Biology
Scientific paper
Dec 2011
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2011agufm.p14c..08s&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2011, abstract #P14C-08
Biology
[5200] Planetary Sciences: Astrobiology
Scientific paper
A fundamental topic in astronomy is the study of extrasolar planets, the ultimate goal of which is to image and characterize Earth-like planets around other stars and determine whether they host life. Polarization and spectropolarization observations provide unique diagnostic information and can contribute to both the detection and characterization phases of extasolar planet astronomy. Ultimately polarization may even be able to help us to determine whether life is present. Polarimetry can be used in several ways to facilitate planetary detection, and can influence mission design by providing an effective discriminant for true companions shining by reflected light against background objects. This may be particularly effective when coupled to other differential methods such as integral field spectroscopy (Sparks and Ford 2002). Spectropolarimetry can play an important role in the characterization phase of extrasolar planets in general, probing aerosols and surface and atmospheric scattering. In the search for life, time resolved spectropolarimetry can be used to seek evidence of special features such as a strongly polarized specular reflection, "glint", that would arise from the liquid surface of an extrasolar ocean, or rainbows from liquid droplets (Bailey 2007; Zugger et al 2010; Karalidi et al 2011). Looking further into the future, precision circular spectropolarimetry may offer a direct probe of the presence of microbial photosynthesis or vegetation. The unique homochirality of biological material coupled to the optical activity of biological compounds means that biological matter can influence the polarization, circular polarization in particular, of reflected light. Homochirality arises as a consequence of self-replication hence is likely to be generic to all forms of biological life and has the potential to produce a macroscopic signature. We have shown that a variety of photosynthetic microbial organisms, as well as macroscopic vegetation, yield significant and distinctive signatures in their circular polarization spectra. The strongest polarization is found in the photosynthetically active spectral regions (Sparks et al 2009ab). Hence circular polarization spectroscopy, though technically challenging, may offer one of the purest and most direct generic biosignatures at our disposal.
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