Initial laboratory demonstration of multi-star wavefront control at the occulting mask coronagraph testbed

Dan Sirbu; Ruslan Belikov; Eduardo Bendek; David Marx; A.J. Eldorado Riggs; Garreth Ruane; Camilo Mejia Prada; Brian Kern

doi:10.1117/12.2630639

27 August 2022 Initial laboratory demonstration of multi-star wavefront control at the occulting mask coronagraph testbed

Dan Sirbu, Ruslan Belikov, Eduardo Bendek, David Marx, A.J. Eldorado Riggs, Garreth Ruane, Camilo Mejia Prada, Brian Kern

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 12180, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2022: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave; 121802A (2022) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2630639
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2022, Montréal, Québec, Canada

Abstract

A majority of Sun-like stars have at least one stellar companion that can introduce additional noise into the field of view of any high-contrast imaging instrument, limiting the achievable contrast. These include high-quality target stars such as the A and B components of Alpha Centauri, our nearest stellar neighbor. Enabling direct imaging of binary stars has the potential to increase the scientific yield for coronagraphic instruments planned on NASA’s future space missions including the Roman Space Telescope and the next IR/O/UV flagship recommended by Astro2020. Multi-Star Wavefront Control (MSWC) is a wavefront-control technique that simultaneously removes the (mutually incoherent) stellar leakage from both stellar components, enabling direct imaging of planets in many binary star systems. We present the latest testbed and numerical results obtained towards MSWC experiments as part of the technology development effort to demonstrate compatibility with existing high-contrast imaging platforms for this technique. In particular, we present experimental and modeling results from the Occulting Mask Coronagraph (OMC) testbed at JPL demonstrating Super-Nyquist Wavefront Control. During this testing window, the MSWC mask design has been inserted into the testbed and SNWC-based control generated a dark zone between 79-83 λ/D around the 2nd diffraction order reaching 5.1e-8 contrast. The OMC is configured with a shaped pupil mask with the same design as the MSWC mask on the Roman Space Telescope’s coronagraph instrument with the goal of using validated models to demonstrated MSWC operation at contrast levels relevant to the Roman coronagraphic instrument.

Conference Presentation

Citation Download Citation

Dan Sirbu, Ruslan Belikov, Eduardo Bendek, David Marx, A.J. Eldorado Riggs, Garreth Ruane, Camilo Mejia Prada, and Brian Kern "Initial laboratory demonstration of multi-star wavefront control at the occulting mask coronagraph testbed", Proc. SPIE 12180, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2022: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave, 121802A (27 August 2022); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2630639

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