A "Planet Finder" instrument for the VLT
Résumé
Direct detection and spectral characterization of extrasolar planets is one of the most exciting but also one of the most challenging area in modern astronomy. For the second generation instrumentation for the ESO VLT, we propose a ``Planet Finder'' instrument including a powerful extreme adaptive optics system, various coronagraphs, a differential imaging camera, an integral field spectrograph and a dual imaging polarimeter.