High dynamic range interferometric observations of exozodiacal discs: performance comparison between ground, space, and Antarctica

The possible presence of large amounts of exozodiacal dust around nearby main sequence stars represents a threat to the detection and characterisation of Earth-like extrasolar planets with future infrared space interferometers such as DARWIN or TPF. In this paper, we first review the current detection capabilities of ground-based infrared interferometers such as CHARA/FLUOR and the detections of hot dust that have been obtained so far around a few main sequence stars. With the help of realistic instrumental simulations, we then discuss the relative merits of various ground-based sites (temperate and Antarctic) versus space-based observatories for the detection of exozodiacal discs down to a few zodi by interferometric nulling as a preparation to future life-finding missions. In particular, we discuss the performance of four proposed nulling interferometers: GENIE, ALADDIN, PEGASE and FKSI. An optimised strategy for the characterisation of candidate DARWIN/TPF targets is finally proposed