Optimal Asymmetric Apodizations and Shaped Pupils for Planet Finding Coronagraphy

Abstract

The realization that direct imaging of extrasolar planets could be technologically feasible within the next decade or so has inspired a great deal of recent research into high-contrast imaging. We ourselves have contributed several design ideas, all of which can be described as shaped pupil coronagraphs. In this paper, we offer a complete and unified survey of asymmetric shaped pupils designs, some of which have been published in our previous papers. We also introduce a promising new design, which we call barcode masks. These masks achieve the required contrast with a fairly large discovery zone and throughput but most importantly they are perhaps the easiest to manufacture and might therefore stand up best to a refined analysis based on vector propogation techniques.

17 pages, 11 figures, submitted to Applied Optics

References in corpus (5)

• A Coronagraph with a Band-Limited Mask for Finding Terrestrial Planets
• Detection of Earth-like Planets Using Apodized Telescopes
• Circularly Symmetric Apodization via Starshaped Masks
• Spiderweb Masks for High-Contrast Imaging
• A New Pupil for Detecting Extrasolar Planets

Cited by in corpus (11)

• Shaped Pupil Lyot Coronagraphs: High-Contrast Solutions for Restricted Focal Planes
• Analyzing the designs of planet finding missions
• Linear and Bayesian Planet Detection Algorithms for the Terrestrial Planet Finder
• The SPICA coronagraphic instrument (SCI) for the study of exoplanets
• Experimental demonstration of binary shaped pupil mask coronagraphs for telescopes with obscured pupils
• Fast Fourier Optimization: Sparsity Matters
• SPICA infrared coronagraph for the direct observation of exo-planets
• A Binary Shaped Mask Coronagraph for a Segmented Pupil
• High-Contrast Coronagraphy
• Comparative study of manufacturing techniques for coronagraphic binary pupil masks: masks on substrates and free-standing masks
• Coronagraphic demonstration experiment using aluminum mirrors for space infrared astronomical observations