been 10 years since this conceptual design process began and we give an overview of the status of the PFI project. We also review how a scaled back PFI with fewer large telescopes could answer a range of compelling science questions, including in planet formation and as well as totally different astrophysics areas. New opportunities make a space-based PFI more feasible now and we give a brief overview of new efforts that could also pave the way for the Large Interferometer for Exoplanets (LIFE) space mission.

Conference Presentation

(2024) Published by SPIE. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

Citation Download Citation

John D. Monnier, Stefan Kraus, and Michael J. Ireland "Planet Formation Imager (PFI): project update and future directions", Proc. SPIE 13095, Optical and Infrared Interferometry and Imaging IX, 130950K (28 August 2024); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3028919

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