OP: Collaborative Research: Active Speckle Control and Fast Speckle Statistics to Drastically Improve the Contrast Ratio of Exoplanet Direct Imaging

天文学家希望在其他恒星周围拍摄适合居住的行星。地球大气中的湍流是实现这一目标的主要障碍。这样的湍流使明亮的恒星发出的光与附近暗淡的行星发出的光变得模糊和混淆。自适应光学可以部分校正湍流。然而，即使自适应光学被推向其极限（极端自适应光学，ExAO）仍然不足以提供所需的高对比度图像。Mazin和合作者将开发一种创新的控制算法，利用新的、高响应的探测器。这种方法将使ExAO图像能够将系外行星与其母恒星分开。最终的算法将在几个天文台进行测试和使用。这项技术可能会使地面天文学取得突破性进展，并使我们能够发现太阳系外的宜居世界。该提案是微波动力学电感探测器（MKID）研究和开发的延续，该研究和开发得到了以前NSF奖（1308556和1654105）的支持。这些先前的奖励支持了帕洛马天文台的仪器开发和部署。该合同将开发算法和方法，使用该仪器增加极端自适应光学（ExAO）系外行星图像的对比度。提高对比度是用ExAO成像系外行星的主要技术挑战。最大的障碍是AO系统无法校正的短时间尺度大气斑。该方案将利用MKID探测器的快速时间响应，利用光子到达时间统计来去除事后图像中的斑点。直接探测和研究类地系外行星将实现未来十年天文学的一个主要目标。

Astronomers would like to image habitable planets around other stars. Turbulence in Earth's atmosphere is the main obstacle to achieving this goal. Such turbulence blurs and confuses light from bright stars with their nearby, dim planets. Adaptive optics can partially correct for turbulence. However, even adaptive optics pushed to its limits (Extreme Adaptive Optics, ExAO) is still insufficient to deliver the required high-contrast images. Mazin and collaborators will develop an innovative control algorithm that makes use of new, highly responsive detectors. This approach will enable ExAO images to separate exoplanets from their parent stars. The resulting algorithm will be tested and used at several observatories. This technology may enable breakthrough advances in ground-based astronomy and allow the discovery of habitable worlds outside our solar system.This proposal is a continuation of Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detector (MKID) research and development that was supported by previous NSF awards (1308556 and1654105). These previous awards supported the instrument development and deployment at Palomar Observatory. This award will develop algorithms and methodology to use the instrument to increase contrast in Extreme Adaptive Optics (ExAO) images of exoplanets. Increasing contrast is the main technical challenge for imaging exoplanets with ExAO. The greatest obstacle is short timescale atmospheric speckles that are uncorrected by the AO system. This proposal will use the fast time response of the MKID detectors to remove speckles from images ex post facto using the photon arrival time statistics. Direct detection and study of Earth-like exoplanets would realize a major goal of astronomy in the coming decade.