DETECTING INDUSTRIAL POLLUTION IN THE ATMOSPHERES OF EARTH-LIKE EXOPLANETS

Detecting biosignatures, such as molecular oxygen in combination with a reducing gas, in the atmospheres of transiting exoplanets has been a major focus in the search for alien life. We point out that in addition to these generic indicators, anthropogenic pollution could be used as a novel biosignat...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Astrophysical journal. Letters 2014-09, Vol.792 (1), p.1-4
Main Authors: Lin, Henry W, Abad, Gonzalo Gonzalez, Loeb, Abraham
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
ASTROPHYSICS, COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
CARBON TETRAFLUORIDE
CHLOROFLUOROCARBONS
CONCENTRATION RATIO
EARTH ATMOSPHERE
Extrasolar planets
FREONS
INDICATORS
OXYGEN
Planetary atmospheres
PLANETS
Pollutants
Pollution abatement
SATELLITE ATMOSPHERES
SPACE
Space telescopes
Spectra
TELESCOPES
Tetrafluoromethane
WHITE DWARF STARS
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Summary:Detecting biosignatures, such as molecular oxygen in combination with a reducing gas, in the atmospheres of transiting exoplanets has been a major focus in the search for alien life. We point out that in addition to these generic indicators, anthropogenic pollution could be used as a novel biosignature for intelligent life. To this end, we identify pollutants in the Earth's atmosphere that have significant absorption features in the spectral range covered by the James Webb Space Telescope. We focus on tetrafluoromethane (CF sub(4)) and trichlorofluoromethane (CCl sub(3)F), which are the easiest to detect chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) produced by anthropogenic activity. We estimate that ~ 1.2 days (~1.7 days) of total integration time will be sufficient to detect or constrain the concentration of CCl sub(3)F (CF sub(4)) to ~10 times the current terrestrial level.
ISSN:2041-8213
2041-8205
2041-8213
DOI:10.1088/2041-8205/792/1/L7