Related papers: Large Interferometer For Exoplanets (LIFE): IV. Id…
Diffraction fundamentally limits our ability to image and characterize exoplanets. Current and planned coronagraphic searches for exoplanets are making incredible strides but are fundamentally limited by the inner working angle of a few…
A mid-infrared nulling-space interferometer is a promising way to characterize thermal light from habitable planet candidates around Sun-like stars. However, one of the main challenges for achieving this ambitious goal is a high-precision…
Herein is discussed the performance of spaceborne nulling interferometers searching for extra-solar planets, in terms of their extinction maps projected on-sky. In particular, it is shown that the designs of Spatial Filtering (SF) and…
Proxima b is our nearest potentially rocky exoplanet and represents a formidable opportunity for exoplanet science and possibly astrobiology. With an angular separation of only 35~mas (or 0.05~AU) from its host star, Proxima b is however…
Context: In recent years, stellar intensity interferometry has seen renewed interest from the astronomical community because it can be efficiently applied to Cherenkov telescope arrays. Aims: We have investigated the accuracy that can be…
This paper examines options for orbit configurations for a space interferometer. In contrast to previously presented concepts for space very long baseline interferometry, we propose a combination of regular and retrograde near-Earth…
The limitations of adaptive optics and coronagraph performance make exoplanet detection close to {\lambda}/D extremely difficult with conventional imaging methods. The technique of non-redundant masking (NRM), which turns a filled aperture…
The quest for other habitable worlds and the search for life among them are major goals of modern astronomy. One way to make progress towards these goals is to obtain high-quality spectra of a large number of exoplanets over a broad range…
We explore the sensitivity and completeness of long baseline interferometric observations for detecting unknown, faint companions around bright unresolved stars. We derive a linear expression for the closure phase signature of a faint…
Kilometric-scale optical imagers seem feasible to realize by intensity interferometry, using telescopes primarily erected for measuring Cherenkov light induced by gamma rays. Planned arrays envision 50--100 telescopes, distributed over some…
We solve the general problem of determining, through imaging, the three-dimensional positions of $N$ weak incoherent point-like emitters in an arbitrary spatial configuration. We show that a structured measurement strategy in which a linear…
Nulling interferometry is one of the most promising technologies for imaging exoplanets within stellar habitable zones. The use of photonics for carrying out nulling interferometry enables the contrast and separation required for exoplanet…
Imaging interferometric data in radio astronomy requires the use of non-linear algorithms that rely on different assumptions on the source structure and may produce non-unique results. This is especially true for Very Long Baseline…
Integrated optic beam combiners offer many advantages over conventional bulk optic implementations for astronomical imaging. To date, integrated optic beam combiners have only been demonstrated at operating wavelengths below 4 microns.…
The DARWIN mission is an Infrared free flying interferometer mission based on the new technique of nulling interferometry. Its main objective is to detect and characterize other Earth-like planets, analyze the composition of their…
Coronagraphs allow for faint off-axis exoplanets to be observed, but are limited to angular separations greater than a few beam widths. Accessing closer-in separations would greatly increase the expected number of detectable planets, which…
We discuss the theory of the Bracewell nulling interferometer and explicitly demonstrate that the phase of the "white light" null fringe is the same as the phase of the bright output from an ordinary stellar interferometer. As a consequence…
The large number of new planets expected from wide-area transit surveys means that follow-up transmission spectroscopy studies of their atmospheres will be limited by the availability of telescope assets. We argue that telescopes covering a…
The characterization of extrasolar earth-like atmospheres for biosignatures remains one of the most compelling and elusive challenges in astronomy. Coronagraphy, nulling interferometry and free-flying occulters have been advanced as…
The scientific interest in directly image and identifying Earth-like planets within the Habitable Zone (HZ) around nearby stars is driving the design of specialized direct imaging mission such as ACESAT, EXO-C, EXO-S and AFTA-C. The inner…