Exoplanet direct imaging at high contrast and small separations requires wavefront control at the focal plane to correct speckles caused by non-common-path aberrations. The photonic lantern (PL) is a fiber-based waveguide that enables focal-plane wavefront sensing together with science imaging applications like nulling interferometry and integral field spectroscopy. Being outwardly identical to any other fiber, the PL’s compactness and simplicity make it suitable for retrofits to existing observatories to add a second stage of control, or as the primary science instrument on space-based missions. I will describe the working principle of the PL and will present experimental demonstrations of wavefront sensing with a PL, in the lab at UCSC and on sky at Lick Observatory. Next, I will show simulations and experiments demonstrating the PL’s high sensitivity to photon noise for low-order aberrations, addressing a major term in the adaptive optics error budget. Finally, I will present a control scheme to enable second-stage wavefront control without adding a second deformable mirror, allowing us to use the PL as a wavefront sensor and imager by adding only a fiber and a few reimaging optics. This work enables us to add PLs to existing observatories with minimal hardware changes and benefit from imaging performance that can reach the diffraction limit.
Diffraction-limited exoplanet imaging at today’s observatories with photonic lanterns
Jeudi 16 juillet 2026
de
11:00 à
12:00
Bât. 17, salle de réunion
