Shuya Tan | Searcharxiv

arXiv2026

GREX-PLUS Science Book v2

GREX-PLUS (Galaxy Reionization EXplorer and PLanetary Universe Spectrometer) is a mission candidate for a JAXA strategic L-class mission to be launched in the 2030s. Its primary science goals are two-fold: galaxy formation and evolution, and planetary system formation and evolution. The GREX-PLUS spacecraft will carry a telescope with a 1 m primary mirror aperture cooled down to 50 K. The two science instruments will be onboard: a wide-field camera in the 2--8 $\mu$m wavelength band and a high-resolution spectrometer with a wavelength resolution of 30,000 in the 10--18 $\mu$m band. The GREX-PLUS wide-field camera aims to detect the first generation of galaxies at redshift $z>15$. The GREX-PLUS high-resolution spectrometer aims to identify the location of the water ``snowline'' in protoplanetary disks. Both instruments will provide unique datasets for a broad range of scientific topics, including galaxy mass assembly, the origin of supermassive blackholes, infrared background radiation, molecular spectroscopy in the interstellar medium, transit spectroscopy of exoplanet atmospheres, planetary atmospheres in the Solar System, and so on. This document is the second version of a collection of scientific themes that can be achieved with GREX-PLUS. Each section in Chapters~2 and 3 is based on presentations at several GREX-PLUS Science Workshops.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2022

Spatially resolved observations of Europa's surface with Subaru/IRCS at 1.0-1.8 $μm$: Upper limits to the abundances of hydrated Cl-bearing salts

Recent infrared observations at 1.5-4.0 $μm$ using large ground-based telescopes have suggested that Cl-bearing salts are likely present on Europa's surface as non-ice materials. The chemical compositions of those Cl-bearing salts are key to understanding Europa's ocean chemistry and habitability. Here we report the results of ground-based telescope observations of Europa across two wavelength ranges, 1.0-1.5 and 1.5-1.8 $μm$, of which the former range includes absorption features owing to some hydrated Cl-bearing salts. We obtained spatially resolved reflectance spectra using the Subaru Telescope/IRCS and the adaptive optics system AO188 with high wavelength resolutions ($δλ$ ~ 2 nm for 1.0-1.5 $μm$ and $δλ$ ~ 0.9 nm for 1.5-1.8 $μm$) and low noise levels (1$σ$ ~ 1-2 $\times$ 10$^{-3}$). We found no clear absorption features at ~1.2 $μ$m caused by hydrated Cl-bearing salts. We estimated that conservative upper limits to the abundances of MgCl$_2$$\cdot$nH$_2$O, NaClO$_4$$\cdot$2H$_2$O, Mg(ClO$_3$)$_2$$\cdot$6H$_2$O, and Mg(ClO$_4$)$_2$$\cdot$6H$_2$O on Europa are 17% (<10% for most) at the 3$σ$ noise level. These values are lower than the proposed abundance of some hydrated Cl-bearing salts (> ~20%) on Europa based on previous observations. This supports the idea that Cl-bearing salts on Europa are likely anhydrous Na salts of NaCl and/or NaClO$_4$, or hydrated NaCl$\cdot$2H$_2$O. The presence of Na salts suggests that Na$^+$ could be the major cation in Europa's ocean, which would be possible if the oceanic pH is circumneutral or alkaline.

astro-ph.EP↗