Related papers: Real-time estimation and correction of quasi-stati…
One of the major difficulties limiting ground-based direct imaging of exoplanets with adaptive optics is quasi-static speckles in the science camera (SC) that obscure the planetary image. These speckles are caused by aberrations, called…
Ground-based ultra-high contrast imaging, as required for direct imaging of exoplanets and other solar systems, is limited by difficulty of separating the planetary emission from the effects of optical aberrations that are not compensated…
The leading difficulty in achieving the contrast necessary to directly image exoplanets and associated structures (eg. protoplanetary disks) at wavelengths ranging from the visible to the infrared are quasi-static speckles, and they are…
Context. Spectroscopy of exoplanets is very challenging because of the high star-planet contrast. A technical difficulty in the design of imaging instruments is the noncommon path aberrations (NCPAs) between the adaptive optics (AO) sensing…
Context. Several exoplanet direct imaging instruments will soon be in operation. They use an extreme adaptive optics (XAO) system to correct the atmospheric turbulence and provide a highly-corrected beam to a near-infrared (NIR) coronagraph…
Non-Common Path Aberrations (NCPA) are one of the main limitations for extreme Adaptive Optics (AO) system. NCPA prevent extreme AO systems to achieve their ultimate performance. These static aberrations are unseen by the wave front sensor…
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…
The direct imaging of potentially habitable exoplanets is one prime science case for high-contrast imaging instruments on extremely large telescopes. Most such exoplanets orbit close to their host stars, where their observation is limited…
Non Common Path Aberrations (NCPA) are often considered as a critical issue in Adaptive Optics (AO) systems, since they introduce bias errors between real wavefronts propagating to the science detectors and those measured by the Wavefront…
Differentiating between an exoplanet signal and residual speckle noise is a key challenge in high-contrast imaging. Speckles are due to a combination of fast, slow and static wavefront aberrations introduced by atmospheric turbulence and…
Exoplanet direct imaging using adaptive optics (AO) is often limited by non-common path aberrations (NCPAs) and aberrations that are invisible to traditional pupil-plane wavefront sensors (WFSs). This can be remedied by focal-plane (FP)…
Coronagraphic imaging of exoplanets using ground-based instruments on large telescopes is intrinsically limited by speckles induced by uncorrected aberrations. These aberrations originate from the imperfect correction of the atmosphere by…
A key challenge of high contrast imaging (HCI) is to differentiate a speckle from an exoplanet signal. The sources of speckles are a combination of atmospheric residuals and aberrations in the non-common path. Those non-common path…
One of the top remaining science challenges in astronomical optics is the direct imaging and characterization of extrasolar planets and planetary systems. Directly imaging exoplanets from ground-based observatories requires combining…
Second-generation exoplanet imagers using extreme adaptive optics and coronagraphy have demonstrated their great potential for studying close circumstellar environments and for detecting new companions and helping to understand their…
In ground-based high-contrast instruments, non-common path aberrations (NCPAs) limit detection performance, as they are unseen by the adaptive optics (AO) wavefront sensor but impact the astrophysical image, creating quasi-static speckles.…
Current and future high contrast imaging instruments aim to detect exoplanets at closer orbital separations, lower masses, and/or older ages than their predecessors. However, continually evolving speckles in the coronagraphic science image…
Exoplanet detection and characterization through extreme adaptive optics (ExAO) is a key science goal of future extremely large telescopes. This achievement, however, will be limited in sensitivity by both quasi-static wavefront errors and…
Direct imaging of exoplanets requires very high contrast levels, which are obtained using coronagraphs. But residual quasi-static aberrations create speckles in the focal plane downstream of the coronagraph which mask the planet. This…
The direct imaging from the ground of extrasolar planets has become today a major astronomical and biological focus. This kind of imaging requires simultaneously the use of a dedicated high performance Adaptive Optics [AO] system and a…