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Zernike polynomials are widely used mathematical models of experimentally observed optical aberrations. Their useful mathematical properties, in particular their orthogonality, make them a ubiquitous basis set for solving various problems…
We present numerical simulations of the impact of laser beam wavefront aberrations in cold atom interferometers. We demonstrate that to reach accuracy at the mrad level, simulations cannot be based on a description of the retroreflection…
Two-wavelength adaptive optics (AO) systems sense turbulence-induced wavefront distortions using an artificial beacon or natural guidestar at one wavelength, while correcting and possibly transmitting at another. Although most existing AO…
Advanced wavefront sensors (WFS) are essential for enabling new science cases for telescopes that utilize adaptive optics (AO) systems. While complex field WFS -- those that estimate the electric field phase and amplitude through…
Adaptive optics (AO) is critical in astronomy, optical communications and remote sensing to deal with the rapid blurring caused by the Earth's turbulent atmosphere. But current AO systems are limited by their wavefront sensors, which need…
Wavefront reconstruction is a critical component in various optical systems, including adaptive optics, interferometry, and phase contrast imaging. Traditional reconstruction methods often employ either the Cartesian (pixel) basis or the…
In astronomy and microscopy, distortions in the wavefront affect the dynamic range of a high contrast imaging system. These aberrations are either imposed by a turbulent medium such as the atmosphere, by static or thermal aberrations in the…
Adaptive optics (AO) are reconfigurable devices that compensate for wavefront distortions or aberrations in optical systems such as microscopes, telescopes and ophthalmoscopes. Aberrations have detrimental effects that can reduce imaging…
Wavefront errors are a common artifact in laser light generation and imaging. They can be described as an aberration from the spherical wavefront of an ideal Gaussian beam by combinations of higher-order Hermite- or Laguerre-Gaussian terms.…
Differential wavefront sensing is an essential technique for optimising the performance of many precision interferometric experiments. Perhaps the most extensive application of this is for alignment sensing using radio-frequency beats…
The Zernike wavefront sensor (ZWFS) is a concept belonging to the wide class Fourier-filtering wavefront sensor (FFWFS). The ZWFS is known for its extremely high sensitivity while having a low dynamic range, which makes it a unique sensor…
Orthonormal bases serve as a powerful mathematical tool in theoretical and experimental optics. However, producing arbitrary optical fields in real-world experiments is limited by the hardware, which in many cases involves a phase-only…
Optical aberrations prevent telescopes from reaching their theoretical diffraction limit. Once estimated, these aberrations can be compensated for using deformable mirrors in a closed loop. Focal plane wavefront sensing enables the…
Wavefront aberrations can reflect the imaging quality of high-performance optical systems better than geometric aberrations. Although laser interferometers have emerged as the main tool for measurement of transmitted wavefronts, their…
This paper studies the effects on Zernike coefficients of aperture scaling, translation and rotation, when a given aberrated wavefront is described on the Zernike polynomial basis. It proposes a new analytical method for computing the…
Context: Telescopes like the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) and the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) will be used together with extreme adaptive optics (AO) instruments to directly image Earth-like planets. The AO systems will need to…
Zernike polynomials are one of the most widely used mathematical descriptors of optical aberrations in the fields of imaging and adaptive optics. Their mathematical orthogonality as well as isomorphisms with experimentally observable…
Q1: Why deploy N wavefront sensors on a three mirror anastigmat (TMA) and not N + 1? Q2: Why measure M Zernike coefficients and not M + 1? Q3: Why control L rigid body degrees of freedom (total) on the secondary and tertiary and not L + 1?…
The weak measurement wavefront sensor detects the phase gradient of light like the Shack-Hartmann sensor does. However, the use of one thin birefringent crystal to displace light beams results in a wavelength-dependent phase difference…
The optimization of an optical system benefits greatly from a study of its aberrations and an identification of each of its elements' contribution to the overall aberration figures. The matrix formalism developed by one of the authors was…