Related papers: Technology challenges for space interferometry: th…
The direct detection and imaging of exoplanets requires the use of high-contrast adaptive optics (AO). In these systems quasi-static aberrations need to be highly corrected and calibrated. In order to achieve this, the pupil-modulated…
Understanding exoplanet formation and finding potentially habitable exoplanets is vital to an enhanced understanding of the universe. The use of nulling interferometry to strongly attenuate the central starlight provides the opportunity to…
The Large Binocular Telescope Interferometer (LBTI) is a versatile instrument designed for high-angular resolution and high-contrast infrared imaging (1.5-13 microns). In this paper, we focus on the mid-infrared (8-13 microns) nulling mode…
Studies of mid-infrared space interferometer concepts in the USA and in Europe have converged on a single architecture. We address the question of how the US and European communities could collaborate to advance technology efforts leading…
Modern optical spectrographs and optical interferometers push the limits in the spectral and spatial regime, providing important new tools for the exploration of the universe. In this contribution I outline the complementary nature of…
During the last few years, considerable effort has been directed towards large-scale (>> $1 Billion US) missions to detect and characterize earth-like planets around nearby stars, such as the Terrestrial Planet Finder Interferometer (TPF-I)…
Modern interferometers routinely provide radio-astronomical images down to subarcsecond resolution. However, interferometers filter out spatial scales larger than those sampled by the shortest baselines, which affects the measurement of…
In this paper, we review the various ways in which an infrared stellar interferometer can be used to perform direct detection of extrasolar planetary systems. We first review the techniques based on classical stellar interferometry, where…
In the two decades since the first extra-solar planet was discovered, the detection and characterization of extra-solar planets has become one of the key endeavors in all of modern science. Recently direct detection techniques such as…
By providing sensitive sub-arcsecond images and integral field spectroscopy in the 25 - 400 micron wavelength range, a far-IR interferometer will revolutionize our understanding of planetary system formation, reveal otherwise-undetectable…
In this paper, we describe the principle of a multi-aperture interferometer that uses a phase-shifting technique and is suitable for quick, snapshot imaging of astrophysical objects at extreme angular resolution through Fourier inversion. A…
Space-borne nulling interferometers have long been considered as the best option for searching and characterizing extra-solar planets located in the habitable zone of their parent stars. Solutions for achieving deep starlight extinction are…
We present a novel application of optical tunneling in the context of high-angular resolution, high-contrast techniques with the aim of improving direct imaging capabilities of faint companions in the vicinity of bright stars. In contrast…
The question "How did we get here and what will the future bring?" captures the human imagination and the attention of the National Academy of Science's Astronomy and Astrophysics Survey Commitee (AASC). Fulfillment of this "fundamental…
Visible-light long baseline interferometry holds the promise of advancing a number of important applications in fundamental astronomy, including the direct measurement of the angular diameters and oblateness of stars, and the direct…
Intensity interferometry removes the stringent requirements on mechanical precision and atmospheric corrections that plague all amplitude interferometry techniques at the cost of severely limited sensitivity. A new idea we recently…
The ultimate astronomical observatory would be a formation flying interferometer in space, immune to atmospheric turbulence and absorption, free from atmospheric and telescope thermal emission, and reconfigurable to adjust baselines…
For a remote sensing optical payload to achieve a Ground Sampling Distance of ~ 10-30 m, a critical problem is platform-induced motion blur. While forward motion compensation can reduce this transit speed, it comes at the expense of a more…
There are numerous advantages to exploiting diffraction-limited instrumentation at astronomical observatories, which include smaller footprints, less mechanical and thermal instabilities and high levels of performance. To realize such…
The imminent availability of large arrays of large light collectors deployed to exploit atmospheric Cherenkov radiation for gamma-ray astronomy at more than 100GeV, motivates the growing interest in application of intensity interferometry…