Instrument Concept and Science Case of the mid-IR E-ELT Imager and Spectrograph METIS

METISis the 'Mid-infrared ELT Imager and Spectrograph', the only planned thermal/mid-IR instrument for the E-ELT. METISwill provide diffraction limited imaging in the atmospheric L/M and N-band from 3 - 14 mu m over an 18 '' x 18 '' field of view (FOV). The imager also includes high contrast coronagraphy and low-resolution (900 <= R <= 5000) long slit spectroscopyand polarimetry. In addition, an IFU fed, high resolution spectrographat L/M band will provide a spectral resolutionof R similar to 100,000 over a 0.4 '' x 1.5 '' FOV. The adaptive optics (AO) system is relatively simple, and METIScan reach its full performance with the adaptive correction provided by the telescope - and occasionally even under seeing limited conditions. On a 42m ELT, METISwill provide state-of-the-art mid-IR performance from the ground. The science case for METISis based on proto-planetary disks, characterization of exoplanets, formation of our Solar System, growth of supermassive black holes, and the dynamics of high-z galaxies. With the focus on highest angular resolutionand highest spectral resolution, METISis highly complementary to JWST and ALMA. This paper summarizes the science case for METIS, and describes the instrument concept, performance and operational aspects.