2017 Fiscal Year Annual Research Report
Imaging habitable zone planets with Subaru Telescope and TMT
| Project/Area Number |
26220704
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| Research Institution | National Astronomical Observatory of Japan |
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Principal Investigator |
Guyon Olivier 国立天文台, ハワイ観測所, RCUH職員 (90399288)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
村上 尚史 北海道大学, 工学研究院, 助教 (80450188)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2014-05-30 – 2019-03-31
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| Keywords | Exoplanets / Optics / Telescope / Adaptive Optics / Camera |
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| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
The purposes of the research are, 1) to develop on the Subaru Telescope a high contrast imaging system capable of taking images of Jupiter-like planets in reflected light; 2) Using results obtained on the Subaru Telescope, demonstrate and develop the techniques that will image habitable planets around nearby stars with the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT).
A key part of the activity is to develop and install on the Subaru Extreme Adaptive Optics (SCExAO) system a new high-performance camera that can detect individual photons and measure their wavelength. The camera uses the Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detector (MKID) technology at near-infrared wavelength, and will measure in real time residual errors in the optical system, so that they can be corrected. In FY2017, the MKIDs camera was completed and was delivered to the Subaru Telescope and installed with advanced coronagraphy.
We have also developed new advanced adaptive optics techniques to better correct atmospheric turbulence. An algorithm that predicts optical aberrations based on recent measurements was deployed on-sky and demonstrated a 2.5x improvement in image contrast. We have also validated new optical coronagraphs that block starlight so that planets can be more easily imaged. We continue to develop and improve coronagraphs and adaptive optics algorithms to reach deeper contrasts and image fainter planets. Our team is now working closely with international members of the TMT exoplanet imaging instrument study group, so that our technical findings allow imaging and study of habitable planets around nearby stars.
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| Current Status of Research Progress |
Current Status of Research Progress
2: Research has progressed on the whole more than it was originally planned.
Reason
The advanced MKIDs camera, built at University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB) successfully completed testing and was delivered to Subaru Telescope in FY2017. It is now installed behind the high contrast imaging SCExAO system. Relay optics were built and assembled to link the camera with the SCExAO optical train. Installation and testing at the Subaru Telescope did not reveal any issue. The advanced photon-counting camera measures the wavelength of each photon, and uses a cooled (<100 mK) superconducting detector to achieve its sensitivity.
In parallel with the MKIDs camera development and installation, we have fielded significant improvements to the high contrast imaging SCExAO platform, 1) New coronagraph modes have developed and validated on-sky by our team and in collaboration with researchers at the University of Leiden; 2) Predictive control has been validated on-sky. We demonstrated 2.5x improvement in contrast, and improved sensitivity for faint stars. This technology is essential for the long term goal of imaging habitable planets around nearby M-type stars as such stars are not very bright.
We have also developed software tools/algorithm to integrate the existing Subaru Telescope facility adaptive optics system (AO188), the SCExAO platform, and the MKIDs camera. This work is essential to optimize high contrast imaging performance.
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| Strategy for Future Research Activity |
We will use the MKIDs camera with the existing SCExAO instrument to conduct exoplanet imaging and spectroscopy observations on the Subaru Telescope. The camera, combined with advanced coronagraphy, will perform high speed speckle sensing and control simultaneously with long exposure imaging and spectroscopy with the existing CHARIS integral field spectrograph. This observation mode will first be validated on-sky and then be offered for open use on the Subaru Telescope.
This work will guide the design of a high contrast imaging instrument for the TMT, in two ways: first, our FY2018 on-sky work will demonstrate use of new camera and optical masks technologies for the advanced coronagraphy and wavefront control needed for habitable exoplanets imaging with TMT; second, we will explore control algorithms (sensor fusion, predictive control) and system architecture (coronagraph choice) for the TMT instrument design. In FY2018, we will produce an architecture design for a TMT instrument that will image habitable exoplanets and acquire spectra of their atmospheres and surfaces. Our team overlaps with an international study group for exoplanet imaging with TMT, and our FY2018 activity will directly feed into this broader effort.
Our FY2018 activities will deliver, 1) A high performance exoplanet imaging system on the Subaru Telescope; 2) An instrument architecture for the TMT to image and study habitable planets around nearby stars.
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[Book] 系外惑星探査2018
Author(s)
河原 創
Total Pages
288
Publisher
東京大学出版会
ISBN
978-4-13-062727-6
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