Related papers: On-sky validation of image-based adaptive optics w…
Pyramid wavefront sensors (PWFSs) are the preferred choice for current and future extreme adaptive optics (XAO) systems. Almost all instruments use the PWFS in its modulated form to mitigate its limited linearity range. However, this…
For high-contrast imaging (HCI) systems, such as VLT/SPHERE, the performance of the system at small angular separations is contaminated by the wind-driven halo in the science image. This halo is a result of the servo-lag error in the…
Wavefront stabilization is a fundamental challenge to high contrast imaging of exoplanets. For both space and ground observations, wavefront control performance is ultimately limited by the finite amount of starlight available for sensing,…
Multi-Conjugate Adaptive Optics (MCAO) is essential for increasing the corrected Field-of-View (FoV) in astronomical imaging and potentially for free-space optical communications, particularly for small-aperture, transportable systems. We…
The Earth's atmosphere is comprised of turbulent layers that result in speckled and blurry images from ground-based visible and infrared observations. Adaptive Optics (AO) systems are employed to measure the perturbed wavefront with a…
The Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO), planned for launch in the 2040s, represents the next major step in exoplanet characterisation. HWO will, for the first time, enable detailed studies of the atmospheres and surfaces of Earth-like…
We describe the current on-sky performance of the Subaru Coronagraphic Extreme Adaptive Optics (SCExAO) instrument on the Subaru telescope on Maunakea, Hawaii. SCExAO is continuing to advance its AO performance, delivering H band Strehl…
In this article we show that the vector-Apodizing Phase Plate (vAPP) coronagraph can be designed such that the coronagraphic point spread functions (PSFs) can act as a wavefront sensor to measure and correct the (quasi-)static aberrations,…
Direct imaging of exoplanets is crucial for advancing our understanding of planetary systems beyond our solar system, but it faces significant challenges due to the high contrast between host stars and their planets. Wavefront aberrations…
Since the year 2000, adaptive optics (AO) has seen the emergence of a variety of new concepts addressing particular science needs; multiconjugate adaptive optics (MCAO) is one of them. By correcting the atmospheric turbulence in 3D using…
CANARY is the multi-object adaptive optics (MOAO) on-sky pathfinder developed in the perspective of Multi-Object Spectrograph on Extremely Large Telescopes~(ELTs). In 2013, CANARY was operated on-sky at the William Herschel telescope~(WHT),…
The James Webb Space Telescope is orders of magnitude more sensitive than any other facility across the near to mid-infrared wavelengths. Many approved programs take advantage of its highly stable point spread function (PSF) to directly…
The advent of a new generation of Adaptive Optics systems called Wide Field AO (WFAO) mark the beginning of a new era. By using multiple Guide Stars (GSs), either Laser Guide Stars (LGSs) or Natural Guide Stars (NGSs), WFAO significantly…
We build on a long-standing tradition in astronomical adaptive optics (AO) of specifying performance metrics and error budgets using linear systems modeling in the spatial-frequency domain. Our goal is to provide a comprehensive tool for…
In direct imaging of exoplanets from space, achieving the required dynamic range (i.e., planet-to-star contrast in brightness) currently relies on coronagraphic technology combined with active control of one or more deformable mirrors (DMs)…
The frontal structure of the Southern Ocean is investigated using a sophisticated frontal detection methodology, the Wavelet/Higher Order Statistics Enhancement (WHOSE) method, introduced in \cite{Chapman2014}. This methodology is applied…
Since its beginnings, diffraction-limited ground-based adaptive optics (AO) imaging has been limited to wavelengths in the near IR ({\lambda} > 1 micron) and longer. Visible AO ({\lambda} < 1 micron) has proven to be difficult because…
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…
High contrast imaging (HCI) systems rely on active wavefront control (WFC) to deliver deep raw contrast in the focal plane, and on calibration techniques to further enhance contrast by identifying planet light within the residual speckle…
The behavior of an adaptive optics (AO) system for ground-based high contrast imaging (HCI) dictates the achievable contrast of the instrument. In conditions where the coherence time of the atmosphere is short compared to the speed of the…