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We investigate the focal plane wavefront sensing technique, known as Phase Diversity, at the scientific focal plane of a segmented mirror telescope with an adaptive optics (AO) system. We specifically consider an optical system imaging a…
Gravitational lensing allows us to probe the structure of matter on a broad range of astronomical scales, and as light from a distant source traverses an intervening galaxy, compact matter such as planets, stars, and black holes act as…
Diffusing wave spectroscopy (DWS) can be employed as an optical rheology tool with numerous applications for studying the structure, dynamics and linear viscoelastic properties of complex fluids, foams, glasses and gels. To carry out DWS…
In the last few years, new Adaptive Optics [AO] techniques have emerged to answer new astronomical challenges: Ground-Layer AO [GLAO] and Multi-Conjugate AO [MCAO] to access a wider Field of View [FoV], Multi-Object AO [MOAO] for the…
Mode-resolved dual-comb spectroscopy (DCS) is an emerging spectroscopic tool with the potential to simultaneously achieve a broad spectral coverage and ultrahigh spectral resolution in terahertz (THz) spectroscopy. However, the need for two…
Direct imaging of exoplanets represents a challenge for astronomical instrumentation due to the high-contrast ratio and small angular separation between the host star and the faint planet. Multi-star systems pose additional challenges for…
The optimal performance of adaptive optics systems can only be maintained if the wavefront reference is bright and compact. Experience has shown that both of these important criteria are remarkably difficult to achieve with laser guide…
The Extremely Large Telescope and the Thirty Meter Telescope will use state of the art multiconjugate adaptive optics (MCAO) systems to obtain the full D4 advantage that their apertures can provide. However, to reach the full astrometric…
Astronomical images suffer a constant presence of multiple defects that are consequences of the intrinsic properties of the acquisition equipments, and atmospheric conditions. One of the most frequent defects in astronomical imaging is the…
An efficient method to tune the spatial coherence of a degenerate laser over a broad range with minimum variation in the total output power is presented. It is based on varying the diameter of a spatial filter inside the laser cavity. The…
Observational tests of ground layer wavefront recovery have been made in open loop using a constellation of four natural guide stars at the 1.55 m Kuiper telescope in Arizona. Such tests explore the effectiveness of wide-field seeing…
A new wavefront sensing approach, derived from the successful curvature wavefront sensing concept but using a non-linear phase retrieval wavefront reconstruction scheme, is described. The non-linear curvature wavefront sensor (nlCWFS)…
Typical astronomical spectrographs have a resolution ranging between a few hundred to 200.000. Deconvolution and correlation techniques are being employed with a significance down to 1/1000 th of a pixel. HeAr and ThAr lamps are usually…
Optical tweezers are powerful tools based on focused laser beams. They are able to trap, manipulate and investigate a wide range of microscopic and nanoscopic particles in different media, such as liquids, air, and vacuum. Key applications…
We developed a 2D Finite-Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) method for modeling a space-time modulated guidestar targeting wavefront shaping applications in disordered media. Space-time modulation in general (a particular example being the…
A simple optical lens plays an important role for exploring the microscopic world in science and technology by refracting light with tailored spatially varying refractive index. Recent advancements in nanotechnology enable novel lenses,…
Rather than using an adaptive optics (AO) system to correct a telescope s entire pupil, it can instead be used to more finely correct a smaller sub-aperture. Indeed, existing AO systems can be used to correct a sub-aperture 1/3 to 1/2 the…
The ray dynamics of optical cavities exhibits bifurcation points: special geometries at which ray trajectories switch abruptly between stable and unstable. A prominent example is the Fabry-Perot cavity with two planar mirrors, which is…
Time-series photometry taken from ground-based facilities is improved with the use of comparison stars due to the short timescales of atmospheric-induced variability. However, the sky is bright in the thermal infrared (3-5 um), and the…
Laser science has tackled physical limitations to achieve higher power, faster and smaller light sources. The quest for ultra-compact laser that can directly generate coherent optical fields at the nano-scale, far beyond the diffraction…