Fast linearized coronagraph optimizer (FALCO) I: a software toolbox for rapid coronagraphic design and wavefront correction

The Fast Linearized CoronagraphOptimizer (FALCO) is an open-source toolbox of routines for coronagraphicfocal plane wavefrontcorrection. The goal of FALCO is to provide a free, modular framework for the simulation or testbed operation of several common types of coronagraphs. FALCO includes routines for pair-wise probing estimation of the complex electric field and Electric Field Conjugation (EFC) control, and we ask the community to contribute other wavefrontcorrection algorithms. FALCO utilizes and builds upon PROPER, an established optical propagation library. The key innovationin FALCO is the rapid computation of the linearized response matrix for each deformable mirror(DM), which facilitates re-linearization after each control step for faster DM-integrated coronagraphdesign and wavefrontcorrection experiments. FALCO is freely available as source code in MATLAB at github.com/ajeldorado/falco-matlab and will be available later this year in Python 3 at github.com/ajeldorado/falco-python.