In addition to its two main science drivers, SPIRou will be an innovative and efficient instrument for tackling many more high-impact subjects for a wide community. For instance, SPIRou will study the complex and still poorly understood physical processes with which cosmic bodies like the Sun or the Earth succeed at generating their large-scale magnetic field – by looking at the topologies of the fully convective M dwarfs known to exhibit high levels of activity and to trigger exceptionally energetic flares.
SPIRou will also investigate atmospheric clouds and associated weather patterns on brown dwarfs – a highly relevant topic for providing constraints and thereby improving existing models of exoplanet atmospheres.
Last but not least, SPIRou will scrutinize the atmospheres of Solar-System planets and will assess in more details the role of accretion in the formation of massive stars.
