Astrophotonics: astronomy and modern optics

Abstract

Much of the progress in Astronomy has been driven by instrumental developments, from the first telescopes to fiber fed spectrographs. In this review we describe the field of astrophotonics, a combination of photonics and astronomical instrumentation that has the potential to drive the next generation of developements. We begin with the science cases that have been identified as possibly benefiting from astrophotonic devices. We then discuss devices, methods and developments in the field along with the advantages they provide. We conclude by describing possible future developments in the field and their influence on astronomy.

arXiv comment99 pages, 7 figures - Invited review article for The Astronomy and Astrophysics Review. Submitted on 9 Nov 2018, Resubmission 8 Nov 2020

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Cited by in corpus (4)

• Starlight coupling through atmospheric turbulence into few-mode fibers and photonic lanterns in the presence of partial adaptive optics correction
• Stable fiber-illumination for extremely precise radial velocities with NEID
• High-Contrast Coronagraphy
• Astrophotonic Technologies