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Shaping the Italian contribution to HWO

10–11 Jul 2025
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  1. 5. Demographics of Terrestrial Planetary Systems: Now, and in the HWO Era
    Dr Alessandro Sozzetti (Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF))
    10/07/2025, 10:40

    I will provide a brief overview of our present knowledge of the demographics of planetary systems with (temperate) terrestrial, rocky planets. I will then outline how convergent multi-technique observational approaches in the coming two decades will help maximizing the scientific return of HWO's primary goal of searching for biosignatures in the atmospheres of tens of potentially habitable...

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  2. 6. Synergies between Ariel and the Habitable Worlds Observatory
    Giuseppina Micela (Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF))
    10/07/2025, 10:55
  3. 7. Sinergie tra PLATO e HWO
    Giampaolo Piotto
    10/07/2025, 11:10
  4. 8. Characterizing planet-host stars: the case of Ariel
    Maria Tsantaki (Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF))
    10/07/2025, 11:25

    The exoplanet characterization follows the axiom: know the star, know the planet. In order to achieve the goal of Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) for the search of other Earths, a precise and accurate knowledge of the properties of their host star is necessary. The NASA Exoplanet Exploration Program has already released a list of ~160 nearby targets identified as the most accessible to...

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  5. 2. Venus and Earth as analog environments for the characterization of terrestrial exoplanets looking at HWO in the context of the AVENGERS initiative
    Dr Piero D'Incecco (Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF))
    10/07/2025, 11:40

    Several missions have been recently selected to explore Venus, that during the next decade will focus on the analysis of its atmosphere, surface and interiors. Additionally, missions have been selected to search for and characterize terrestrial exoplanets and potentially habitable worlds, with the Habitable Worlds Observatory being the next generation space telescope devoted to this type of...

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  6. 52. From Planet Formation to Bio-signatures: An OPAL for the Habitable Worlds Observatory
    Danai Polychroni (Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF))
    10/07/2025, 11:50

    The Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) is designed to directly image and characterize temperate exoplanets, searching for signs of life through UV-optical-infrared spectroscopy. During the ongoing science and technology maturation phase it is particularly important to realistically inform target characterization and selection to consolidate and optimize the mission capabilities.
    The OPAL...

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  7. 71. Beyond the Habitable Zone: A Multiscale Approach to Exoplanetary Biosignature Detection for HWO
    Marco Marcellino (Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF))
    10/07/2025, 12:00

    The search for promising candidates for life necessitates moving beyond the traditional Habitable Zone paradigm, employing a multiscale approach that integrates biological, chemical, and astrophysical perspectives. This presentation will demonstrate how our current understanding of extremophilic microorganisms, coupled with their environmental tolerances, can effectively characterize the...

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  8. 50. Oxygenic phototrophs exposed to simulated exoplanetary conditions: possible biosignatures in different organisms
    Elisabetta Liistro
    10/07/2025, 12:10

    Oxygenic photosynthesis generates atmospheric and surface biosignatures, ideal targets for investigating the detectability of life beyond Earth. These are linked, respectively, to the oxygen release activity of oxygenic photosynthesis and to the absorption of their photosynthetic pigments, which on Earth generate a distinctive reflectance spectrum. As prime exoplanet targets for astrobiology...

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  9. 11. Are We Alone? The Science Potential of Habitable Worlds Observatory.
    Giada Arney
    10/07/2025, 14:00
  10. 12. Opportunities for Transformative General Astrophysics with HWO
    Jason Tumlinson
    10/07/2025, 14:15
  11. 14. Habitable Worlds Observatory Architecture & Technology Development
    Matt Bolcar (NASA, Goddard))
    10/07/2025, 14:30
  12. 76. Question and answer
    10/07/2025, 14:55
  13. 15. Unveiling the star formation mechanism with HWO
    Alessio Traficante (Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF))
    10/07/2025, 15:05
  14. 16. Investigating the origin of stars with the Habitable World Observatory
    Giuseppe Germano Sacco (Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF))
    10/07/2025, 15:20

    Understanding the processes that lead to star formation is essential for addressing key questions in modern astronomy, from the origin of the Solar System to the evolution of galaxies. While a broad framework for star formation in the Milky Way has been established, several critical aspects remain unresolved. In particular, the influence of the
    environment properties, such as stellar density...

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  15. 17. Astrometry of resolved stellar populations with MAVIS and HWO
    Davide Massari (Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF))
    10/07/2025, 15:35
  16. 18. Tracing Galaxy Evolution with Resolved Stars: The HWO Perspective
    Francesca Annibali (Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF))
    10/07/2025, 15:50

    In this talk, I will review our current understanding of resolved stellar populations in nearby galaxies, with particular emphasis on the progress enabled by JWST. I will then discuss the advances expected from the ELT, focusing on the unprecedented spatial resolution achievable with the MORFEO-MICADO system. Finally, I will explore future prospects opened by HWO and its potential to push the...

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  17. 3. The HWO perspective of the Italian JEDI collaboration - JEts and Disk @ INAF
    Elisabetta Rigliaco (Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF))
    10/07/2025, 16:05

    The evolution of disks around young-low-mass stars and the related phenomena of accretion and outflows are hot topics in modern astrophysics. Our capability to investigate these key aspects for star- and planet-formation has recently received a boost thanks to the increasing quality of high spatial and spectral resolution observations and new analytic and numerical tools for theoretical...

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  18. 19. Solving reionization with HWO
    Laura Pentericci (Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF))
    10/07/2025, 16:45
  19. 20. Studying the intergalactic medium with a future space telescope
    Valentina D'Odorico (Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF))
    10/07/2025, 17:00
  20. 21. AGN and Galaxy Evolution: Exploring the Final Frontier with HWO
    Alessandro Marconi (Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università di Firenze)
    10/07/2025, 17:15
  21. 22. Shaping the Future of Time-Domain and Multi-Messenger Astronomy with HWO
    Silvia Piranomonte (Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF))
    10/07/2025, 17:30
  22. 23. New frontiers in cosmology in view of the Habitable World Observatory
    Michele Ennio Maria Moresco (Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF))
    10/07/2025, 17:45

    I will present an overview of the frontiers and challenges for cosmology in view of the Habitable World Observatoryervatory

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  23. 53. Supernova science with the HWO
    Luca Izzo (Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF))
    10/07/2025, 18:00

    While primarily designed for the detection and characterization of exoplanets, the Habitable Worlds Observatory will also provide a transformative platform for time-domain astrophysics, particularly supernova science. Its combination of high-angular-resolution imaging, wide spectral coverage from the UV to near-infrared, and high-throughput spectroscopy will enable key advances in several...

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  24. 33. The future of the ESA Science Programme
    Luigi Colangeli (ESA)
    11/07/2025, 09:00
  25. 30. The Pollux instrument for HWO: a high-resolution spectropolarimeter from the far-UV to the near-IR
    Luca Fossati (Space Research Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences)
    11/07/2025, 09:15

    Pollux is a high-resolution spectropolarimeter working from 100 nm to 1.6 microns proposed for HWO by a European consortium. Pollux will allow us to study stellar and (exo)planetary systems, as well as cosmic ecosystems. For example, Pollux will provide new insights on exoplanet formation and evolution, characterisation of the atmospheres and magnetospheres of stars and planets, and...

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  26. 9. The LIFE Mission - Characterizing other words and searching for life
    Sascha Quanz (ETH Zurich)
    11/07/2025, 09:30

    In this talk, I will discuss the Large Interferometer For Exoplanets (LIFE), a space mission project rooted in Europe, which has been gaining significant international support and traction over the last few years. I will summarize the scientific vision for LIFE, provide an overview of ongoing technology development efforts, and give an outlook about the overall development process.

    As a...

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  27. 1. SHARP: an advanced Near-IR spectrograph to unlock the Universe beyond Habitable Worlds
    Paolo Saracco (Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF))
    11/07/2025, 09:45

    SHARP is a conceptual study for a near-IR (0.9-2.4 mu) spectrograph designed to exploit the capabilities of future ground-based AO-assisted Extremely Large Telescopes (ELTs) and space-based Habitable World Observatory (HWO). The instrument concept is driven by the goal of creating a spectrograph capable of tackling the most important questions in astrophysics and cosmology, from exploring...

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  28. 4. Decoding the atmospheres of temperate rocky planets in the 2040s
    Matteo Brogi (Università degli studi di Torino)
    11/07/2025, 09:55

    With complementary strategies, two main space missions in the 2040s (WHO and LIFE) are being designed in order to investigate and interpret the atmospheres of temperate, rocky exoplanets - including the search for biological signatures. In this short review I will recap the main science goals, the strategy of both observatories, and the reliance on scientific milestones of the previous decade,...

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  29. 46. SETI and HWO
    Claudio Maccone (Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF))
    11/07/2025, 10:10

    SETI, the Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence, started in 1959 when Giuseppe Cocconi and Phil Morrison (then both at Cornell) realized that radio communications between nearby stars was indeed possible even with the modest radio telescopes (30 meters in diameter) then available.

    No ET Civilization was discovered up to 2025, but the amount of searched space is very small indeed.

    By...

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  30. 48. PCS at ELT as a precursor for HWO
    Silvano Desidera (Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF))
    11/07/2025, 10:20

    The Planetary Camera and Spectrograph (PCS) for the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) is a new instrument proposed for the direct detection and characterization of exoplanets in the neighbourhood of the Sun. This goal is achieved by a combination of eXtreme Adaptive Optics (XAO), coronagraphy and spectroscopy.
    PCS will allow to gather both images and high-resolution spectra, allowing the...

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  31. 35. CUBES and ANDES: ground-based technological enablers for the HWO
    Paolo Di Marcantonio (Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF))
    11/07/2025, 10:30
  32. 51. On the sinergy between HWO and ground-based high-resolutions spectrographs
    Gloria Guilluy (Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF))
    11/07/2025, 11:15

    ​​The atmospheric characterisation of nearby rocky exoplanets will soon become achievable thanks to the next generation of telescopes, such as the ground-based Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) and the proposed space mission Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO).

    This powerful synergy between ground- and space-based facilities will open new frontiers in the study of exoplanet atmospheres by...

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  33. 36. MAVIS: sharper than JWST, deeper than HST
    Giovanni Cresci (Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF))
    11/07/2025, 11:25

    MAVIS (MCAO Assisted Visible Imager and Spectrograph) is a new facility instrument for the ESO VLT being built by an Australian (Astralis - lead), Italian (INAF) and French (LAM) consortium. MAVIS pushes the frontier of new instrument technologies to provide, for the first time, wide-field, diffraction-limited angular resolution at visible wavelengths. Enhancing the VLT Adaptive Optics...

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  34. 28. HWO and its optics system: requirements, challenges and possible European contributions
    Giovanni Pareschi (Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF))
    11/07/2025, 11:40

    The implementation of the HWO optics system presents several challenging aspects, as it must work under unprecedented requirements. In addition to achieving the exquisite angular resolution, one must address the problem of the mirror mass (with an areal density mass goal of approximately 10 kg/cm^2), a wide range of operational thermal conditions, and a broad reflection wavelength band. In the...

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  35. 27. Pyramid WaveFront Sensors and contactless active mirrors: a research program for high contrast imaging
    Runa Antonio Briguglio Pellegrino (Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF))
    11/07/2025, 11:55

    WaveFront sensing and control is considered an enabling technology for the the next generation space telescopes such as the HWO. We investigated the possible contributions of ground based Adaptive Optics for space telescopes and in particular the pyramid WaveFront Sensor and the concept of a contactless active primary mirror.
    The PWFS, largely adopted on ground, is a pupil-conjugated sensor...

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  36. 32. R&D for space-based High-Contrast Imaging in Europe​
    Daniele Vassallo (Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF))
    11/07/2025, 12:10

    In March 2024, a group of European researchers working on high-contrast imaging (HCI) for exoplanet research organized the first “R&D for Space-Based HCI in Europe” workshop at the Paris Observatory. A second edition was held in May 2025 in Heidelberg. Acknowledging Europe’s long-standing contributions to HCI, the main goal of the workshop was to foster collaboration and provide an overview of...

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  37. 29. PSF reconstruction from WFS data and other tools to make your images sharper and deeper
    Fernando Pedichini (Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF))
    11/07/2025, 12:25
  38. 31. AI Assisted observational strategies for HWO
    Marco Landoni (Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF))
    11/07/2025, 14:05

    In this talk we will present how Machine Learning and AI-Assisted algorithms, based on fully Bayesian methods, may help to define the observational strategies of the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) mission by maximizing the scientific returns while making the best possible use of the available observing time.
    We will focus on the proposed fully-bayesian approach for radial-velocity...

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  39. 49. Atmospheric retrievals: from machine learning to quantum technologies
    Tiziano Zingales (Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF))
    11/07/2025, 14:20

    The study of exoplanetary atmospheres traditionally relies on forward models to analytically compute an exoplanet's spectrum by fine-tuning numerous chemical and physical parameters. However, the high dimensionality of the parameter space often results in significant computational overhead. In this work, we introduce a novel approach to atmospheric retrieval, leveraging machine learning...

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  40. 34. High Dynamic Range Photon-Counting UV Detectors
    Michela Clelia Angela Uslenghi (Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF))
    11/07/2025, 14:30

    We present the development and expected performance of an innovative photon-counting detector for far-ultraviolet, designed to overcome the dynamic range and lifetime limitations of traditional Microchannel Plate (MCP) based systems. The detector pairs new-generation MCPs, with ALD passivation, with custom readout electronics designed to maximize their potential.

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  41. 37. Polarimetry Perspectives for HWO
    Dr Silvano Fineschi (Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF))
    11/07/2025, 14:45
  42. 13. HWO architecture - TBC
    Lee Feinberg (NASA, Goddard)