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We present and discuss the design details of an extensible, modular, open source software framework called EXOSIMS, which creates end-to-end simulations of space-based exoplanet imaging missions. We motivate the development and baseline…
We propose a new approach for high-contrast imaging at the diffraction limit using segmented telescopes in a modest observation bandwidth. This concept, named "spectroscopic fourth-order coronagraphy", is based on a fourth-order coronagraph…
Future large segmented space telescopes and their coronagraphic instruments are expected to provide the resolution and sensitivity to observe Earth-like planets with a 10^10 contrast ratio at less than 100 mas from their host star. Advanced…
Direct imaging of exoplanets requires the detection of very faint objects orbiting close to very bright stars. In this context, the SPICES mission was proposed to the European Space Agency for planet characterization at visible wavelength.…
The coronagraphic instrument currently proposed for the WFIRST-AFTA mission will be the first example of a space-based coronagraph optimized for extremely high contrasts that are required for the direct imaging of exoplanets reflecting the…
Deep sub-diffraction exoplanet discovery currently lies beyond the reach of state-of-the-art direct imaging coronagraphs, which typically have an inner working angle larger than the diffraction scale. We present an experimental…
High-contrast imaging provided by a coronagraph is critical for the direction imaging of the Earth-like planet orbiting its bright parent star. A major limitation for such direct imaging is the speckle noise that is induced from the…
We present a new matched filter algorithm for direct detection of point sources in the immediate vicinity of bright stars. The stellar Point Spread Function (PSF) is first subtracted using a Karhunen-Lo\'eve Image Processing (KLIP)…
The direct detection of exoplanets has been the subject of intensive research in the recent years. Data obtained with future high-contrast imaging instruments optimized for giant planets direct detection are strongly limited by the speckle…
High-contrast imaging techniques now make possible both imaging and spectroscopy of planets around nearby stars. We present the optical design for the Coronagraphic High Angular Resolution Imaging Spectrograph (CHARIS), a lenslet-based,…
High contrast coronagraphic imaging of the immediate surrounding of stars requires exquisite control of low-order wavefront aberrations, such as tip-tilt (pointing) and focus. We propose an accurate, efficient and easy to implement…
We propose the application of coronagraphic techniques to the spectroscopic direct detection of exoplanets via the Doppler shift of planetary molecular lines. Even for an unresolved close-in planetary system, we show that the combination of…
Context: The detection and characterization of Earth-like exoplanets (exoEarths) from space requires exquisite wavefront stability at contrast levels of $10^{-10}$. On segmented telescopes in particular, aberrations induced by cophasing…
Direct imaging of exoplanets relies on complex wavefront sensing and control architectures. In addition to fast adaptive optics systems, most of the future high-contrast imaging instruments will soon be equipped with focal plane wavefront…
Context: High contrast imaging is a powerful technique to detect and characterize planetary companions at large orbital separations from their parent stars. Aims: We aim at studying the limiting magnitude of the VLT/SPHERE Adaptive Optics…
We present an algorithm to derive difference images for data taken with the JWST with matched point-spread functions (PSFs). It is based on the saccadic fast Fourier transform (SFFT) method but with revisions to accommodate the rotations…
We performed an experimental verification of a coronagraph. As a result, we confirmed that, at the focal region where the planetary point spread function exists, the coronagraph system mitigates the raw contrast of a star-planet system by…
Observing Earth-like exoplanets orbiting within the habitable zone of Sun-like stars and studying their atmospheres in reflected starlight requires contrasts of $\sim1\mathrm{e}{-10}$ in the visible. At such high contrast, starlight…
A new class of high-contrast image analysis algorithms that empirically fit and subtract systematic noise has lead to recent discoveries of faint exoplanet /substellar companions and scattered light images of circumstellar disks. These…
Imaging planets in reflected light, a key focus of future NASA missions and ELTs, requires advanced wavefront control to maintain a deep, temporally correlated null of stellar halo -- i.e. a dark hole -- at just several diffraction beam…