Exoplanet Atmospheres And Demographics In The 2040s

Direct observations of exoplanets probe the demographics and atmospheric composition of young self-luminous companions, yielding insight into their formation and early evolution history.

In the near future, Gaia will reveal hundreds of nearby young exoplanets amenable to direct follow-up observations. Long-baseline interferometry with current and future facilities is best capable of exploiting this unique synergy which is poised to deliver a statistical sample of benchmark planets with precise dynamical masses and in-depth atmospheric characterization.

This will enable tackling the longstanding question of how giant planets form from multiple angles simultaneously, shining light on the complex physical processes underlying planet formation.

Jens Kammerer, Sydney Vach, Sylvestre Lacour, Mathias Nowak, Thomas Winterhalder, Antoine Mérand, Akke Corporaal, Guillaume Bourdarot, Stefan Kraus, Sasha Hinkley

Comments: Submitted as science white paper to ESO Expanding Horizons call
Subjects: Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics (astro-ph.IM); Earth and Planetary Astrophysics (astro-ph.EP)
Cite as: arXiv:2601.11695 [astro-ph.IM] (or arXiv:2601.11695v1 [astro-ph.IM] for this version)
https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2601.11695
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Submission history
From: Jens Kammerer
[v1] Fri, 16 Jan 2026 17:49:11 UTC (475 KB)
https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.11695
Astrobiology, Astronomy, Exoplanet,