Spectral Bandwidth: A Key TPF Challenge for Achieving Adequate SNR

Details Spectral Bandwidth: A Key TPF Challenge for Achieving Adequate SNR Spectral Bandwidth: A Key TPF Challenge for Achieving Adequate SNR

Dec 2006

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2006aas...20916913n&link_type=abstract

2007 AAS/AAPT Joint Meeting, American Astronomical Society Meeting 209, #169.13; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society,

Physics

Optics

Scientific paper

The two essential tasks for direct observation of terrestrial extrasolar planets, the goal of the visible-light Terrestrial Planet Finder (TPF), are (1) suppressing noise contributed by host-star photons while simultaneously (2) collecting enough signal photons from the billion-times fainter planet. Of the concepts proposed to accomplish the first task, most require exquisite optical quality and stability, including extremely precise wavefront control (with a deformable mirror, or DM). This compensates the initial wavefront imperfections, to keep the stellar photons away from the detector pixels at the planet location. However, practical wavefront control generally achieves adequate starlight suppression only over a narrow spectral bandwidth, typically less than 20%. We describe and summarize here the kinds of spectral bandwidth performance limitations expected for the following candidate concepts for TPF: (a) the classical Lyot coronagraph; (b) the phase-induced amplitude apodization coronagraph; (c) the shaped pupil coronagraph; (d) the optical vortex coronagraph; (e) the visible nulling coronagraph; and (f) the external occulter coronagraph. The driving issues include wavelength scaling in Fraunhofer diffraction, spectral dispersion of optics, Fresnel propagation effects, and wavelength dependence of actuators. We will comment on the difficulty and prospects for each challenge.

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