OP: Collaborative Research: Active Speckle Control and Fast Speckle Statistics to Drastically Improve the Contrast Ratio of Exoplanet Direct Imaging

OP：协作研究：主动散斑控制和快速散斑统计显着提高系外行星直接成像的对比度

基本信息

批准号：
1710385
负责人：
Benjamin Mazin
金额：
$ 28.76万
依托单位：
University of California-Santa Barbara
依托单位国家：
美国
项目类别：
Standard Grant
财政年份：
2017
资助国家：
美国
起止时间：
2017-09-01 至 2020-08-31
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1710385&HistoricalAwards=false
关键词：
OP Collaborative Research Active Speckle

项目摘要

Astronomers would like to image habitable planets around other stars. Turbulence in Earth's atmosphere is the main obstacle to achieving this goal. Such turbulence blurs and confuses light from bright stars with their nearby, dim planets. Adaptive optics can partially correct for turbulence. However, even adaptive optics pushed to its limits (Extreme Adaptive Optics, ExAO) is still insufficient to deliver the required high-contrast images. Mazin and collaborators will develop an innovative control algorithm that makes use of new, highly responsive detectors. This approach will enable ExAO images to separate exoplanets from their parent stars. The resulting algorithm will be tested and used at several observatories. This technology may enable breakthrough advances in ground-based astronomy and allow the discovery of habitable worlds outside our solar system.This proposal is a continuation of Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detector (MKID) research and development that was supported by previous NSF awards (1308556 and1654105). These previous awards supported the instrument development and deployment at Palomar Observatory. This award will develop algorithms and methodology to use the instrument to increase contrast in Extreme Adaptive Optics (ExAO) images of exoplanets. Increasing contrast is the main technical challenge for imaging exoplanets with ExAO. The greatest obstacle is short timescale atmospheric speckles that are uncorrected by the AO system. This proposal will use the fast time response of the MKID detectors to remove speckles from images ex post facto using the photon arrival time statistics. Direct detection and study of Earth-like exoplanets would realize a major goal of astronomy in the coming decade.

天文学家想对其他恒星周围的宜居行星进行图像。地球大气中的湍流是实现这一目标的主要障碍。这种湍流模糊不清，使明亮恒星的光与附近的昏暗行星混淆。自适应光学元件可以部分纠正湍流。但是，即使是自适应光学元件，也将其限制（极端自适应光学器件，EXAO）仍然不足以提供所需的高对比度图像。 Mazin和合作者将开发一种创新的控制算法，利用新的，高度响应的检测器。这种方法将使Exao图像与他们的母星分开。所得算法将在几个观测站进行测试和使用。这项技术可以在基于地面的天文学上取得突破性的进步，并允许在太阳系之外发现可居住的世界。该提案是微波动力学电感探测器（MKID）研究和开发的延续，该研究和开发得到了先前的NSF奖项（1308556和1654105）。这些先前的奖项支持帕洛玛天文台的仪器开发和部署。该奖项将开发算法和方法论，以使用该仪器来增加外科行星极端自适应光学（EXAO）图像的对比度。对比度增加是与EXAO成像系外行星的主要技术挑战。最大的障碍是AO系统未验证的短时大气斑点。该提案将使用MKID检测器的快速时间响应，以使用光子到达时间统计信息从事实上删除图像中的斑点。直接检测和研究类似地球的系外行星将在未来十年实现天文学的主要目标。