Authors

N. Thatte, F. Clarke, M. Tecza, G. Salter, and the HARMONI consortium

Affiliations

University of Oxford; CRAL, Lyon; CSIC, Madrid; IAC, Tenerife; UKATC, Edinburgh

Abstract

HARMONI, a work-horse visible and near-infrared integral field spectrograph for the E-ELT, is extremely well suited to carry out follow-up spectroscopy of directly detected exo-planets discovered by the upcoming generation of planet finders at the VLT, Gemini and Subaru. With its diffraction limited pixel scale (4mas/spaxel), large simultaneous wavelength coverage (H+K in a single exposure), and range of spectral resolving powers (R 4000, 10000 and 20000), combined with the EELT’s vast collecting area, it can measure exo-planet spectral features in great detail, allowing us to deduce the planet’s basic properties and characterize its atmosphere. I will present a brief overview of the capabilities of the instrument, and some simulated performance estimates.