Calibrating an Interferometric Null
Calibrating an Interferometric Null
复制标题
校准干涉零值
DOI：
10.1086/506020
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发表时间：
2006
期刊：
影响因子：
--
通讯作者：
M. Shao
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
B. Lane;M. Muterspaugh;M. Shao
与基于调零干涉仪的方法来探测太阳系外类地行星相关的最大挑战之一来自干涉仪中对路径长度、偏振和振幅匹配的极其严格的要求。如果来自多个孔径的光在这些属性上不匹配，光将通过零器泄漏并混淆对行星信号的搜索。在这里，我们探索利用星光的相干性来分离行星和零器泄漏的贡献的可能性。我们发现，直接修改的光学布局的调零干涉仪将允许一个测量和校正泄漏到一个高的精度。这种调零校准大大放宽了场匹配要求，因此应简化仪器设计。
One of the biggest challenges associated with a nulling-interferometer-based approach to detecting extrasolar Earth-like planets comes from the extremely stringent requirements of path length, polarization, and amplitude matching in the interferometer. To the extent that the light from multiple apertures is not matched in these properties, light will leak through the nuller and confuse the search for a planetary signal. Here we explore the possibility of using the coherence properties of the starlight to separate contributions from the planet and nuller leakage. We find that straightforward modifications to the optical layout of a nulling interferometer will allow one to measure and correct for the leakage to a high degree of precision. This nulling calibration relaxes the field matching requirements substantially and should consequently simplify the instrument design.