Related papers: Spiderweb Masks for High-Contrast Imaging
Recently, we introduced a class of shaped pupil masks, called spiderweb masks, that produce point spread functions having annular dark zones. With such masks, a single image can be used to probe a star for extrasolar planets. In this paper,…
The detection and characterisation of extra-solar planets is a major theme driving modern astronomy, with the vast majority of such measurements being achieved by Doppler radial-velocity and transit observations. Another technique -- direct…
A high contrast coronagraph is expected to provide one of the promising ways to directly observe extra-solar planets. We present the newest results of our laboratory experiment investigating "rigid" coronagraph with a binary shaped…
We have built a series of notch filter image masks that make the Lyot coronagraph less susceptible to low-spatial-frequency optical aberrations. In this paper, we present experimental results of their performance in the lab using…
Spectrophotometric stability, which is crucial in the spectral characterization of transiting exoplanets, is affected by photometric variations arising from field-stop loss in space telescopes with pointing jitter or primary mirror…
Proxima b is a terrestrial exoplanet orbiting in the habitable zone of our closest star Proxima Centauri. The separation between the planet and the star is about 40 mas and this is with current instruments only reachable with direct…
High-contrast observations in optical and infrared astronomy are defined as any observation requiring a technique to reveal a celestial object of interest that is in such close angular proximity to another source brighter by a factor of at…
We present the results of the first laboratory experiment of checkerboard shaped pupil binary mask coronagraphs using visible light, in the context of the R&D activities for future mid-infrared space missions such as the 3.5 m SPICA…
Direct imaging of exoplanets requires very high contrast levels, which are obtained using coronagraphs. But residual quasi-static aberrations create speckles in the focal plane downstream of the coronagraph which mask the planet. This…
So far, most of the about 5700 exoplanets have been discovered mainly with radial velocity and transit methods. These techniques are sensitive to planets in close orbits, not being able to probe large star--planet separations. $\mu$-lensing…
Interferometric techniques such as aperture masking have the potential to enhance spatial resolution capabilities when imaging moderate-contrast sources with small angular size, such as close-in exoplanets and circumstellar disks around…
We describe a new series of band-limited image masks for coronagraphy that are insensitive to pointing errors and other low-spatial-frequency optical aberrations. For a modest cost in throughput, these ``eighth-order'' masks would allow the…
Context. In the context of direct imaging of exoplanets, coronagraphs are commonly proposed to reach the required very high contrast levels. However, wavefront aberrations induce speckles in their focal plane and limit their performance.…
Searching for nearby habitable worlds with direct imaging and spectroscopy will require a telescope large enough to provide angular resolution and sensitivity to planets around a significant sample of stars. Segmented telescopes are a…
The current direct observations of brown dwarfs and exoplanets have been obtained using instruments not specifically designed for overcoming the large contrast ratio between the host star and any wide-separation faint companions. However,…
We propose a coronagraphic system with fourth-order null for off-axis segmented telescopes, which is sufficiently insensitive to the telescope pointing errors and finite angular diameter of the host star to enable high-contrast imaging of…
The vortex coronagraph is an optical instrument that precisely removes on-axis starlight allowing for high contrast imaging at small angular separation from the star, thereby providing a crucial capability for direct detection and…
Specific high contrast imaging instruments are mandatory to characterize circumstellar disks and exoplanets around nearby stars. Coronagraphs are commonly used in these facilities to reject the diffracted light of an observed star and…
Aims: In this work, we discuss a way to combine High Dispersion Spectroscopy and High Contrast Imaging (HDS+HCI). For a planet located at a resolvable angular distance from its host star, the starlight can be reduced up to several orders of…
Non-redundant masking (NRM) is a high contrast, high resolution technique relevant to future space missions concerned with extrasolar planetary system and star formation, as well as general high angular resolution galactic and extragalactic…