Related papers: WFIRST Coronagraph Technology Requirements: Status…
The Gamma-Ray Imager (GRI) is a novel mission concept that will provide an unprecedented sensitivity leap in the soft gamma-ray domain by using for the first time a focusing lens built of Laue diffracting crystals. The lens will cover an…
We compare coronagraph concepts and investigate their behavior and suitability for planet finder projects with Extremely Large Telescopes (ELTs, 30-42 meters class telescopes). For this task, we analyze the impact of major error sources…
In the two decades since the first extra-solar planet was discovered, the detection and characterization of extra-solar planets has become one of the key endeavors in all of modern science. Recently direct detection techniques such as…
We advocate for a large scale imaging survey of nearby young moving groups and star-forming regions to directly detect exoplanets over an unexplored range of masses, ages and orbits. Discovered objects will be identified early enough 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…
We present an analytic model to estimate the capabilities of space missions dedicated to the search for biosignatures in the atmosphere of rocky planets located in the habitable zone of nearby stars. Relations between performance and…
The JWST MIRI instrument will revolutionize extragalactic astronomy with unprecedented sensitivity and angular resolution in mid-IR. Here, we assess the potential of MIRI photometry to constrain galaxy properties in the Cosmic Evolution…
The Gemini Planet Imager (GPI) is an "extreme" adaptive optics coronagraph system that is now on the Gemini South telescope in Chile. This instrument is composed of three different systems that historically have been separate instruments.…
The newly accessible mid-infrared (MIR) window offered by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) for exoplanet imaging is expected to provide valuable information to characterize their atmospheres. In particular, coronagraphs on board the…
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…
High throughput, low inner working angle (IWA) phase masks coronagraphs are essential to directly image and characterize (via spectroscopy) earth-like planets. However, the performance of low-IWA coronagraphs is limited by residual pointing…
The Planet Formation Imager (PFI) initiative aims at developing the next generation large scale facility for imaging astronomical optical interferometry operating in the mid-infrared. Here we report on the progress of the Planet Formation…
Mid-infrared imaging of exoplanets and disks is now possible with the coronagraphs of the MIRI on the JWST. This wavelength range unveils new features of young directly imaged systems and allows us to obtain new constraints for…
The Near Infrared Imager and Slitless Spectrograph (NIRISS) on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is a versatile instrument for collecting imaging and wide-field slitless spectroscopy (WFSS) data for surveys of galaxy clusters,…
This paper provides an overview of the Low Frequency Instrument (LFI) programme within the ESA Planck mission. The LFI instrument has been developed to produce high precision maps of the microwave sky at frequencies in the range 27-77 GHz,…
The Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) aboard the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) provides the observatory with a huge advance in mid-infrared imaging and spectroscopy covering the wavelength range of 5 to 28 microns. This paper describes the…
Directly imaging Earth-like exoplanets (``exoEarths'') with a coronagraph instrument on a space telescope requires a stable wavefront with optical path differences limited to tens of picometers RMS during exposure times of a few hours.…
The Habitable Exoplanet Imaging Mission (HabEx) concept requires an optical coronagraph that provides deep starlight suppression over a broad spectral bandwidth, high throughput for point sources at small angular separation, and…
We simulate the scientific performance of the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) High Latitude Survey (HLS) on dark energy and modified gravity. The 1.6 year HLS Reference survey is currently envisioned to image 2000 deg$^2$ in…
The Keck Planet Imager and Characterizer (KPIC) is an upgrade to the Keck II adaptive optics system enabling high contrast imaging and high-resolution spectroscopic characterization of giant exoplanets in the mid-infrared (2-5 microns). The…