Transit spectroscopy of exoplanets from space: how to optimize the wavelength coverage and spectral resolving power

The study of exoplanets is an exploding field in astronomy. Recent discoveries have made possible the development of a new research field, the spectroscopic characterization of the exoplanetary atmospheres, using both primary and eclipse transits. A dedicated space mission will make possible the characterization of many classes of exoplanets, from the hot Jupiters to the temperate super-Earths. In this paper, we discuss how the spectral range and the spectral resolving power can be optimized for identifying a maximum number of candidate atmospheric species. Spectral modeling shows that the simultaneous observation of the whole spectral range, from 0.55 to 16 μm is ideal for (1) capturing all types of planets at different temperatures, (2) detecting the variety of chemical atmospheric compounds with some redundancy, and (3) enabling an optimal retrieval of the chemical abundances and thermal profile. Limiting the spectral interval to 11 μm would make the retrieval more difficult in the case of cold exoplanets. In the visible range, the extension down to 0.4 s at different temperatures, (2) detecting the variety of chemical atmospheric compounds with some redundancy, and (3) enabling an optimal retrieval of the chemical abundances andst candidate molecules.