An Introduction to High Contrast Differential Imaging of Exoplanets and Disks

Abstract

This tutorial is an introduction to High-Contrast Imaging, a technique that enables astronomers to isolate light from faint planets and/or circumstellar disks that would otherwise be lost amidst the light of their host stars. Although technically challenging, high-contrast imaging allows for direct characterization of the properties of circumstellar sources. The intent of the article is to provide newcomers to the field a general overview of the terminology, observational considerations, data reduction strategies, and analysis techniques high-contrast imagers employ to identify, vet, and characterize planet and disk candidates.

End-to-end numerical modeling of the Roman Space Telescope coronagraph

“…The differences seen in the dark hole between the two orthogonal output polarizations [Figs. 44(c) and 45(c)] indicate how suitable polarization differential imaging (PDI) 49,50 might be for observations of some circumstellar dust disks. PDI is a postprocessing technique that has been used with data from ground-based telescopes to distinguish instrumental artifacts (speckles) from intrinsically polarized circumstellar disks.…”

Fundamental Limits on Earth-like Exoplanet Imaging with Large Telescopes Employing Laser Tomographic Adaptive Optics Systems: A Comparative Analysis of LGS AO and LTAO Systems

“…The imaging of potentially habitable exoplanets with high-contrast imaging adaptive optics (HCIAO) systems is a promising, but challenging, method through which to characterize terrestrial planets around stars using next-generation Extremely Large Telescopes [1]. However, the flux contrast between a rocky planet and its solar-type star is 10 −10 and lies beyond the fundamental limits of high-contrast imaging with ground-based Extremely Large Telescopes and their coronagraphic extreme adaptive optics (AO) systems [2]. The most accessible rocky planets are near low-mass M-type dwarf stars, which present the following factors: firstly, the contrast separation between the planet and the star is nearly 10 −8 ; secondly, the angle between the planet and the star (considering the habitable zone) is within the reach of future Extremely Large Telescopes in the near-IR range [3].…”