Abstract
The limitations of adaptive optics and coronagraph performance make exoplanet detection close to {\lambda}/D extremely difficult with conventional imaging methods. The technique of non-redundant masking (NRM), which turns a filled aperture into an interferometric array, has pushed the planet detection parameter space to within {\lambda}/D. For high Strehl, the related filled-aperture kernel phase technique can achieve resolution comparable to NRM, without the associated dramatic decrease in throughput. We present non-redundant masking and kernel phase contrast curves generated for ground- and space-based instruments. We use both real and simulated observations to assess the performance of each technique, and discuss their capabilities for different exoplanet science goals such as broadband detection and spectral characterization.
Highlights
Direct imaging has recently emerged as a viable planet detection and characterization method
The sixth magnitude case represents the contrast-limited regime for Ks and L 0; comparing the nonredundant masking (NRM) and kernel phase contrast curves here shows that kernel phase performance degrades at low Strehl
Kernel phase can achieve comparable contrast to NRM in the bright limit at high (≳0.85) Strehl. This is evident in the observed kernel phase scatter—the calibrated scatter is much lower for NRM observations at Ks band, but they are comparable at L 0
Summary
Direct imaging has recently emerged as a viable planet detection and characterization method. Point-spread function (PSF) deconvolution algorithms are less effective within these separations due to the small number of resolution elements available.[5] Phase leakage in even the highest performance coronagraphic observations prevents high-contrast detections within ∼1 − 2λ∕D.6. These limitations make semimajor axes less than ∼10 AU accessible for only the most nearby stars.[7] Expanding this detection parameter space to smaller semimajor axes and/or to more distant stars (including nearby star-forming regions8) requires imaging techniques such as interferometry
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