Related papers: Optimal birefringence distributions for star test …
We report Spitzer 3.6 and 4.5 $\mu$m photometry of 11 bright stars relative to Sirius, exploiting the unique optical stability of the Spitzer Space Telescope point spread function (PSF). Spitzer's extremely stable beryllium optics in its…
We consider the probe of astrophysical signals through radio interferometers with small field of view and baselines with non-negligible and constant component in the pointing direction. In this context, the visibilities measured essentially…
Images from adaptive optics systems are generally affected by significant distortions of the point spread function (PSF) across the field of view, depending on the position of natural and artificial guide stars. Image reduction techniques…
Many different methods exist for reducing data obtained when an astronomical source is studied with a two-channel polarimeter, such as a Wollaston prism system. This paper presents a rigorous method of reducing the data from raw aperture…
Modeling optical field propagation in highly scattering and birefringent medium is of important interest to many photonic research branches. Despite the existence of numerical electromagnetic simulation tools and beam propagation method…
We have built and tested a compact, low-cost, but very-high-performance astronomical polarimeter based on a continuously rotating half-wave plate and a high-speed imaging detector. The polarimeter is suitable for small telescopes up to ~1 m…
We present experimental results on a method to perform polarimetry on ensembles of single photons. Our setup is based on a measurement method known to be optimal for estimating the state of two level systems. The setup has no moving parts…
The Fourier-based diffraction approach is an established method to extract order and symmetry propertiesfrom a given point set. We want to investigate a different method for planar sets which works in direct spaceand relies on reduction of…
Optical diffraction tomography is an indispensable tool for studying objects in three-dimensions due to its ability to accurately reconstruct scattering objects. Until now this technique has been limited to coherent light because spatial…
Common transparent polymer films such as cellophane and household tape are frequently used as examples of birefringent materials in textbooks and classroom demonstrations. Qualitatively, birefringence is often demonstrated by layering such…
We propose an birefringence route to perfect electromagnetic (EM) wave tunneling through a metallic film which relies on homogeneous birefringent coatings with moderate and positive parameters only. EM transparency is achieved in such an…
A long-standing challenge in multiple-particle-tracking is the accurate and precise 3D localization of individual particles at close proximity. One established approach for snapshot 3D imaging is point-spread-function (PSF) engineering, in…
We review the algebraic definition of the efficiency of a polarization modulation scheme, which is commonly adopted for solar and stellar spectro-polarimetry applications, and generalize it to allow distinct states of the modulation cycle…
We report on the experimental implementation of a polarimeter based on a scheme known to be optimal for obtaining the polarization vector of ensembles of spin-1/2 quantum systems, and the alignment procedure for this polarimeter is…
A universal and optimal method for the polarimetry of light with arbitrary photon statistics is presented. The method is based on the continuous maximum-likelihood positive operator-valued measure (ML-POVM) for pure polarization states over…
Polarimetric imaging is one of the most effective techniques for high-contrast imaging and characterization of circumstellar environments. These environments can be characterized through direct-imaging polarimetry at near-infrared…
One of the most demanding tasks in astronomical image processing---in terms of precision---is the centroiding of stars. Upcoming large surveys are going to take images of billions of point sources, including many faint stars, with short…
This paper describes a practical model for the polarization of Be stars which can be used to estimate roughly the physical parameters for optically thin circumstellar envelopes from broadband UBVRI photopolarimetry data. Analysis of…
Localization microscopy is an imaging technique in which the positions of individual nanoscale point emitters (e.g. fluorescent molecules) are determined at high precision from their images. This is the key ingredient in…
Optical polarimeters are typically calibrated using measurements of stars with known and stable polarization parameters. However, there is a lack of such stars available across the sky. Many of the currently available standards are not…