Current astronomical detection of Positronium (Ps) atoms through gamma-ray emission is inherently limited by a 3-degree angular resolution. Alternatively, the triplet state of Ps is capable of producing a recombination spectrum in the near-infrared band, which would provide the potential to increase the angular resolution by a factor of 104 . The most promising signature is the Ps Balmer alpha line (Psα) at 1312.22nm. This observation scheme has never been implemented from ground-based telescopes due to the bright airglow. Now, the FBG-based OH suppression technique presents a promising solution for removing airglow emission lines surrounding the target signature. In this proceeding, we present the design and fabrication details of the first astronomy J-band FBG filters and early results of the OH suppression unit specifically developed for Ps detection.
Ground-based exoplanet science relies on the correction of aberrations induced by both atmosphere and instrument. However, current pupil-plane adaptive optics faces two major challenges: non-common-path aberrations and petaling modes. One solution is to add a wavefront sensor which operates in the focal plane, such as a photonic lantern (PL), a waveguide that efficiently couples aberrated light into single-mode fibers. We present a first experimental verification of real-time closed-loop control with the photonic lantern wavefront sensor (PLWFS), using a linear phase-retrieval algorithm, and on-sky demonstrations. We also discuss non-linear reconstruction using a neural network, and consider potentials for spectrally dispersed sensing.
FIRST is a post Extreme Adaptive-Optics (ExAO) spectro-interferometer operating in the Visible (600-800 nm, R∼400). Its exquisite angular resolution (a sensitivity analysis of on-sky data shows that bright companions can be detected down to 0.25λ/D) combined with its sensitivity to pupil phase discontinuities (from a few nm up to dozens of microns) makes FIRST an ideal self-calibrated solution for enabling exoplanet detection and characterization in the future. We present the latest on-sky results along with recent upgrades, including the integration and on-sky test of a new spectrograph (R∼3,600) optimized for the detection of Hα emission from young exoplanets accreting matter.
Photonic Lanterns (PLs) are tapered waveguides that can efficiently couple multi-mode telescope light into a multi-mode fiber entrance at the focal plane and coherently convert it into multiple single-mode beams. Each SMF samples its unique mode (lantern mode) of the telescope light in the pupil, analogous to subapertures in aperture mask interferometry. In this study, we show the concept and potential of coherent imaging with PLs. It can be enabled by interfering SMF outputs and applying path length modulation, which can be achieved using a photonic chip beam combiner at the backend (e.g., the ABCD beam combiner). Using numerically simulated lantern modes of a six-port PL, we calculate interferometric observables for various input scenes. Our simulated observations suggest that PLs may offer significant benefits in the photon-noise limited regime and for resolving small-scale (⪅ λ/2D) asymmetries.
Astrophysical research into exoplanets has delivered thousands of confirmed planets orbiting distant stars. These planets span a wide range of size and composition, with diversity also being the hallmark of system configurations, the great majority of which do not resemble our own solar system. Unfortunately, only a handful of the known planets have been characterized spectroscopically thus far, leaving a gaping void in our understanding of planetary formation processes and planetary types. To make progress, astronomers studying exoplanets will need new and innovative technical solutions. Astrophotonics – an emerging field focused on the application of photonic technologies to observational astronomy – provides one promising avenue forward. In this paper we discuss various astrophotonic technologies that could aid in the detection and subsequent characterization of planets and in particular themes leading towards the detection of extraterrestrial life.
Inner working angle is a key parameter for enabling scientific discovery in direct exoplanet imaging and characterization. Approaches to improving the inner working angle to reach the diffraction limit center on the sensing and control of wavefront errors, starlight suppression via coronagraphy, and differential techniques applied in post-processing. These approaches are ultimately limited by the shot noise of the residual starlight, placing a premium on the ability of the adaptive optics system to sense and control wavefront errors so that the coronagraph can effectively suppress starlight reaching the science focal plane. Photonic lanterns are attractive for use in the science focal plane because of their ability to spatially filter light using a finite basis of accepted modes and effectively couple the results to diffraction-limited spectrometers, providing a compact and cost-effective means to implement post-processing based on spectral diversity. We aim to characterize the ability of photonic lanterns to serve as focal-plane wavefront sensors, allowing the adaptive optics system to control aberrations affecting the science focal plane and reject additional stellar photon noise. By serving as focal-plane wavefront sensors, photonic lanterns can improve sensitivity to exoplanets through both direct and coronagraphic observations. We have studied the sensing capabilities of photonic lanterns in the linear and quadratic regimes with analytical and numerical treatments for different lantern geometries (including non-mode-selective, mode-selective, and hybrid geometries) as a function of port number. In this presentation we report on the sensitivity of such lanterns and comment on the relative suitability and sensitivity impacts of different lantern geometries for focal-plane wavefront sensing.
A focal plane wavefront sensor offers major advantages to adaptive optics, including removal of non-commonpath error and providing sensitivity to blind modes (such as petalling). But simply using the observed point spread function (PSF) is not sufficient for wavefront correction, as only the intensity, not phase, is measured. Here we demonstrate the use of a multimode fiber mode converter (photonic lantern) to directly measure the wavefront phase and amplitude at the focal plane. Starlight is injected into a multimode fiber at the image plane, with the combination of modes excited within the fiber a function of the phase and amplitude of the incident wavefront. The fiber undergoes an adiabatic transition into a set of multiple, single-mode outputs, such that the distribution of intensities between them encodes the incident wavefront. The mapping (which may be strongly non-linear) between spatial modes in the PSF and the outputs is stable but must be learned. This is done by a deep neural network, trained by applying random combinations of spatial modes to the deformable mirror. Once trained, the neural network can instantaneously predict the incident wavefront for any set of output intensities. We demonstrate the successful reconstruction of wavefronts produced in the laboratory with low-wind-effect, and an on-sky demonstration of reconstruction of low-order modes consistent with those measured by the existing pyramid wavefront sensor, using SCExAO observations at the Subaru Telescope.
KEYWORDS: Single mode fibers, Point spread functions, Telescopes, Power meters, Physics, Device simulation, Spectrographs, Near infrared, Turbulence, Sensors
Efficiently coupling light from large telescopes to photonic devices is challenging. However, overcoming this challenge would enable diffraction-limited instruments, which offer significant miniaturization and advantages in thermo-mechanical stability. By coupling photonic lanterns with high performance adaptive optics systems, we recently demonstrated through simulation that high throughput diffraction-limited instruments are possible (Lin et al., Applied Optics, 2021). Here we build on that work and present initial results from validation experiments in the near-infrared to corroborate those simulations in the laboratory. Our experiments are conducted using a 19-port photonic lantern coupled to the state-of-the-art SCExAO instrument at the Subaru Telescope. The SCExAO instrument allows us to vary the alignment and focal ratio of the lantern injection, as well as the Strehl ratio and amount of tip/tilt jitter in the beam. In this work, we present experimental characterizations against the aforementioned parameters, in order to compare with previous simulations and elucidate optimal architectures for lantern-fed spectrographs.
New frontiers of astronomical science push the imaging capabilities of modern AO-equipped telescopes. However, precision measurement at the diffraction limit is made challenging by time-varying residual aberrations in AO-corrected wavefronts. Photonic lanterns (PLs) are a novel technology whose spatial filtering and coherence properties may be exploited to enable new capabilities in precision measurement at the diffraction limit. We aim to determine the potential of AO-fed PL fiber spectrometers for spectroastrometry. We define spectroastrometric signals for a 6-port PL and perform numerical simulations to calculate expected signals for a binary point source model, as a function of contrast, separation, and position angle. In addition, we simulate the effects of AO residual wavefront error on spectroastrometric signals. We also present simulated spectroastrometric signals for accreting planets, which are expected to show strong hydrogen emission lines.
Photonic lanterns (PLs) allow the decomposition of highly multimodal light into a simplified modal basis such as single-moded and/or few-moded. They are increasingly finding uses in astronomy, optics, and telecommunications. Calculating propagation through a PL using traditional algorithms takes ∼1 h per simulation on a modern CPU. We demonstrate that neural networks can bridge the disparate opto-electronic systems and, when trained, can achieve a speedup of over five orders of magnitude. We show that this approach can be used to model PLs with manufacturing defects and can be successfully generalized to polychromatic data. We demonstrate two uses of these neural network models: propagating seeing through the PL and performing global optimization for purposes such as PL funnels and PL nullers.
We report the preliminary design of a new small-size remote sensing instrument operating in the Short Wavelength InfraRed (SWIR) domain of the spectrum (1.560µm to 1.700µm) to monitor, detect, and measure atmospheric Carbon Dioxide (CO_2) and Methane (CH_4) concentrations. We highlight the instrument features, technical specifications (including a relatively high spectral resolution of approximately 0.5nm), optical design, and components. The synthetic spectral response of the instrument is also explored using NASA’s Planetary Spectrum Generator (PSG) which is a Line-by-Line radiative transfer code. The instrument is currently under development at the ARC Training Centre for CubeSats, UAVs and Their Applications (CUAVA) and Sydney Astrophotonic Instrumentation Laboratory (SAIL) at the University of Sydney. Once built, it will conduct an atmospheric reconnaissance from an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) and will be tested to qualify for future space flights on one of CUAVA’s CubeSats.
In the new era of Extremely Large Telescopes (ELTs) currently under construction, challenging requirements drive spectrograph designs towards techniques that efficiently use a facility's light collection power. Operating in the single-mode (SM) regime, close to the diffraction limit, reduces the footprint of the instrument compared to a conventional high-resolving power spectrograph. The custom built injection fiber system with 3D-printed microlenses on top of it for the replicable high-resolution exoplanet and asteroseismology spectrograph (RHEA) at Subaru in combination with extreme adaptive optics of SCExAO, proved its high efficiency in a lab environment, manifesting up to ~77% of the theoretical predicted performance.
Although discovery technologies are now populating exoplanet catalogs into the thousands, contemporary astronomy is poorly equipped to find the most compelling exoplanetary real-estate: earth-analog systems within our immediate solar neighbourhood. The TOLIMAN space telescope program aims to develop low-cost, agile mission concepts dedicated to astrometric detection of exoplanets within 10PC, and in particularly targeting the Alpha Cen system. It accomplishes this by deploying an innovative optical and signal encoding architecture that targets the most promising technique for this critical stellar sample: high precision astrometric monitoring. Two pathfinder missions, the first a cubesat slated for 2021 launch, and the second a 10cm space telescope under development at the University of Sydney. We will present an overview of the family of missions and the novel technologies underlying the signal detection strategy.
Photonic lanterns are being evaluated as a component of a scalable photon counting real-time optical ground receiver for space-to-ground photon-starved communication applications. The function of the lantern as a component of a receiver is to efficiently couple and deliver light from the atmospherically distorted focal spot formed behind a telescope to multiple small-core fiber-coupled single-element super-conducting nanowire detectors. This architecture solution is being compared to a multimode fiber coupled to a multi-element detector array. This paper presents a set of measurements that begins this comparison. This first set of measurements are a comparison of the throughput coupling loss at emulated atmospheric conditions for the case of a 60 cm diameter telescope receiving light from a low earth orbit satellite. The atmospheric conditions are numerically simulated at a range of turbulence levels using a beam propagation method and are physically emulated with a spatial light modulator. The results show that for the same number of output legs as the single-mode fiber lantern, the few-mode fiber lantern increases the power throughput up to 3.92 dB at the worst emulated atmospheric conditions tested of D/r0=8.6. Furthermore, the coupling loss of the few-mode fiber lantern approaches the capability of a 30 micron graded index multimode fiber chosen for coupling to a 16 element detector array.
Photonic lanterns provide an efficient way of coupling light from a single large-core fiber to multiple small-core fibers. This capability is of interest for space to ground communication applications. In these applications, the optical ground receivers require high-efficiency coupling from an atmospherically distorted focus spot to multiple fiber coupled single pixel super-conducting nanowire detectors. This paper will explore the use of photonic lanterns in a real-time ground receiver that is scalable and constructed with commercial parts. The number of small-core fibers (i.e. an array of single or few-mode cores) that make a photonic lantern determines the number of spatial modes that they couple at the larger multimode fiber core end. For instance, lanterns made with n number of single-mode fibers can couple n number of spatial modes. Although the laser transmitted from a spacecraft originates as a Gaussian shape, the atmosphere distorts the beam profile by scrambling the phase and scattering energy into higher-order spatial modes. Therefore, if a ground receiver is sized for a target data rate with n number of detectors, the corresponding lantern made with single-mode fibers will couple n number of spatial modes. Most of the energy of the transmitted beam scattered into spatial modes higher than n will be lost. This paper shows this loss may be reduced by making lanterns with few-mode fibers instead of single-mode fibers, increasing the number of spatial modes that can be coupled and therefore increasing the coupling efficiency to single pixel, single photon detectors. The free space to fiber coupling efficiency of these two types of photonic lanterns are compared over a range of the free-space coupling numerical apertures and mode field diameters. Results indicate the few mode fiber lantern has higher coupling efficiency for telescopes with longer focal lengths under higher turbulent conditions. Also presented is analysis of the jitter added to the system by the lanterns, showing the few-mode fiber photonic lantern adds more jitter than the single-mode fiber lantern, but less than a multimode fiber.
High-precision astronomical spectrographs routinely employed to detect planets via the radial velocity method are generally large and expensive instruments. We present our progress developing a compact spectrograph using commercial ‘off-the-shelf’ components that can achieve similar precision at a fraction of the cost. The spectrograph, PIMMS Visible, has a resolving power of R-50,000 operating in the visible regime. We are able to obtain RMS velocity precisions of better than ~1 m/s by calibrating with a stabilised single-mode etalon. As a technology proof we attempt to detect the solar 5- minute period p-mode oscillations (a few m/s signal).
High-order wavefront correction is not only beneficial for high-contrast imaging, but also spectroscopy. The size of a spectrograph can be decoupled from the size of the telescope aperture by moving to the diffraction limit which has strong implications for ELT based instrument design. Here we present the construction and characterization of an extremely efficient single-mode fiber feed behind an extreme adaptive optics system (SCExAO). We show that this feed can indeed be utilized to great success by photonic-based spectrographs. We present metrics to quantify the system performance and some preliminary spectra delivered by the compact spectrograph.
A fundamental limitation of precision radial velocity measurements is the accuracy and stability of the calibration source. Here we present a low-cost alternative to more complex laser metrology based systems that utilises a single-mode fibre Fabry-Perot etalon. There are three key elements on this photonic comb: i) an optical fibre etalon with thermo-electric coolers; ii) a Rubidium Saturation Absorption Spectroscopy (SAS) setup; and iii) an optical fibre switch system for simultaneous laser locking of the etalon. We simultaneously measure the Rubidium D2 transitions around 780.2 nm and the closest etalon line. A PID loop controls the etalon temperate to maintain the position of its peak with an RMS error of <10cm/s for 10 minute integration intervals in continous operation. The optical fibre switch system allows for a time multiplexed coupling of the etalon to a spectrograph and SAS system.
All spectrographs unavoidably scatter light. Scattering in the spectral direction is problematic for sky subtraction, since atmospheric spectral lines are blurred. Scattering in the spatial direction is problematic for fibre fed spectrographs, since it limits how closely fibres can be packed together. We investigate the nature of this scattering and show that the scattering wings have both a Lorentzian component, and a shallower (1/r) component. We investigate the causes of this from a theoretical perspective, and argue that for the spectral PSF the Lorentzian wings are in part due to the profile of the illumination of the pupil of the spectrograph onto the diffraction grating, whereas the shallower component is from bulk scattering. We then investigate ways to mitigate the diffractive scattering by apodising the pupil. In the ideal case of a Gaussian apodised pupil, the scattering can be significantly improved. Finally we look at realistic models of the spectrograph pupils of fibre fed spectrographs with a centrally obstructed telescope, and show that it is possible to apodise the pupil through non-telecentric injection into the fibre.
PIMMS échelle is an extension of previous PIMMS (photonic integrated multimode spectrograph) designs, enhanced by using an échelle diffraction grating as the primary dispersing element for increased spectral band- width. The spectrograph operates at visible wavelengths (550 to 780nm), and is capable of capturing ~100 nm of R > 60, 000 (λ/(triangle)λ) spectra in a single exposure. PIMMS échelle uses a photonic lantern to convert an arbitrary (e.g. incoherent) input beam into N diffraction-limited outputs (i.e. N single-mode fibres). This allows a truly diffraction limited spectral resolution, while also decoupling the spectrograph design from the input source.
Here both the photonic lantern and the spectrograph slit are formed using a single length of multi-core fibre. A 1x19 (1 multi-mode fiber to 19 single-mode fibres) photonic lantern is formed by tapering one end of the multi-core fibre, while the other end is used to form a TIGER mode slit (i.e. for a hexagonal grid with sufficient spacing and the correct orientations, the cores of the multi-core fibre can be dispersed such that they do not overlap without additional reformatting). The result is an exceptionally compact, shoebox sized, spectrograph that is constructed primarily from commercial off the shelf components. Here we present a brief overview of the échelle spectrograph design, followed by results from on-sky testing of the breadboard mounted version of the spectrograph at the ‘UK Schmidt Telescope’.
PIMMS IR is a prototype high resolution diraction limited spectrograph operating in the near infrared. Its
current conguration has a bandwidth of 8nm centred on 1550nm with a resolving power, λ/Δλ, of 31000 with the option to increase this to ~60000 using a dual grating system. Remarkably, this is 85% of the theoretical
limit for Gaussian illumination of a diraction grating. It is based upon the PIMMS#0 (photonic integrated
multi-mode micro-spectrograph), a design that utilises the multi-mode to single-mode conversion of the photonic
lantern. By feeding the spectrograph with the single-mode bres we are able to design and build a spectrograph
whose performance is diraction limited and independent of the input source (i.e. a telescope) it is attached to.
The spectrograph has with a throughput of ~70% (that is the light from the single-mode entrance slit that lands
on the detector). The spectrograph is also extremely compact with a footprint of just 450mm x 190mm. Here
we present the design of PIMMS IR and its performance characteristics determined from ray tracing, physical
optics simulations and experimental measurements.Δ
Here we present a novel diffraction limited spectrograph (NanoSpec) designed for integration in the 0.75kg i-INPSIRE satellite at the University of Sydney. NanoSpec is a single-mode fibre fed spectrograph operating very close to the diffraction limit over a wavelength range of 450nm to 700nm. The spectrograph is fed light via a single-mode (and thus diffraction limited) fibre pseudo-slit, allowing an extremely compact spectrograph while maintaining high performance. The current design has two configurations (for two different detectors), both achieving diffraction limited resolving powers (λ/Δλ) of 650 and 1400 respectively. The primary goal of NanoSpec is to demonstrate the potential of the PIMMS (photonic integrated multimode micro-spectrograph) type design for deployment in high altitude and space-based applications. To that end we present the optical design and laboratory based testing in preparation for a high altitude balloon launch and later on the i-INPSIRE satellite.
The i-INSPIRE satellite is the result of a collaborative project at the University of Sydney, across the science
and engineering faculties. The satellite is a compact tube-shaped pico-satellite with a mass of less than 0.75 kg.
i-INSPIRE carries three science instruments - a photonic spectrograph, a radiation counter and an imaging
camera, and will be launched to a 310km polar orbit in late 2012 or early 2013. Here we describe the satellite
and its subsystems (including the science instruments and the communication system) as well as the ground
station, pre-launch tests, and the proposed launch itself. i-INSPIRE will be Australia's first fully university
operated pico-satellite.
We present a proof of concept compact diffraction limited high-resolution fiber-fed spectrograph by using a 2D
multicore array input. This high resolution spectrograph is fed by a 2D pseudo-slit, the Photonic TIGER, a hexagonal
array of near-diffraction limited single-mode cores. We study the feasibility of this new platform related to the core array
separation and rotation with respect to the dispersion axis. A 7 core compact Photonic TIGER fiber-fed spectrograph
with a resolving power of around R~31000 and 8 nm bandwidth in the IR centered on 1550 nm is demonstrated. We also
describe possible architectures based on this concept for building small scale compact diffraction limited Integral Field
Spectrographs (IFS).
We present the first integrated multimode photonic spectrograph, a device we call PIMMS #1. The device comprises
a set of multimode fibres that convert to single-mode propagation using a matching set of photonic lanterns. These
feed to a stack of cyclic array waveguides (AWGs) that illuminate a common detector. Such a device greatly reduces
the size of an astronomical instrument at a fixed spectroscopic resolution. Remarkably, the PIMMS concept is
largely independent of the telescope diameter, input focal ratio and entrance aperture - i.e. one size fits all! The
instrument architecture can also exploit recent advances in astrophotonics (e.g. OH suppression fibres). We present a
movie of the instrument's operation and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of this approach.
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