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

• 批准号: 1710356
• 负责人: Jared Males
• 金额: $ 8.52万
• 依托单位: University of Arizona
• 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 2019-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1710356&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: OP; Collaborative; Research; Active; Speckle

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.

天文学家希望对其他恒星周围的宜居行星进行成像。 地球大气层的湍流是实现这一目标的主要障碍。 这种湍流使明亮恒星发出的光与附近昏暗行星的光变得模糊和混淆。 自适应光学器件可以部分校正湍流。 然而，即使自适应光学达到其极限（极端自适应光学，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，该算法利用新型、高响应探测器。 这种方法将使 ExAO 图像能够将系外行星与其母恒星分开。 由此产生的算法将在多个天文台进行测试和使用。 这项技术可能使地面天文学取得突破性进展，并允许发现太阳系外的宜居世界。该提案是微波动感电感探测器（MKID）研究和开发的延续，该研究和开发得到了先前 NSF 奖项（1308556 和 1654105）的支持。 。 先前的这些奖项支持了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，以使用该仪器来增加系外行星极端自适应光学（ExAO）图像的对比度。增加对比度是使用 ExAO 成像系外行星的主要技术挑战。 最大的障碍是 AO 系统未校正的短时间尺度大气散斑。 该提案将利用 MKID 探测器的快速时间响应，利用光子到达时间统计来事后消除图像中的斑点。 直接探测和研究类地系外行星将在未来十年实现天文学的主要目标。