We describe a coronagraphic optic for use with CONICA at the VLT that provides suppression of diffraction from 1.8 to 7 lambda/D at 4.05 microns, an optimal wavelength for direct imaging of cool extrasolar planets. The optic is designed to provide 10 magnitudes of contrast at 0.2 arcseconds, over a D-shaped region in the image plane, without the need for any focal plane occulting mask.
We report on the performance of a vector apodizing phase plate coronagraph that operates over a wavelength range of $2-5 μ$m and is installed in MagAO/Clio2 at the 6.5 m Magellan Clay telescope at Las Campanas Observatory, Chile. The coronagraph manipulates the phase in the pupil to produce three beams yielding two coronagraphic point-spread functions (PSFs) and one faint leakage PSF. The phase pattern is imposed through the inherently achromatic geometric phase, enabled by liquid crystal technology and polarization techniques. The coronagraphic optic is manufactured using a direct-write techn…
The vector-Apodizing Phase Plate (vAPP) is a pupil-plane coronagraph that manipulates phase to create dark holes in the stellar PSF. The phase is induced on the circular polarization states through the inherently achromatic geometric phase by spatially varying the fast axis orientation of a half-wave liquid-crystal layer. The two polarized PSFs can be separated, either by a quarter-wave plate (QWP) followed by a polarizing beamsplitter (PBS) for broadband operation, or a polarization sensitive grating (PSG) for narrowband or IFS operation. Here we present new vAPP concepts that lift the restri…
One of the main challenges for the direct imaging of planets around nearby stars is the suppression of the diffracted halo from the primary star. Coronagraphs are angular filters that suppress this diffracted halo. The Apodizing Phase Plate coronagraph modifies the pupil-plane phase with an anti-symmetric pattern to suppress diffraction over a 180 degree region from 2 to 7 λ/D and achieves a mean raw contrast of 10^-4 in this area, independent of the tip-tilt stability of the system. Current APP coronagraphs implemented using classical phase techniques are limited in bandwidth and suppression …
In this article we show that the vector-Apodizing Phase Plate (vAPP) coronagraph can be designed such that the coronagraphic point spread functions (PSFs) can act as a wavefront sensor to measure and correct the (quasi-)static aberrations, without dedicated wavefront sensing holograms nor modulation by the deformable mirror. The absolute wavefront retrieval is performed with a non-linear algorithm. The focal-plane wavefront sensing (FPWFS) performance of the vAPP and the algorithm are evaluated with numerical simulations, to test various photon and read noise levels, the sensitivity to the 100…
Over the last decade, the vector-apodizing phase plate (vAPP) coronagraph has been developed from concept to on-sky application in many high-contrast imaging systems on 8-m class telescopes. The vAPP is an geometric-phase patterned coronagraph that is inherently broadband, and its manufacturing is enabled only by direct-write technology for liquid-crystal patterns. The vAPP generates two coronagraphic PSFs that cancel starlight on opposite sides of the point spread function (PSF) and have opposite circular polarization states. The efficiency, that is the amount of light in these PSFs, depends …
The vector Apodizing Phase Plate (vAPP) is a class of pupil plane coronagraph that enables high-contrast imaging by modifying the Point Spread Function (PSF) to create a dark hole of deep flux suppression adjacent to the PSF core. Here, we recover the known brown dwarf HR 2562 B using a vAPP coronagraph, in conjunction with the Magellan Adaptive Optics (MagAO) system, at a signal-to-noise of S/N = 3.04 in the lesser studied L-band regime. The data contained a mix of field and pupil-stabilised observations, hence we explored three different processing techniques to extract the companion, includ…
Improved companion mass limits for Sirius A with thermal infrared coronagraphy using a vector-apodizing phase plate and time-domain starlight-subtraction techniques
Vector Apodizing Phase Plates for the ELT: From prototype to final optics for METIS and MICADO
ASTRON(荷兰天文研究所);Leiden Observatory(莱顿天文台);SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research(荷兰空间研究研究所);ColorLink Japan, Ltd.(ColorLink日本有限公司);Observatoire de Paris, Université PSL, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, Université Paris Cité(巴黎天文台,巴黎文理研究大学,法国国家科学研究中心,索邦大学,巴黎西岱大学);STAR Institute, Université de Liège(列日大学STAR研究所)
Context. High contrast imaging has thoroughly combed through the limited search space accessible with first-generation ground-based adaptive optics instruments and the Hubble Space Telescope. Only a few objects were discovered, and many non-detections reported and statistically interpreted. The field is now in need of a technological breakthrough. Aim. Our aim is to open a new search space with first-generation systems such as NACO at the Very Large Telescope, by providing ground-breaking inner working angle (IWA) capabilities in the L' band. The L' band is a sweet spot for high contrast coron…
We present some of the High Dynamic Range Imaging activities developed around the coronagraphic test-bench of the Laboratoire A. H. Fizeau (Nice). They concern research and development of an Apodized Lyot Coronagraph (ALC) for the VLT-SPHERE instrument and experimental results from our testbed working in the visible domain. We determined by numerical simulations the specifications of the apodizing filter and searched the best technological process to manufacture it. We present the results of the experimental tests on the first apodizer prototype in the visible and the resulting ALC nulling per…
Phase apodization coronagraphs are implemented in a pupil plane to create a dark hole in the science camera focal plane. They are successfully created as "Apodizing Phase Plates" (APPs) using classical optical manufacturing, and as "vector-APPs" using liquid-crystal patterning with essentially achromatic performance. This type of coronagraph currently delivers excellent broadband contrast ($\sim$10$^{-5}$) at small angular separations (few $λ/D$) at ground-based telescopes, owing to their insensitivity to tip/tilt errors.
We present designs for fully achromatic vector Apodizing Phase Plate (vAPP) coronagraphs, that implement low polarization leakage solutions and achromatic beam-splitting, enabling observations in broadband filters. The vAPP is a pupil plane optic, inducing the phase through the inherently achromatic geometric phase. We discuss various implementations of the broadband vAPP and set requirements on all the components of the broadband vAPP coronagraph to ensure that the leakage terms do not limit a raw contrast of 1E-5. Furthermore, we discuss superachromatic QWPs based of liquid crystals or quart…
The direct-write technology for liquid-crystal patterns allows for manufacturing of extreme geometric phase patterned coronagraphs that are inherently broadband, e.g. the vector Apodizing Phase Plate (vAPP). We present on-sky data of a double-grating vAPP operating from 2-5 $μm$ with a 360-degree dark hole and a decreased leakage term of $\sim 10^{-4}$. We report a new liquid-crystal design used in a grating-vAPP for SCExAO that operates from 1-2.5$μm$. Furthermore, we present wavelength-selective vAPPs that work at specific wavelength ranges and transmit light unapodized at other wavelengths.…
The phase-apodized-pupil Lyot coronagraph (PAPLC) is a pairing of the apodized-pupil Lyot coronagraph (APLC) and the apodizing phase plate (APP) coronagraph. We describe a numerical optimization method to obtain globally-optimal solutions for the phase apodizers for arbitrary telescope pupils, based on the linear map between complex-amplitude transmission of the apodizer and the electric field in the post-coronagraphic focal plane. PAPLCs with annular focal-plane masks and point-symmetric dark zones perform analogous to their corresponding APLCs. However with a knife-edge focal-plane mask and …
[Abridged] Context. Spectral differential imaging (SDI) is part of the observing strategy of current and future high-contrast imaging instruments. It aims to reduce the stellar speckles that prevent the detection of cool planets by using in/out methane-band images. It attenuates the signature of off-axis companions to the star, such as angular differential imaging (ADI). However, this attenuation depends on the spectral properties of the low-mass companions we are searching for. The implications of this particularity on estimating the detection limits have been poorly explored so far. Aims. We…
The Magellan extreme adaptive optics (MagAO-X) instrument is a new extreme adaptive optics (ExAO) system designed for operation in the visible to near-IR which will deliver high contrast-imaging capabilities. The main AO system will be driven by a pyramid wavefront sensor (PyWFS); however, to mitigate the impact of quasi-static and non-common path (NCP) aberrations, focal plane wavefront sensing (FPWFS) in the form of low-order wavefront sensing (LOWFS) and spatial linear dark field control (LDFC) will be employed behind a vector apodizing phase plate (vAPP) coronagraph using rejected starligh…
For several years, we have been developing vortex phase masks based on sub-wavelength gratings, known as Annular Groove Phase Masks. Etched onto diamond substrates, these AGPMs are currently designed to be used in the thermal infrared (ranging from 3 to 13 μm). Our AGPMs were first installed on VLT/NACO and VLT/VISIR in 2012, followed by LBT/LMIRCam in 2013 and Keck/NIRC2 in 2015. In this paper, we review the development, commissioning, on-sky performance, and early scientific results of these new coronagraphic modes and report on the lessons learned. We conclude with perspectives for future d…
The design of liquid-crystal diffractive phase plate coronagraphs for ground-based and space-based high-contrast imaging systems is limited by the trade-off between spectral bandwidth and polarization leakage. We demonstrate that by combining phase patterns with a polarization grating (PG) pattern directly followed by one or several separate PGs, we can suppress the polarization leakage terms by additional orders of magnitude by diffracting them out of the beam. \textcolor{black}{Using two PGs composed of a single-layer liquid crystal structure in the lab, we demonstrate a leakage suppression …
Despite promising astrometric signals, to date there has been no success in direct imaging of a hypothesized third member of the Sirius system. Using the Clio instrument and MagAO adaptive optics system on the Magellan Clay 6.5 m telescope, we have obtained extensive imagery of Sirius through a vector apodizing phase plate (vAPP) coronagraph in a narrowband filter at 3.9 microns. The vAPP coronagraph and MagAO allow us to be sensitive to planets much less massive than the limits set by previous non-detections. However, analysis of these data presents challenges due to the target's brightness a…
NACO is the famous and versatile diffraction limited NIR imager and spectrograph with which ESO celebrated 10 years of Adaptive Optics at the VLT. Since two years a substantial effort has been put in to understanding and fixing issues that directly affect the image quality and the high contrast performances of the instrument. Experiments to compensate the non-common-path aberrations and recover the highest possible Strehl ratios have been carried out successfully and a plan is hereafter described to perform such measurements regularly. The drift associated to pupil tracking since 2007 was fixe…
One of the key noise sources that currently limits high-contrast imaging observations for exoplanet detection is quasi-static speckles. Quasi-static speckles originate from slowly evolving non-common path aberrations (NCPA). The purpose of this work is to present a proof-of-concept on-sky demonstration of spatial Linear Dark Field Control (LDFC). The ultimate goal of LDFC is to stabilize the point spread function (PSF) by addressing NCPA using the science image as additional wavefront sensor. We combined spatial LDFC with the Asymmetric Pupil vector-Apodizing Phase Plate (APvAPP) on the Subaru…
Clouds and other features in exoplanet and brown dwarf atmospheres cause variations in brightness as they rotate in and out of view. Ground-based instruments reach the high contrasts and small inner working angles needed to monitor these faint companions, but their small fields-of-view lack simultaneous photometric references to correct for non-astrophysical variations. We present a novel approach for making ground-based light curves of directly imaged companions using high-cadence differential spectrophotometric monitoring, where the simultaneous reference is provided by a double-grating 360°…
The raw coronagraphic performance of current high-contrast imaging instruments is limited by the presence of a quasi-static speckle (QSS) background, resulting from instrumental non-common path errors (NCPEs). Rapid development of efficient speckle subtraction techniques in data reduction has enabled final contrasts of up to 10-6 to be obtained, however it remains preferable to eliminate the underlying NCPEs at the source. In this work we introduce the coronagraphic Modal Wavefront Sensor (cMWS), a new wavefront sensor suitable for real-time NCPE correction. This pupil-plane optic combines the…