Related papers: The VLT/ERIS grating vector Apodizing Phase Plate …
The phase-apodized-pupil Lyot coronagraph (PAPLC) is a pairing of the apodized-pupil Lyot coronagraph (APLC) and the apodizing phase plate (APP) coronagraph. We describe a numerical optimization method to obtain globally-optimal solutions…
We present some of the High Dynamic Range Imaging activities developed around the coronagraphic test-bench of the Laboratoire A. H. Fizeau (Nice). They concern research and development of an Apodized Lyot Coronagraph (ALC) for the…
Achieving the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) goal of 10^-10 contrast at a separation of 3 $\lambda$/D across a 20% bandwidth requires coronagraph focal plane masks with both broadband high contrast performance and high planet…
The electric field conjugation (EFC) algorithm has shown promise for removing scattered starlight from high-contrast imaging measurements, both in numerical simulations and laboratory experiments. To prepare for the deployment of EFC using…
Current state-of-the-art high contrast imaging instruments take advantage of a number of elegant coronagraph designs to suppress starlight and image nearby faint objects, such as exoplanets and circumstellar disks. The ideal performance and…
The imaging and characterization of a larger range of exoplanets, down to young Jupiters and exo-Earths will require accessing very high contrasts at small angular separations with an increased robustness to aberrations, three constraints…
CONTEXT: The four-quadrant phase mask stellar coronagraph, introduced by D. Rouan et al., is capable of achieving very high dynamical range imaging and was studied in the context of the direct detection of extra-solar planets. Achromatic…
Direct exo-Earth imaging is a key science goal for astronomy in the next decade. This ambitious task imposes a target contrast of ~10^-7 at wavelengths from I to J-band. In our prior study, we determined that polarization aberrations can…
Direct imaging of exo-Earths and search for life is one of the most exciting and challenging objectives for future space observatories. Segmented apertures in space will be required to reach the needed large diameters beyond the…
A vortex coronagraph is now available for high contrast observations with the Keck/NIRC2 instrument at L band. Reaching the optimal performance of the coronagraph requires fine control of the wavefront incident on the phase mask. In…
Context. The Metis coronagraph is one of the remote-sensing instruments of the ESA/NASA Solar Orbiter mission. Metis is aimed at the study of the solar atmosphere and solar wind by simultaneously acquiring images of the solar corona at two…
Spectral characterization of young, giant exoplanets detected by direct imaging is one of the tasks of the new generation of high-contrast imagers. For this purpose, the VLT/SPHERE instrument includes a unique long-slit spectroscopy (LSS)…
The Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) mission will require coronagraphs capable of suppressing starlight at the $\sim 10^{-10}$ contrast level to directly image exo-Earths. High contrast achromatic coronagraphic masks are the missing…
Coronagraphy is an efficient technique for identifying and characterizing extra-solar planets orbiting in the habitable zone of their parent star. An important family of coronagraphs is based on amplitude or phase filters placed at an…
We present numerical simulations and laboratory experiments on an eight-octant phase-mask (EOPM) coronagraph. The numerical simulations suggest that an achievable contrast for the EOPM coronagraph can be greatly improved as compared to that…
The Astro2020 decadal survey recommended an infrared, optical, ultra-violet (IR/O/UV) telescope with a $\sim$6~m inscribed diameter and equipped with a coronagraph instrument to directly image exoEarths in the habitable zone of their host…
We present the first astronomical observations obtained with an Apodizing Phase Plate (APP). The plate is designed to suppress the stellar diffraction pattern by 5 magnitudes from 2-9 lambda/D over a 180 degree region. Stellar images were…
Gaussian aperture pupil masks (GAPMs) can in theory achieve the contrast requisite for directly imaging an extrasolar planet. We outline the process of fabricating and testing a GAPM for use on the Penn State near-IR Imager and Spectrograph…
As adaptive optics technology continues to improve, the stellar coronagraph will play an ever increasing role in ground-based high-contrast imaging observations. Though several different image masks exist for the most common type of…
Next-generation large segmented mirror telescopes are expected to perform direct imaging and characterization of Earth-like rocky planets, which requires contrast limits of $10^{-7}$ to $10^{-8}$ at wavelengths from I to J band. One…