Related papers: Post-coronagraphic tip-tilt sensing for vortex pha…
In this paper, after briefly reviewing the theory of vectorial vortices, we describe our technological approach to generating the necessary phase helix, and report results obtained with the first optical vectorial vortex coronagraph (OVVC)…
High-contrast coronagraphy will be needed to image and characterize faint extra-solar planetary systems. Coronagraphy is a rapidly evolving field, and many enhanced alternatives to the classical Lyot coronagraph have been proposed in the…
We describe the coronagraphic upgrade underway for the Mid-Infrared Array Camera-5 (MIRAC-5) to be used with the 6.5-m MMT telescope utilizing the new MMT Adaptive optics exoPlanet characterization System (MAPS). Mid-IR ground-based…
Coronagraphic techniques are required to detect exoplanets with future Extremely Large Telescopes. One concept, the Apodized Pupil Lyot Coronagraph (APLC), is combining an apodizer in the entrance aperture and a Lyot opaque mask in the…
Optical observations of solar corona provide key information on its magnetic geometry. The large-scale open field of the corona plays an important role in shaping the ambient solar wind and constraining the propagation dynamics of the…
Modern extreme adaptive optics (AO) systems achieving diffraction-limited performance open up new possibilities for instrumentation. Especially important for the fields of spectroscopy and interferometry is that it enables the prospect to…
The raw coronagraphic performance of current high-contrast imaging instruments is limited by the presence of a quasi-static speckle (QSS) background, resulting from instrumental non-common path errors (NCPEs). Rapid development of efficient…
We present numerical simulations and laboratory experiments on an eight-octant phase-mask (EOPM) coronagraph. The numerical simulations suggest that an achievable contrast for the EOPM coronagraph can be greatly improved as compared to that…
Specific high contrast imaging instruments are mandatory to characterize circumstellar disks and exoplanets around nearby stars. Coronagraphs are commonly used in these facilities to reject the diffracted light of an observed star and…
Achieving the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) goal of 10^-10 contrast at a separation of 3 $\lambda$/D across a 20% bandwidth requires coronagraph focal plane masks with both broadband high contrast performance and high planet…
We present a publicly available software package developed for exploring apodized pupil Lyot coronagraph (APLC) solutions for various telescope architectures. In particular, the package optimizes the apodizer component of the APLC for a…
Off-axis X-ray holography is a lensless imaging technique that allows unambiguous retrieval of an object's exit-wave function with high fidelity. It has been used with great success to study nanoscale phenomena and spatio-temporal dynamics…
One possible solution to achieve high contrast direct imaging at a small inner working angle (IWA) is to use a vector vortex coronagraph (VVC), which provides a continuous helical phase ramp in the focal plane of the telescope with a phase…
The Santa Cruz Extreme AO Lab (SEAL) testbed is an optical bench meant to design and develop new wavefront control techniques for high-contrast imaging for segmented telescopes. These techniques allow for astronomical efficiency in…
High-contrast imaging will be a challenge for future ELTs, because their vibrations create low-order aberrations - mostly tip/tilt - that reduce coronagraphic performances at 1.2 lambda/D and above. A Low-Order WaveFront Sensor (LOWFS) is…
Wave-front sensing from focal plane multiple images is a promising technique for high-contrast imaging systems. However, the wave-front error of an optics system can be properly reconstructed only when it is very small. This paper presents…
A number of tools have been developed to detect topological phase transitions in strongly correlated quantum systems. They apply under different conditions, but do not cover the full range of many-body models. It is hence desirable to…
Vital sign (breathing and heartbeat) monitoring is essential for patient care and sleep disease prevention. Most current solutions are based on wearable sensors or cameras; however, the former could affect sleep quality, while the latter…
Terahertz (THz) imaging has emerged as a promising technology in medical diagnostics due to its non-ionizing radiation and high sensitivity to water content. However, conventional THz imaging systems face limitations such as slow mechanical…
Small-angle coronagraphy is technically and scientifically appealing because it enables the use of smaller telescopes, allows covering wider wavelength ranges, and potentially increases the yield and completeness of circumstellar…