Related papers: Calibrating an Interferometric Null
A new "self-calibrated" statistical analysis method has been developed for the reduction of nulling interferometry data. The idea is to use the statistical distributions of the fluctuating null depth and beam intensities to retrieve the…
In the context of exoplanet detection, the performance of coronagraphs is limited by wavefront errors. To efficiently correct for these aberrations with a deformable mirror, it is mandatory to measure them using the science detector with a…
In the two decades since the first extra-solar planet was discovered, the detection and characterization of extra-solar planets has become one of the key endeavors in all of modern science. Recently direct detection techniques such as…
We show that distances of objects at cosmological distances can be measured directly using interferometry. Our approach to interferometric parallax comes from analysis of 4-point amplitude and intensity correlations that can be generated…
Transit search programs such as CoRoT and Kepler now have the capability of detecting planets as small as the Earth. The detection of these planets however requires the removal of all false positives. Although many false positives can be…
Polarization leakage of foreground synchrotron emission is a critical issue in HI intensity mapping experiments. While the sought-after HI emission is unpolarized, polarized foregrounds such as Galactic and extragalactic synchrotron…
Recent studies have found the earth's peculiar velocity to be significant in microwave background based tests for compact cosmic topology, and modifications to these tests have been proposed. Tests of non-gaussianity, weak lensing analysis…
The obliquity of a terrestrial planet is an important clue about its formation and critical to its climate. Previous studies using simulated photometry of Earth show that continuous observations over most of a planet's orbit can be inverted…
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…
We present a novel method for extrinsically calibrating a camera and a 2D Laser Rangefinder (LRF) whose beams are invisible from the camera image. We show that point-to-plane constraints from a single observation of a V-shaped calibration…
Gaudi, Naber & Sackett pointed out that if an event is caused by a lens system containing more than two planets, all planets will affect the central region of the magnification pattern, and thus the existence of the multiple planets can be…
Very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) provides the resolution needed to make precision measurements of a pulsar's parallax and proper motion. In making these measurements, the astronomer is faced with difficult calibration problems and a…
Understanding exoplanet formation and finding potentially habitable exoplanets is vital to an enhanced understanding of the universe. The use of nulling interferometry to strongly attenuate the central starlight provides the opportunity to…
We present design equations for a two-element closely-spaced interferometer for measuring the noise temperature of a uniform sky. Such an interferometer is useful for observing highly diffuse radio sources such as the Milky Way and…
Nulling interferometry is a powerful observing technique to reach exoplanets and circumstellar dust at separations too small for direct imaging with single-dish telescopes and too large for indirect methods. With near-future…
In an interferometer, path information and interference visibility are incompatible quantities. Complete determination of the path will exclude any possibility of interference, rendering the visibility zero. However, if the composite object…
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…
In this chapter we present a brief summary of methods, instruments and calibration techniques used in modern astronomical polarimetry in the optical wavelengths. We describe the properties of various polarization devices and detectors used…
Instrumentation designed to characterize potentially habitable planets may combine adaptive optics and high-resolution spectroscopy techniques to achieve the highest possible sensitivity to spectral signs of life. Detecting the weak signal…
Pulsed UV lasers can provide useful "testbeams" for observatories that use optical detectors, especially fluorescence detectors, to measure high energy cosmic-rays. The light observed by the detector is proportional to the energy of the…