  Ground-based telescopes equipped with adaptive-optics (AO) systems and
specialized science cameras are now capable of directly detecting extrasolar
planets. We present the expected scientific capabilities of CHARIS, the
Coronagraphic High Angular Resolution Imaging Spectrograph, which is being
built for the Subaru 8.2 m telescope of the National Astronomical Observatory
of Japan. CHARIS will be implemented behind the new extreme adaptive optics
system at Subaru, SCExAO, and the existing 188-actuator system AO188. CHARIS
will offer three observing modes over near-infrared wavelengths from 0.9 to 2.4
microns (the y-, J-, H-, and K-bands), including a low-spectral-resolution mode
covering this entire wavelength range and a high-resolution mode within a
single band. With these capabilities, CHARIS will offer exceptional sensitivity
for discovering giant exoplanets, and will enable detailed characterization of
their atmospheres. CHARIS, the only planned high-contrast integral field
spectrograph on an 8m-class telescope in the Northern Hemisphere, will
complement the similar instruments such as Project 1640 at Palomar, and GPI and
SPHERE in Chile.
