English

End-to-end numerical modeling of the Roman Space Telescope coronagraph

Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics 2023-10-19 v1

Abstract

The Roman Space Telescope will have the first advanced coronagraph in space, with deformable mirrors for wavefront control, low-order wavefront sensing and maintenance, and a photon-counting detector. It is expected to be able to detect and characterize mature, giant exoplanets in reflected visible light. Over the past decade the performance of the coronagraph in its flight environment has been simulated with increasingly detailed diffraction and structural/thermal finite element modeling. With the instrument now being integrated in preparation for launch within the next few years, the present state of the end-to-end modeling is described, including the measured flight components such as deformable mirrors. The coronagraphic modes are thoroughly described, including characteristics most readily derived from modeling. The methods for diffraction propagation, wavefront control, and structural and thermal finite-element modeling are detailed. The techniques and procedures developed for the instrument will serve as a foundation for future coronagraphic missions such as the Habitable Worlds Observatory.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2309.16012,
  title  = {End-to-end numerical modeling of the Roman Space Telescope coronagraph},
  author = {John E. Krist and John B. Steeves and Brandon D. Dube and A. J. Eldorado Riggs and Brian D. Kern and David S. Marx and Eric J. Cady and Hanying Zhou and Ilya Y. Poberezhskiy and Caleb W. Baker and James P. McGuire and Bijan Nemati and Gary M. Kuan and Bertrand Mennesson and John T. Trauger and Navtej S. Saini and Sergi Hildebrandt Rafels},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2309.16012},
  year   = {2023}
}

Comments

113 pages, 85 figures, to be published in SPIE Journal of Astronomical Telescopes, Instruments, and Systems