To directly detect exoplanets and protoplanetary disks, the development of high accuracy wavefront sensing and control (WFS&C) technologies is essential, especially for ground-based Extremely Large Telescopes (ELTs). The Subaru Coronagraphic Extreme Adaptive Optics (SCExAO) instrument is a high-contrast imaging platform to discover and characterize exoplanets and protoplanetary disks. It also serves as a testbed to validate and deploy new concepts or algorithms for high-contrast imaging approaches for ELTs, using the latest hardware and software technologies on an 8-meter class telescope. SCExAO is a multi-band instrument, using light from 600 to 2500 nm, and delivering a high Strehl ratio (>80% in median seeing in H-band) downstream of a low-order correction provided by the facility AO188. Science observations are performed with coronagraphs, an integral field spectrograph, or single aperture interferometers. The SCExAO project continuously reaches out to the community for development and upgrades. Existing operating testbeds such as the SCExAO are also unique opportunities to test and deploy the new technologies for future ELTs. We present and show a live demonstration of the SCExAO capabilities (Real-time predictive AO control, Focal plane WFS&C, etc) as a host testbed for the remote collaborators to test and deploy the new WFS&C concepts or algorithms. We also present several high-contrast imaging technologies that are under development or that have already been demonstrated on-sky.
We will present a new instrument, REACH (Rigorous Exoplanetary Atmosphere Characterization with High dispersion coronography) to realize very high spectral resolution, over R=100,000 at extreme contrast by combining the high-resolution spectrograph InfraRed Doppler (IRD) and the extreme adaptive optics instrument, SCExAO at the Subaru Telescope. REACH consists of mini-IFU like 7 single-mode fiber bundle located at a focus of SCExAO, a high-speed photometric monitoring camera, and a beam switching and feed system from the fiber bundle to IRD’s 2 single-mode fibers. We will provide an overview of the instrument and present the recent results from on-sky tests.
Although astronomers have confirmed the existence of 4,000 exoplanets to date, it is still difficult to directly compare exoplanets with the planets in our solar system because most of the known transiting exoplanets have an orbital period shorter than 1 year. Recent analyses of the 4-year data from the Kepler spacecraft revealed dozens of long-period transiting exoplanets and showed that their abundance is of order unity around Sun-like stars. However, the stars targeted by Kepler are too faint to conduct follow-up observations. The on-going all-sky survey mission TESS, with four 10.5 cm cameras with a field of view of 24 deg x 24 deg, is finding nearby transiting planets; however, the nominal observation period (1 month{1 year) is too short to find long-period planets with au-scale orbits. Herein, we propose using the LOng-period Transiting exoplanet sUrvey Satellite (LOTUS) mission, which employs a 7.5 cm wide-field (33 deg x 33 deg) camera placed on a nanosatellite, to continuously monitor the same sky region and find long-period planets transiting nearby bright stars. We present a conceptual design for the optics and bus system of LOTUS. Our optical system has a uniform point spread function over the entire field of view and a wide wavelength range (0.5{1.0 um). The bus system is designed to ensure that the pointing precision is sufficient to achieve the sub-percent photometry required for the detection of transiting exoplanets.
The Subaru Coronagraphic Extreme Adaptive Optics (SCExAO) instrument is a high-contrast imaging system installed at the 8-m Subaru Telescope on Maunakea, Hawaii. Due to its unique evolving design, SCExAO is both an instrument open for use by the international scientific community, and a testbed validating new technologies, which are critical to future high-contrast imagers on Giant Segmented Mirror Telescopes (GSMTs). Through multiple international collaborations over the years, SCExAO was able to test the most advanced technologies in wavefront sensors, real-time control with GPUs, low-noise high frame rate detectors in the visible and infrared, starlight suppression techniques or photonics technologies. Tools and interfaces were put in place to encourage collaborators to implement their own hardware and algorithms, and test them on-site or remotely, in laboratory conditions or on-sky. We are now commissioning broadband coronagraphs, the Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detector (MKID) Exoplanet Camera (MEC) for high-speed speckle control, as well as a C-RED ONE camera for both polarization differential imaging and IR wavefront sensing. New wavefront control algorithms are also being tested, such as predictive control, multi-camera machine learning sensor fusion, and focal plane wavefront control. We present the status of the SCExAO instrument, with an emphasis on current collaborations and recent technology demonstrations. We also describe upgrades planned for the next few years, which will evolve SCExAO —and the whole suite of instruments on the IR Nasmyth platform of the Subaru Telescope— to become a system-level demonstrator of the Planetary Systems Imager (PSI), the high-contrast instrument for the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT).
Orbital parameters of stellar companions can be constrained by multi-epoch observations where the astrometric position relative to the host star is measured. Additionally, radial velocity (RV) measurements of the host star may constrain the companion mass. We describe two major advances for high contrast imaging systems that significantly improve estimation of orbital parameters and masses. First, well-calibrated fiducial satellite speckles are inserted in the science images by way of deformable mirror (DM) modulation to improve astrometric measurement accuracy. Second, radial velocity measurement of the companion light reveals its velocity along the line-of-sight. We describe how the two techniques, together, can efficiently constrain orbital parameters and masses, and can do so over a shorter observation time baseline than previously possible. We demonstrate our technique with the REACH (Rigorous Exoplanetary Atmosphere Characterization with High dispersion coronagraphy) instrument at the Subaru Telescope. REACH takes extreme adaptive optics corrected light via single mode fiber from the SCExAO instrument and injects it to the high-resolution (R<70000) infrared spectrograph IRD instrument. With this technique we can achieve an astrometric precision of 1.7 mas and simultaneously measure radial velocity to a precision of <2 m/s. This high precision technique can also be extended to determine the orbits and characterize young massive planets around M-type stars.
The Subaru Coronagraphic Extreme Adaptive Optics (SCExAO) serves both a science instrument in operation, and a prototyping platform for integrating and validating advanced wavefront control techniques. It provides a modular hardware and software environment optimized for flexible prototyping, reducing the time from concept formulation to on-sky operation and validation. This approach also enables external research group to deploy and test new hardware and algorithms. The hardware architecture allows for multiple subsystems to run concurrently, sharing starlight by means of dichroics. The multiplexing lends itself to running parallel experiments simultaneously, and developing sensor fusion approaches for increased wavefront sensing sensitivity and reliability. Thanks to a modular realtime control software architecture designed around the CACAO package, users can deploy WFS/C routines with full low-latency access to all cameras data streams. Algorithms can easily be shared with other cacao-based AO systems at Magellan (MagAO-X) and Keck. We highlight recent achievements and ongoing activities that are particularly relevant to the development of high contrast imaging instruments for future large ground-based telescopes (ELT, TMT, GMT) and space telescopes (HabEx, LUVOIR). These include predictive control and sensor fusion, PSF reconstruction from AO telemetry, integrated coronagraph/WFS development, focal plane speckle control with photon counting MKIDS camera, and fiber interferometry. We also describe upcoming upgrades to the WFS/C architecture: a new 64x64 actuator first stage DM, deployment of a beam switcher for concurrent operation of SCExAO with other science instruments, and the ULTIMATE upgrade including deployment of multiple LGS WFSs and an adaptive secondary mirror.
Direct detection of faint exoplanets is challenging due to a high-contrast ratio between a primary star and a planet. A high-contrast imaging system has an important role in directly detecting exoplanets. The system consists of coronagraph and speckle reduction technique. A common-path visible nulling coronagraph (VNC) is one of the attracting methods for high-contrast observation because of a simple optical configuration and achromatic stellar elimination. We introduced a spatial light modulator (SLM) into the common-path VNC to suppress residual speckles caused by wavefront aberrations. The SLM can potentially generate a huge dark hole thanks to its large pixel format. As a focal plane wavefront sensor, we utilized the self-coherent camera (SCC) method for the common-path VNC. We carried out the laboratory demonstration of the speckle reduction technique for the common-path VNC combined with the SCC methods. The experimental results show an initial contrast of 2.2 × 10-5 and a final contrast of 1.3 × 10-6 in monochromatic light at a wavelength of 633 nm. We discuss the limiting factors of the contrast for improvement of our demonstration to achieve the higher contrast.
The Subaru Coronagraphic Extreme Adaptive Optics (SCExAO) instrument is an extremely modular high- contrast instrument installed on the Subaru telescope in Hawaii. SCExAO has a dual purpose. Its position in the northern hemisphere on a 8-meter telescope makes it a prime instrument for the detection and characterization of exoplanets and stellar environments over a large portion of the sky. In addition, SCExAO’s unique design makes it the ideal instrument to test innovative technologies and algorithms quickly in a laboratory setup and subsequently deploy them on-sky. SCExAO benefits from a first stage of wavefront correction with the facility adaptive optics AO188, and splits the 600-2400 nm spectrum towards a variety of modules, in visible and near infrared, optimized for a large range of science cases. The integral field spectrograph CHARIS, with its J, H or K-band high-resolution mode or its broadband low-resolution mode, makes SCExAO a prime instrument for exoplanet detection and characterization. Here we report on the recent developments and scientific results of the SCExAO instrument. Recent upgrades were performed on a number of modules, like the visible polarimetric module VAMPIRES, the high-performance infrared coronagraphs, various wavefront control algorithms, as well as the real-time controller of AO188. The newest addition is the 20k-pixel Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detector (MKIDS) Exoplanet Camera (MEC) that will allow for previously unexplored science and technology developments. MEC, coupled with novel photon-counting speckle control, brings SCExAO closer to the final design of future high-contrast instruments optimized for Giant Segmented Mirror Telescopes (GSMTs).
The Infrared Doppler (IRD) instrument is a fiber-fed high-resolution NIR spectrometer for the Subaru telescope covering the Y,J,H-bands simultaneously with a maximum spectral resolution of 70,000. The main purpose of IRD is a search for Earth-mass planets around nearby M-dwarfs by precise radial velocity measurements, as well as a spectroscopic characterization of exoplanet atmospheres. We report the current status of the instrument, which is undergoing commissioning at the Subaru Telescope, and the first light observation successfully done in August 2017. The general description of the instrument will be given including spectrometer optics, fiber injection system, cryogenic system, scrambler, and laser frequency comb. A large strategic survey mainly focused on late-type M-dwarfs is planned to start from 2019.
SCExAO is the premier high-contrast imaging platform for the Subaru Telescope. It offers high Strehl ratios at near-IR wavelengths (y-K band) with stable pointing and coronagraphs with extremely small inner working angles, optimized for imaging faint companions very close to the host. In the visible, it has several interferometric imagers which offer polarimetric and spectroscopic capabilities. A recent addition is the RHEA spectrograph enabling spatially resolved high resolution spectroscopy of the surfaces of giant stars, for example. New capabilities on the horizon include post-coronagraphic spectroscopy, spectral differential imaging, nulling interferometry as well as an integral field spectrograph and an MKID array. Here we present the new modules of SCExAO, give an overview of the current commissioning status of each of the modules and present preliminary results.
The Savart-Plate Lateral-shearing Interferometric Nuller for Exoplanets (SPLINE) is a kind of a visible nulling coronagraph for directly detecting exoplanets. The SPLINE consists of two crossed polarizers and a Savart plate placed between them. Theoretically the SPLINE realizes perfect cancellation of starlight. However, achievable contrast is limited by residual stellar speckles due to wavefront aberration caused by imperfect optical surfaces of the optical elements. For reducing the residual stellar speckles of the SPLINE, we propose a speckle nulling technique using a Liquid-Crystal Spatial Light Modulator (LCSLM) to create a dark hole. For the speckle nulling, we apply the Self-Coherent Camera (SCC) technique to the SPLINE for wavefront sensing in the focal plane. We report our recent progress on computer simulation and preliminary laboratory experiments of the speckle nulling technique applied to the SPLINE.
We have developed the Savart-Plate Lateral-shearing Interferometric Nuller for Exoplanets (SPLINE), which is a kind of
a nulling interferometer, for directly imaging exoplanets. The SPLINE consists of two polarizers and a Savart plate
between them. The SPLINE can theoretically obtain fully achromatic and stable nulled output. However, a drawback of
the SPLINE is its low system throughput due to the polarizers. For improving the system throughput, we propose a dualchannel
SPLINE using polarization beam splitters instead of the polarizers. We have carried out laboratory
demonstration of the dual-channel SPLINE. The achievable contrast of the SPLINE is limited by residual speckles
caused by surface roughness of optical elements. For improving the achievable contrast, we propose a method of
wavefront correction using a liquid-crystal spatial light modulator (LCSLM). We have carried out preliminary laboratory
demonstration using a liquid-crystal variable retarder (LCVR), instead of the LCSLM, for simulating the proposed
wavefront correction method. We report the laboratory demonstration in this paper.
We propose a new high contrast imager for Kyoto 4m segmented telescope called SEICA (Second-generation
Exoplanet Imager with Coronagraphic Adaptive optics), aiming at detection and characterization of selfluminous
gas giants within 10AU around nearby stars. SEICA is aggressively optimized for high performance
at very small inner working angle, 10-6 detection contrast at 0".1 in 1-hour integration. We start the on-sky
commissioning test in 2016 and the science observations in 2017. Since it is the first time to realize the highcontrast
imaging on the segmented telescope, SEICA is an important step toward future high contrast
sciences on Extremely Large Telescopes (ELTs). This paper presents an overall of the SEICA program and
the conceptual design for ultimate performance under given atmospheric conditions.
We report the current status of the Infrared Doppler (IRD) instrument for the Subaru telescope, which aims at detecting
Earth-like planets around nearby M darwfs via the radial velocity (RV) measurements. IRD is a fiber-fed, near infrared
spectrometer which enables us to obtain high-resolution spectrum (R~70000) from 0.97 to 1.75 μm. We have been
developing new technologies to achieve 1m/s RV measurement precision, including an original laser frequency comb as
an extremely stable wavelength standard in the near infrared. To achieve ultimate thermal stability, very low thermal
expansion ceramic is used for most of the optical components including the optical bench.
The Savart-Plate Lateral-shearing Interferometric Nuller for Exoplanet (SPLINE) is a stable and fully achromatic nulling
interferometer proposed for direct detection of extrasolar planets with segmented-mirror telescopes like the Thirty Meter
Telescope (TMT). The SPLINE uses a Savart plate, a kind of polarizing beam splitter, to split a light beam into two
orthogonally polarized ones with a lateral shift. The Savart plate placed between crossed polarizers causes fully
achromatic destructive interference for an on-axis star light. On the other hand, planetary light from an off-axis direction
does not destructively interfere due to the lateral shift. The SPLINE provides a stable interferometric output because of
its simple common-path optical design without an optical-path difference control system. We carried out laboratory
demonstrations of the SPLINE to evaluate its stability, achromaticity, and achievable contrast. As a result, a high
contrast of >104 (peak-to-peak contrast) is achieved using a broadband light source as a star model. In addition, we also
propose to apply a differential imaging technique to the SPLINE for improving achievable contrast. We report our recent
activities and show the results of the laboratory demonstrations.
Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) will see the first light in 2019. We propose Second-Earth Imager for TMT (SEIT) as a
future instrument of TMT. The central science case of SEIT is direct imaging and characterization of habitable planets
around nearby late-type stars. Focusing on simultaneous spectroscopy of the central star and the planet, SEIT allows us
to remove an impact from the telluric absorption and then reveal the presence of oxygen molecules on the Earth-like
planets.
In order to achieve such a science goal, an extreme AO, a coronagraph, and a post-process technique for achieving high
contrast at the small inner working angle are key components. The combination of a shearing nulling interferometer and
a pupil remapping interferometer is applied to the first SEIT concept. The shearing nulling interferometer suppresses the
diffracted starlight after the extreme AO wavefront correction, and then the pupil remapping interferometer tackles the
speckle noise from starlight. Focusing on a fact that the pupil remapping interferometer has difficulty reconstructing the
wavefront from only the speckle noise, we found an unbalnced nulling technique enhances the performance of the pupil
remapping interferometer. We performed a numerical simulation to validate this concept and found this concept achieves
the 5-sigma detection contrast down to 8x10-8 at 10 mas for 5 hours. Thus, the SEIT concept detects habitable planets
with a radius two times that of the Earth around ten nearby M stars.
The joint JAXA/NASA ASTRO-H mission is the sixth in a series of highly successful X-ray missions initiated
by the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS). ASTRO-H will investigate the physics of the highenergy
universe via a suite of four instruments, covering a very wide energy range, from 0.3 keV to 600 keV.
These instruments include a high-resolution, high-throughput spectrometer sensitive over 0.3–12 keV with
high spectral resolution of ΔE ≦ 7 eV, enabled by a micro-calorimeter array located in the focal plane of
thin-foil X-ray optics; hard X-ray imaging spectrometers covering 5–80 keV, located in the focal plane of
multilayer-coated, focusing hard X-ray mirrors; a wide-field imaging spectrometer sensitive over 0.4–12 keV,
with an X-ray CCD camera in the focal plane of a soft X-ray telescope; and a non-focusing Compton-camera
type soft gamma-ray detector, sensitive in the 40–600 keV band. The simultaneous broad bandpass, coupled
with high spectral resolution, will enable the pursuit of a wide variety of important science themes.
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