Related papers: Adaptive Optics for Extremely Large Telescopes
Optical lenses are pervasive in various areas of sciences and technologies. It is well-known that the resolving power of a lens and thus optical systems is limited by the diffraction of light. Recently, various plasmonics and metamaterials…
The next major advancement in astronomy and cosmology will be driven by deep observations using very sensitive telescopes with high spatial and spectral resolution capabilities. An international consortium of astronomers, including Indian…
We show why and when optics needs thickness as well as width or area. Wave diffraction explains the fundamental need for area or diameter of a lens or aperture to achieve some resolution or number of pixels in microscopes and cameras. Now…
Transformation optics aims to identify artificial materials and structures with desired electromagnetic properties by means of pertinent coordinate transformations. In general, such schemes are meant to appropriately tailor the constitutive…
Diffractive X-ray telescopes using zone plates, phase Fresnel lenses, or related optical elements have the potential to provide astronomers with true imaging capability with resolution several orders of magnitude better than available in…
Micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) technology can provide for deformable mirrors (DMs) with excellent performance within a favorable economy of scale. Large MEMS-based astronomical adaptive optics (AO) systems such as the Gemini Planet…
We describe the optimum telescope focal ratio for a two-element, three surface, telecentric image-transfer microlens-to-fiber coupled integral field unit within the constraints imposed by micro-optics fabrication and optical aberrations. We…
Deep observations of the Universe, usually as a part of sky surveys, are one of the symbols of the modern astronomy because they can allow big collaborations, exploiting multiple facilities and shared knowledge. The new generation of…
The search for exoplanets is pushing adaptive optics systems on ground-based telescopes to their limits. One of the major limitations at small angular separations, exactly where exoplanets are predicted to be, is the servo-lag of the…
The Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST), the largest single dish radio telescope in the world, has implemented an innovative technology for its huge reflector, which changes the shape of the primary reflector from…
Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy (FCS) yields measurement parameters (number of molecules, diffusion time) that characterize the concentration and kinetics of fluorescent molecules within a supposedly known observation volume. Absolute…
The Galactic center offers us a unique opportunity to test General Relativity (GR) with the orbits of stars around a supermassive black hole. Observations of these stars have been one of the great successes of adaptive optics on 8-10 m…
Astrophotonics is the application of versatile photonic technologies to channel, manipulate, and disperse guided light from one or more telescopes to achieve scientific objectives in astronomy in an efficient and cost-effective way. The…
An array of large observational programs using ground-based and space-borne telescopes is planned in the next decade. The forthcoming wide-field sky surveys are expected to deliver a sheer volume of data exceeding an exabyte. Processing the…
Equipped with a suitable optical relay system, telescopes employing low-cost fixed primary mirrors could point and track while delivering high-quality images to a fixed location. Such an optical tracking system would enable liquid-mirror…
A novel type of a continuously zoomable telescope is based on two pairs of adjacent toroidal lenses ("saddle lenses") in combination with standard optical components. Its variable magnification is adjusted by a mere rotation of the four…
Perfect lensing using negative refractive index materials and radiationless electromagnetic interference both provide extreme subwavelength focusing by "amplifying" evanescent wave components that are usually lost. This paper provides a…
We review astronomical results in the visible (lambda <1 micron) with adaptive optics and note the status the MagAO system and the recent upgrade to visible camera's Simultaneous/Spectra Differential Imager (SDI to SDI+) mode. Since…
Optoelectronic components with adjustable parameters, from variable-focal-length lenses to spectral filters that can change functionality upon stimulation, have enormous technological importance. Tuning of such components is conventionally…
Wide field of view and light weight optics are critical for advanced eyewear, with applications in augmented/virtual reality and night vision. Conventional refractive lenses are often stacked to correct aberrations at wide field of view,…