DETECTING INDUSTRIAL POLLUTION IN THE ATMOSPHERES OF EARTH-LIKE EXOPLANETS

Journal Article · Mon Sep 01 00:00:00 EDT 2014 · Astrophysical Journal Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/792/1/L7· OSTI ID:22365223

Lin, Henry W. ^[1]; Abad, Gonzalo Gonzalez; Loeb, Abraham ^[2]

---

1. Harvard College, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States)
2. Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden St., Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States)

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.

• OSTI ID: 22365223
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal Letters, Vol. 792, Issue 1; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 2041-8205
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTROPHYSICS
COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
CARBON TETRAFLUORIDE
CHLOROFLUOROCARBONS
CONCENTRATION RATIO
EARTH ATMOSPHERE
FREONS
INDICATORS
OXYGEN
PLANETS
SATELLITE ATMOSPHERES
SPACE
TELESCOPES
WHITE DWARF STARS