37,977 research outputs found
Frame Combination Techniques for Ultra High-Contrast Imaging
We summarize here an experimental frame combination pipeline we developed for
ultra high-contrast imaging with systems like the upcoming VLT SPHERE
instrument. The pipeline combines strategies from the Drizzle technique, the
Spitzer IRACproc package, and homegrown codes, to combine image sets that may
include a rotating field of view and arbitrary shifts between frames. The
pipeline is meant to be robust at dealing with data that may contain non-ideal
effects like sub-pixel pointing errors, missing data points, non-symmetrical
noise sources, arbitrary geometric distortions, and rapidly changing point
spread functions. We summarize in this document individual steps and
strategies, as well as results from preliminary tests and simulations.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures, SPIE conference pape
Simulating the WFIRST coronagraph Integral Field Spectrograph
A primary goal of direct imaging techniques is to spectrally characterize the
atmospheres of planets around other stars at extremely high contrast levels. To
achieve this goal, coronagraphic instruments have favored integral field
spectrographs (IFS) as the science cameras to disperse the entire search area
at once and obtain spectra at each location, since the planet position is not
known a priori. These spectrographs are useful against confusion from speckles
and background objects, and can also help in the speckle subtraction and
wavefront control stages of the coronagraphic observation. We present a
software package, the Coronagraph and Rapid Imaging Spectrograph in Python
(crispy) to simulate the IFS of the WFIRST Coronagraph Instrument (CGI). The
software propagates input science cubes using spatially and spectrally resolved
coronagraphic focal plane cubes, transforms them into IFS detector maps and
ultimately reconstructs the spatio-spectral input scene as a 3D datacube.
Simulated IFS cubes can be used to test data extraction techniques, refine
sensitivity analyses and carry out design trade studies of the flight CGI-IFS
instrument. crispy is a publicly available Python package and can be adapted to
other IFS designs.Comment: 15 page
Modelling Aspects of Planar Multi-Mode Antennas for Direction-of-Arrival Estimation
Multi-mode antennas are an alternative to classical antenna arrays, and hence
a promising emerging sensor technology for a vast variety of applications in
the areas of array signal processing and digital communications. An unsolved
problem is to describe the radiation pattern of multi-mode antennas in closed
analytic form based on calibration measurements or on electromagnetic field
(EMF) simulation data. As a solution, we investigate two modeling methods: One
is based on the array interpolation technique (AIT), the other one on wavefield
modeling (WM). Both methods are able to accurately interpolate quantized EMF
data of a given multi-mode antenna, in our case a planar four-port antenna
developed for the 6-8.5 GHz range. Since the modeling methods inherently depend
on parameter sets, we investigate the influence of the parameter choice on the
accuracy of both models. Furthermore, we evaluate the impact of modeling errors
for coherent maximum-likelihood direction-of-arrival (DoA) estimation given
different model parameters. Numerical results are presented for a single
polarization component. Simulations reveal that the estimation bias introduced
by model errors is subject to the chosen model parameters. Finally, we provide
optimized sets of AIT and WM parameters for the multi-mode antenna under
investigation. With these parameter sets, EMF data samples can be reproduced in
interpolated form with high angular resolution
Towards Precision LSST Weak-Lensing Measurement - I: Impacts of Atmospheric Turbulence and Optical Aberration
The weak-lensing science of the LSST project drives the need to carefully
model and separate the instrumental artifacts from the intrinsic lensing
signal. The dominant source of the systematics for all ground based telescopes
is the spatial correlation of the PSF modulated by both atmospheric turbulence
and optical aberrations. In this paper, we present a full FOV simulation of the
LSST images by modeling both the atmosphere and the telescope optics with the
most current data for the telescope specifications and the environment. To
simulate the effects of atmospheric turbulence, we generated six-layer phase
screens with the parameters estimated from the on-site measurements. For the
optics, we combined the ray-tracing tool ZEMAX and our simulated focal plane
data to introduce realistic aberrations and focal plane height fluctuations.
Although this expected flatness deviation for LSST is small compared with that
of other existing cameras, the fast f-ratio of the LSST optics makes this focal
plane flatness variation and the resulting PSF discontinuities across the CCD
boundaries significant challenges in our removal of the systematics. We resolve
this complication by performing PCA CCD-by-CCD, and interpolating the basis
functions using conventional polynomials. We demonstrate that this PSF
correction scheme reduces the residual PSF ellipticity correlation below 10^-7
over the cosmologically interesting scale. From a null test using HST/UDF
galaxy images without input shear, we verify that the amplitude of the galaxy
ellipticity correlation function, after the PSF correction, is consistent with
the shot noise set by the finite number of objects. Therefore, we conclude that
the current optical design and specification for the accuracy in the focal
plane assembly are sufficient to enable the control of the PSF systematics
required for weak-lensing science with the LSST.Comment: Accepted to PASP. High-resolution version is available at
http://dls.physics.ucdavis.edu/~mkjee/LSST_weak_lensing_simulation.pd
Fully Integrated Frequency and Phase Generation for a 6-18GHz Tunable Multi-Band Phased-Array Receiver in CMOS
Fully integrated frequency-phase generators
for a 6-18GHz wide-band phased-array receiver element are
presented that generate 5-7GHz and 9-12GHz first LO
signals with less than -95dBc/Hz phase noise at 100kHz
offset. Second LO signals with digitally controllable fourquadrant phase- and amplitude spread with better than 3°
resolution are generated and allow removal of systematic
reference clock skew as well as accurate selection of the
received signal phase. This frequency- and phase generation
scheme was successfully demonstrated in a 6-18GHz receiver
system configured as an electrical 4-element array
Alternative Data Reduction Procedures for UVES: Wavelength Calibration and Spectrum Addition
This paper addresses alternative procedures to the ESO supplied pipeline
procedures for the reduction of UVES spectra of two quasar spectra to determine
the value of the fundamental constant mu = Mp/Me at early times in the
universe. The procedures utilize intermediate product images and spectra
produced by the pipeline with alternative wavelength calibration and spectrum
addition methods. Spectroscopic studies that require extreme wavelength
precision need customized wavelength calibration procedures beyond that usually
supplied by the standard data reduction pipelines. An example of such studies
is the measurement of the values of the fundamental constants at early times in
the universe. This article describes a wavelength calibration procedure for the
UV-Visual Echelle Spectrometer on the Very Large Telescope, however, it can be
extended to other spectrometers as well. The procedure described here provides
relative wavelength precision of better than 3E-7 for the long-slit
Thorium-Argon calibration lamp exposures. The gain in precision over the
pipeline wavelength calibration is almost entirely due to a more exclusive
selection of Th/Ar calibration lines.Comment: Accepted for publication in New Astronom
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