Collaborative Research: High Contrast Imaging at the Photon Noise Limit: On-Sky Validation of Speckle Reconstruction from WFS Telemetry

合作研究：光子噪声极限下的高对比度成像：WFS 遥测斑点重建的空中验证

• 批准号: 2308351
• 负责人: Jared Males
• 金额: $ 52.09万
• 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: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-09-01 至 2025-08-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2308351&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Contrast; Imaging; Photon

Imaging extrasolar planets is challenging. Planets are typically one hundred thousand to ten billion times fainter than their host stars. Taking pictures of such planets requires nearly perfect control of light. Starlight is blocked using optical devices called "coronagraphs". Ground-based telescopes must deal with the additional problem of turbulence in the Earth's atmosphere. Turbulence causes the stars to twinkle, and telescopes remove this twinkle using a technique called "Adaptive Optics". Finally, image processing is performed to find the exoplanet signal in the noise. Current instruments do not image the faintest possible planets because they are limited by “speckles”, which are created by imperfections in all of the above steps. However not all the available information is currently used when analyzing such images. Nearly all image processing methods use only the science images themselves. This creates many biases and artifacts. This is especially true close to the star, where most planets can be found. The goal of this project is to find more planets by using all the combined information. Software will be written for two existing instruments, which will be used by astronomers to analyze their images. This software will be written to be easy to use and made freely available to astronomers. Students will be involved at both participating institutions.Direct imaging characterization of exoplanets has so far been limited to young, hot, and massive planets orbiting relatively far from their stars. Such planets are observable due to their intrinsic self-luminosity generated as they continue to cool after formation. Many more planets are observable if the inner working angle can be improved. Moreover, improving the sensitivity limit of high-contrast imaging will enable the characterization of fainter, lower-mass planets. The key to enabling more sensitive post-processing is to use the data simultaneously recorded by the suite of wavefront sensors (WFSs) in a modern high-contrast imaging system. These include the main high-order WFS as well as coronagraph low-order and focal plane WFS. The investigators, with the assistance of a post-doctoral researcher, will implement algorithms based on existing proofs of concept, test and validate these algorithms with lab and on-sky data, and deploy the software systems on the MagAO-X and SCExAO instruments. These two extreme-AO coronagraphic instruments share a common software framework and there is collaboration between the instrument teams. This system will be deployed so that users can use it to reduce their data to achieve the highest possible sensitivity at small separations. Making a telemetry-based post-processing system available on current generation instruments will dramatically improve their sensitivity.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

太阳系外行星的成像通常比其主恒星暗十万到一百亿倍，需要使用称为“日冕仪”的光学设备对星光进行近乎完美的控制。处理地球大气层中的湍流的额外问题湍流导致恒星闪烁，望远镜使用一种称为“自适应光学”的技术消除这种闪烁。目前的仪器无法对最微弱的行星进行成像，因为它们受到“斑点”的限制，这些斑点是由上述所有步骤中的缺陷造成的，但目前在分析此类图像时并未使用所有可用的信息。几乎所有的图像处理方法都只使用科学图像本身，这在靠近恒星的地方尤其如此，因为该项目的目标是通过使用所有的图像来找到更多的行星。软件将被写入。该软件将被编写为易于使用，并免费提供给两个参与机构的学生。迄今为止，系外行星的直接成像特征已经完成。仅限于远离恒星运行的年轻、炎热和大质量行星，因为它们在形成后继续冷却时产生的固有自发光，如果可以观测到内工作角，则可以观测到更多的行星。此外，提高高对比度成像的灵敏度极限将能够表征更暗、质量更低的行星，实现更灵敏的后处理的关键是使用波前传感器（WFS）套件同时记录的数据。这些包括主要的高阶 WFS 以及日冕仪低阶和焦平面 WFS，研究人员将在博士后研究员的协助下，根据现有的证据实施算法。概念，使用实验室和天空数据测试和验证这些算法，并在 MagAO-X 和 SCExAO 仪器上部署软件系统，这两种极端 AO 日冕仪器共享一个通用的软件框架，并且仪器团队之间存在协作。部署该系统后，用户可以使用它来减少数据，以在小间距下实现尽可能高的灵敏度，在当前一代仪器上使用基于遥测的后处理系统将显着提高其灵敏度。该奖项是 NSF 的法定奖项。使命并被认为是值得的通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估来提供支持。