Related papers: Optimal beam combiner design for nulling interfero…
Integrated-optic, astronomical, two-beam and three-beam, interferometric combiners have been designed and fabricated for operation in the L band (3 - 4 microns) for the first time. The devices have been realized in titanium-indiffused,…
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…
Interferometry provides one of the possible routes to ultra-high angular resolution for X-ray and gamma-ray astronomy. Sub-micro-arc-second angular resolution, necessary to achieve objectives such as imaging the regions around the event…
Incoming optical interferometers will allow spectro-imaging at high angular resolution. Non-homothetic Fizeau concept combines good sensitivity and high spectral resolution capabilities. However, one critical issue is the design of the beam…
Integrated-optic components are being increasingly used in astrophysics, mainly where accuracy and precision are paramount. One such emerging technology is nulling interferometry that targets high contrast and high angular resolution. Two…
Resolving high-contrast targets is a fundamental yet highly challenging task in astronomy. Using quantum estimation theory, we demonstrate that the ultimate limit for estimating the separation between two unequal-brightness thermal sources…
Understanding the atmospheres of exoplanets is a milestone to decipher their formation history and potential habitability. High-contrast imaging and spectroscopy of exoplanets is the major pathway towards the goal. Directly imaging of an…
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…
Beam combiners are important components of an optical/infrared astrophysical interferometer, with many variants as to how to optimally combine two or more beams of light to fringe-track and obtain the complex fringe visibility. One such…
Infrared space interferometers can surpass the spatial resolution limitations of single-dish space telescopes. However, stellar interferometers from space have not been realized because of technical difficulties. Two beams coming from…
The very recent years have seen a promising start in scientific publications making use of images produced by near-infrared long-baseline interferometry. The technique has reached, at last, a technical maturity level that opens new avenues…
The Planet Formation Imager (PFI) initiative aims at developing the next generation large scale facility for imaging astronomical optical interferometry operating in the mid-infrared. Here we report on the progress of the Planet Formation…
Integrated optics are used to achieve astronomical interferometry inside robust and compact materials, improving the instrument's stability and sensitivity. In order to perform differential phase measurements at the H$\alpha$ line (656.3…
Asgard/NOTT (previously Hi-5) is a European Research Council (ERC)-funded project hosted at KU Leuven and a new visitor instrument for the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI). Its primary goal is to image the snow line region around…
It has been recently demonstrated that integrated optics could enhance accuracy, stability, and ease of use of stellar interferometry techniques. The subject of this thesis is the study of an optical component based on singlemode waveguides…
We solve the general problem of determining, through imaging, the three-dimensional positions of $N$ weak incoherent point-like emitters in an arbitrary spatial configuration. We show that a structured measurement strategy in which a linear…
Astrophotonics is central to the next generation of astronomical instrumentation, enabling compact photonic integrated circuits for both ground-based observatories and future space missions. Beam combination for nulling interferometry…
Nulling interferometry is a powerful observing technique to study exoplanets and circumstellar dust at separations too small for direct imaging with single-dish telescopes. With recent photonics developments and the near-future ground-based…
We propose a coronagraphic system with fourth-order null for off-axis segmented telescopes, which is sufficiently insensitive to the telescope pointing errors and finite angular diameter of the host star to enable high-contrast imaging of…
A zero-area four-blade perfect crystal neutron interferometer (NI) possess a decoherence-free subspace (DFS) for low-frequency mechanical vibrations and thus is easier to site. %has the potential to broaden the application of crystal-based…