Science performance of the Pupil-mapping Exoplanet Coronagraphic Observer (PECO)

The Pupil-mapping Exoplanet Coronagraphic Observer (PECO) medium-class mission concept is a 1.4-m space-based optical telescope with a high-performance Phase-Induced Amplitude Apodization (PIAA) coronagraph. PECO detects and characterizes exoplanets and their host systems at 2 λ/D (0.15") separation at high contrast (~1e-10). The optical design images in 16 filter bands from 400-800 nm, producing simultaneous low-resolution target spectra. PECO will characterize terrestrial planets in the habitable zones of ~20 nearby F, G, K stars at spectral resolution of R~15, as well as over a dozen radial-velocity planets and over a hundred gas giants and exozodiacal dust disks. We discuss PECO's expected science performance and simulated data products over its three-year mission lifetime.