Fast Linearized Coronagraph Optimizer (FALCO) IV. Coronagraph design survey for obstructed and segmented apertures
2018
Coronagraphinstruments on future space telescopes will enable the direct detection and characterization of Earth-like
exoplanetsaround Sun-like stars for the first time. The quest for the optimal optical
coronagraphdesigns has made rapid progress in recent years thanks to the Segmented
CoronagraphDesign and Analysis (SCDA) initiative led by the
ExoplanetExploration Program at NASA's
Jet PropulsionLaboratory. As a result, several types of high-performance designs have emerged that make use of dual
deformable mirrorsto (1) correct for
optical aberrationsand (2) suppress diffracted
starlightfrom obstructions and discontinuities in the telescope pupil. However, the algorithms used to compute the optimal
deformable mirrorsurface tend to be computationally intensive, prohibiting large scale design surveys. Here, we utilize the Fast Linearized
CoronagraphOptimizer (FALCO), a tool that allows for rapid optimization of
deformable mirrorshapes, to explore trade-offs in
coronagraphdesigns for obstructed and segmented space telescopes. We compare designs for representative shaped pupil Lyot and vortex
coronagraphs, two of the most promising concepts for the LUVOIR space mission concept. We analyze the optical performance of each design, including their throughput and ability to passively suppress light from partially resolved stars in the presence of low-order aberrations. Our main result is that
deformable mirrorbased
apodizationcan sufficiently suppress diffraction from support struts and inter-segment gaps whose widths are on the order of $\sim$0.1% of the
primary mirrordiameter to detect Earth-sized planets within a few tens of milliarcseconds from the star.
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