Related papers: Fast focal plane wavefront sensing on ground-based…
Recent advances in adaptive optics (AO) have led to the implementation of wide field-of-view AO systems. A number of wide-field AO systems are also planned for the forthcoming Extremely Large Telescopes. Such systems have multiple wavefront…
High-contrast imaging instruments need extreme wavefront control to directly image exoplanets. This requires highly sensitive wavefront sensors which optimally make use of the available photons to sense the wavefront. Here, we propose to…
The ability to characterize exoplanets by spectroscopy of their atmospheres requires direct imaging techniques to isolate planet signal from the bright stellar glare. One of the limitations with the direct detection of exoplanets, either…
We present a segment-level wavefront stability error budget for space telescopes essential for exoplanet detection. We use a detailed finite element model to relate the temperature gradient at the location of the primary mirror to wavefront…
The ESA Gaia spacecraft has two Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensors (WFS) on its focal plane. They are required to refocus the telescope in-orbit due to launch settings and gravity release. They require bright stars to provide good signal to…
The next generation of extreme adaptive optics (AO) must be calibrated exceptionally well to achieve the desired contrast for ground-based direct imaging exoplanet targets. Current wavefront sensing and control system responses deviate from…
High-contrast imaging and spectroscopy provide unique constraints for exoplanet formation models as well as for planetary atmosphere models. Instrumentation techniques in this field have greatly improved over the last two decades, with the…
Context. Solar wavefront sensing has been a challenge for astrophysical instrumentalists, due to the low contrast between the Sun and the sky background compared to night-time observations, which limits the performance of adaptive optics…
Future large space- or ground-based telescopes will offer the resolution and sensitivity to probe the habitable zone of a large sample of nearby stars for exo-Earth imaging. To this end, such facilities are expected to be equipped with a…
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…
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…
A suite of science instruments is critical to any high contrast imaging facility, as it defines the science capabilities and observing modes available. SCExAO uses a modular approach which allows for state-of-the-art visitor modules to be…
Extreme adaptive optics (AO) is crucial for enabling the contrasts needed for ground-based high contrast imaging instruments to detect exoplanets. Pushing exoplanet imaging detection sensitivities towards lower mass, closer separations, and…
The Multiconjugate adaptive Optic Relay For ELT Observations (MORFEO, formerly known as MAORY) is the adaptive optics (AO) module for the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) aimed at providing a 1 arcmin corrected field to the Multi-AO Imaging…
We describe the preliminary optimized layout for a partially optimized concept of an optical-8m class VLT-like 2x2 segmented camera where each channel is assisted by an equivalent of an MCAO system where the ground layer correction is…
MagAO-X is the extreme coronagraphic adaptive optics (AO) instrument for the 6.5-meter Magellan Clay telescope and is currently undergoing a comprehensive batch of upgrades. One innovation that the instrument features is a deformable mirror…
Direct imaging of exoplanet systems requires the use of coronagraphs to reach high contrast levels (10^-8 to 10^-11) at small angular separations (0.1"). However, the performance of these devices is drastically limited by aberrations (in…
Searching for nearby exoplanets with direct imaging is one of the major scientific drivers for both space and ground-based programs. While the second generation of dedicated high-contrast instruments on 8-m class telescopes is about to…
High-contrast imaging for the detection and characterization of exoplanets relies on the instrument's capability to block out the light of the host star. Some current post-processing methods for calibrating out the residual speckles use…
Ground-based direct imaging of exoplanets at high contrast requires precise correction of atmospheric turbulence using adaptive optics (AO). The planet-to-star contrast ratio at small angular separations from the host star is often limited…