53 research outputs found
Kalman Filter Estimation for Focal Plane Wavefront Correction
Space-based coronagraphs for future earth-like planet detection will require
focal plane wavefront control techniques to achieve the necessary contrast
levels. These correction algorithms are iterative and the control methods
require an estimate of the electric field at the science camera, which requires
nearly all of the images taken for the correction. We demonstrate a Kalman
filter estimator that uses prior knowledge to create the estimate of the
electric field, dramatically reducing the number of exposures required to
estimate the image plane electric field. In addition to a significant reduction
in exposures, we discuss the relative merit of this algorithm to other
estimation schemes, particularly in regard to estimate error and covariance. As
part of the reduction in exposures we also discuss a novel approach to
generating the diversity required for estimating the field in the image plane.
This uses the stroke minimization control algorithm to choose the probe shapes
on the deformable mirrors, adding a degree of optimality to the problem and
once again reducing the total number of exposures required for correction.
Choosing probe shapes has been largely unexplored up to this point and is
critical to producing a well posed set of measurements for the estimate.
Ultimately the filter will lead to an adaptive algorithm which can estimate
physical parameters in the laboratory and optimize estimation.Comment: 14 pages, 9 figures, SPIE Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation
2012 conference proceedings. Journal version at arXiv:1301.382
Synergies of Subaru and CGI
Given the limited observing time and demanding scenarios of the WFIRST coronagraph instrument (CGI), it is critical to consider how Subaru observations can benefit its observing program. Subaru telescope has a suite of instruments with their adaptive optics (AO) and extreme adaptive optics modules (SCExAO). With SCExAO, the Subaru telescope is capable of detection and spectral characterization of binaries and bright (greater than 5(exp -6) contrast) companions in the near-infrared. This will enable the vetting of targets, disk detection and characterization, and potentially some additional science should CGI identify interesting targets during its technology demonstration and potential guest observer program. Additionally, large companions that are within the inner working angle of the coronagraph can be identified using the VAMPIRES aperture masking interferometer. With highly complementary target brightness and significantly overlapping fields of view, there is a great deal of potential for combined observations with Subaru and CGI. This will represent the first time single observations spanning the visible to near-infrared will be possible for high contrast imaging. We will discuss the overlap of instrumentation over time, the implication of instrument evolution as TMT comes online, and how this can be used to improve both science and technology demonstrations for CGI
Commissioning and performance results of the WFIRST/PISCES integral field spectrograph
The Prototype Imaging Spectrograph for Coronagraphic Exoplanet Studies
(PISCES) is a high contrast integral field spectrograph (IFS) whose design was
driven by WFIRST coronagraph instrument requirements. We present commissioning
and operational results using PISCES as a camera on the High Contrast Imaging
Testbed at JPL. PISCES has demonstrated ability to achieve high contrast
spectral retrieval with flight-like data reduction and analysis techniques.Comment: Author's copy - Proceedings of SPIE Volume 10400. Citation to SPIE
proceedings volume will be added when availabl
High-contrast imager for Complex Aperture Telescopes (HiCAT): 1. Testbed design
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 compelling option to obtain such large apertures. However,
these telescope designs have a complex geometry (central obstruction, support
structures, segmentation) that makes high-contrast imaging more challenging. We
are developing a new high-contrast imaging testbed at STScI to provide an
integrated solution for wavefront control and starlight suppression on complex
aperture geometries. We present our approach for the testbed optical design,
which defines the surface requirements for each mirror to minimize the
amplitude-induced errors from the propagation of out-of-pupil surfaces. Our
approach guarantees that the testbed will not be limited by these Fresnel
propagation effects, but only by the aperture geometry. This approach involves
iterations between classical ray-tracing optical design optimization, and
end-to-end Fresnel propagation with wavefront control (e.g. Electric Field
Conjugation / Stroke Minimization). The construction of the testbed is planned
to start in late Fall 2013.Comment: Proc. of the SPIE 8864, 10 pages, 3 figures, Techniques and
Instrumentation for Detection of Exoplanets V
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
Data Reduction Pipeline for the CHARIS Integral-Field Spectrograph I: Detector Readout Calibration and Data Cube Extraction
We present the data reduction pipeline for CHARIS, a high-contrast
integral-field spectrograph for the Subaru Telescope. The pipeline constructs a
ramp from the raw reads using the measured nonlinear pixel response, and
reconstructs the data cube using one of three extraction algorithms: aperture
photometry, optimal extraction, or fitting. We measure and apply both
a detector flatfield and a lenslet flatfield and reconstruct the wavelength-
and position-dependent lenslet point-spread function (PSF) from images taken
with a tunable laser. We use these measured PSFs to implement a -based
extraction of the data cube, with typical residuals of ~5% due to imperfect
models of the undersampled lenslet PSFs. The full two-dimensional residual of
the extraction allows us to model and remove correlated read noise,
dramatically improving CHARIS' performance. The extraction produces a
data cube that has been deconvolved with the line-spread function, and never
performs any interpolations of either the data or the individual lenslet
spectra. The extracted data cube also includes uncertainties for each spatial
and spectral measurement. CHARIS' software is parallelized, written in Python
and Cython, and freely available on github with a separate documentation page.
Astrometric and spectrophotometric calibrations of the data cubes and PSF
subtraction will be treated in a forthcoming paper.Comment: 18 pages, 15 figures, 3 tables, replaced with JATIS accepted version
(emulateapj formatted here). Software at
https://github.com/PrincetonUniversity/charis-dep and documentation at
http://princetonuniversity.github.io/charis-de
The IFS for WFIRST CGI: Science Requirements to Design
Direct Imaging of exoplanets using a coronagraph has become a major field of research both on the ground and in space. Key to the science of direct imaging is the spectroscopic capabilities of the instrument, our ability to extract spectra, and measure the abundance of molecular species such as Methane. To take these spectra, the WFIRST coronagraph instrument (CGI) uses an integral field spectrograph (IFS), which encodes the spectrum into a two-dimensional image on the detector. This results in more efficient detection and characterization of targets, and the spectral information is critical to achieving detection limits below the speckle floor of the imager. The CGI IFS operates in two18% bands spanning 600nm to 840nm at a nominal spectral resolution of R50. We present the current science and engineering requirements for the IFS design, the instrument design, anticipated performance, and how the calibration is integrated into the focal plane wavefront control algorithms. We also highlight the role of the Prototype Imaging Spectrograph for Coronagraphic Exoplanet Studies (PISCES) at the JPL High Contrast Imaging Testbed to demonstrate performance and validate calibration methodologies for the flight instrument
The Optical Design of CHARIS: An Exoplanet IFS for the Subaru Telescope
High-contrast imaging techniques now make possible both imaging and
spectroscopy of planets around nearby stars. We present the optical design for
the Coronagraphic High Angular Resolution Imaging Spectrograph (CHARIS), a
lenslet-based, cryogenic integral field spectrograph (IFS) for imaging
exoplanets on the Subaru telescope. The IFS will provide spectral information
for 138x138 spatial elements over a 2.07 arcsec x 2.07 arcsec field of view
(FOV). CHARIS will operate in the near infrared (lambda = 1.15 - 2.5 microns)
and will feature two spectral resolution modes of R = 18 (low-res mode) and R =
73 (high-res mode). Taking advantage of the Subaru telescope adaptive optics
systems and coronagraphs (AO188 and SCExAO), CHARIS will provide sufficient
contrast to obtain spectra of young self-luminous Jupiter-mass exoplanets.
CHARIS will undergo CDR in October 2013 and is projected to have first light by
the end of 2015. We report here on the current optical design of CHARIS and its
unique innovations.Comment: 15 page
Flight Integral Field Spectrograph (IFS) Optical Design for WFIRST Coronagraphic Exoplanet Demonstration
Based on the experience from Prototype Imaging Spectrograph for Coronagraphic Exoplanet Studies (PISCES) for WFIRST, we have moved to the flight instrument design phase. The specifications for flight IFS have similarities and differences from the prototype. This paper starts with the science and system requirement, discusses a number of critical trade-offs: such as IFS type selection, lenslet array shape and layout versus detector pixel accuracy, how to accommodate the larger Field Of View (FOV) and wider wavelength band for a potential add-on StarShade occulter. Finally, the traditional geometric optical design is also investigated and traded: reflective versus refractive, telecentric versus non-telecentric relay. The relay before the lenslet array controls the chief angle distribution on the lenslet array. Our previous paper has addressed how the relay design combined with lenslet arraypinhole mask can further compress the residual star light and increase the contrast. Finally, a complete phase A IFS optical design is presented
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