Related papers: Adaptive pupil masking for quasi-static speckle su…
The detection and characterisation of extra-solar planets is a major theme driving modern astronomy, with the vast majority of such measurements being achieved by Doppler radial-velocity and transit observations. Another technique -- direct…
The continual push to directly image exoplanets at lower masses and closer separations orbiting around bright stars remains limited by both quasi-static and residual adaptive optics (AO) aberration. In previous papers we have proposed a…
The development of adaptive optics (AO) played a major role in modern astronomy over the last three decades. By compensating for the atmospheric turbulence, these systems enable to reach the diffraction limit on large telescopes. In this…
High dynamic-range imagers aim to block out or null light from a very bright primary star to make it possible to detect and measure far fainter companions; in real systems a small fraction of the primary light is scattered, diffracted, and…
We propose a new concept of pupil motion sensor for astronomical adaptive optics systems and present experimental results obtained during the first laboratory validation of this concept. Pupil motion is an important issue in the case of…
Even though the technology of adaptive optics (AO) is rapidly maturing, calibration of the resulting images remains a major challenge. The AO point-spread function (PSF) changes quickly both in time and position on the sky. In a typical…
Pixel lensing, gravitational microlensing of unresolved stars, is potentially much more sensitive and much more widely applicable than is generally recognized. I give explicit expressions for the pixel noise induced by a time-variable PSF,…
Placing a pupil mask with a gaussian aperture into the optical train of current telescopes represents a way to attain high contrast imaging that potentially improves contrast by orders of magnitude compared to current techniques. We present…
This article begins with the discussions on the formation of speckles in the case of non-coherent quasi monochromatic source and of ways to detect them. Prior to this, a brief introduction on the behavior of the atmosphere and its effect on…
As we enter the era of TESS and JWST, instrumentation that can carry out radial velocity measurements of exoplanet systems is in high demand. We will address this demand by upgrading the UC Lick Observatory's 2.4-meter Automated Planet…
The direct imaging and characterization of Earth-like planets is among the most sought-after prizes in contemporary astrophysics, however current optical instrumentation delivers insufficient dynamic range to overcome the vast contrast…
Extreme adaptive optics systems are now in operation across the globe. These systems, capable of high order wavefront correction, deliver Strehl ratios of 90% in the near-infrared. Originally intended for the direct imaging of exoplanets,…
Proxima b is a terrestrial exoplanet orbiting in the habitable zone of our closest star Proxima Centauri. The separation between the planet and the star is about 40 mas and this is with current instruments only reachable with direct…
Adaptive optics can focus light through opaque media by compensating the random phase delay acquired while crossing a scattering curtain. The technique is commonly exploited in many fields, including astrophysics, microscopy, biomedicine…
State-of-the-art coronagraphs employed on extreme adaptive optics enabled instruments, are constantly improving the contrast detection limit for companions at ever closer separations to the host star. In order to constrain their properties…
Angular differential imaging is a high-contrast imaging technique that reduces quasi-static speckle noise and facilitates the detection of nearby companions. A sequence of images is acquired with an altitude/azimuth telescope while the…
All transiting planets are at risk of contamination by blends with nearby, unresolved stars. Blends dilute the transit signal, causing the planet to appear smaller than it really is, or produce a false positive detection when the target…
Adaptive optics (AO) systems and image reconstruction algorithms are indispensable tools when it comes to high-precision astrometry. In this paper, we analyze the potential of combining both techniques, i.e. by applying image reconstruction…
The major noise source limiting high-contrast imaging is due to the presence of quasi-static speckles. Speckle noise originates from wavefront errors caused by various independent sources, and it evolves on different timescales pending to…
We have upgraded IRCAL, the near-infrared science camera of the Lick Observatory adaptive optics system, to add a dual-channel imaging polarimetry mode. This mode uses an optically contacted YLF (LiYF_4) Wollaston prism to provide…