Abstract
Characterisation of exoplanets is key to understanding their formation, composition and potential for life. Nulling interferometry, combined with extreme adaptive optics, is among the most promising techniques to advance this goal. We present an integrated-optic nuller whose design is directly scalable to future science-ready interferometric nullers: the Guided-Light Interferometric Nulling Technology, deployed at the Subaru Telescope. It combines four beams and delivers spatial and spectral information. We demonstrate the capability of the instrument, achieving a null depth better than 10−3 with a precision of 10−4 for all baselines, in laboratory conditions with simulated seeing applied. On sky, the instrument delivered angular diameter measurements of stars that were 2.5 times smaller than the diffraction limit of the telescope. These successes pave the way for future design enhancements: scaling to more baselines, improved photonic component and handling low-order atmospheric aberration within the instrument, all of which will contribute to enhance sensitivity and precision.
Highlights
Characterisation of exoplanets is key to understanding their formation, composition and potential for life
In order to observe and study planets located in the habitable zone, it is critical to suppress the overwhelming glare from direct starlight over scales of angular resolution much smaller than one arcsecond[5]
The beam is redirected toward the GLINT optical table (Fig. 1a) with the first element being an image rotator to control the angle of projection of the baselines onto the sky plane
Summary
Characterisation of exoplanets is key to understanding their formation, composition and potential for life. We present an integrated-optic nuller whose design is directly scalable to future science-ready interferometric nullers: the Guided-Light Interferometric Nulling Technology, deployed at the Subaru Telescope It combines four beams and delivers spatial and spectral information. The instrument delivered angular diameter measurements of stars that were 2.5 times smaller than the diffraction limit of the telescope These successes pave the way for future design enhancements: scaling to more baselines, improved photonic component and handling low-order atmospheric aberration within the instrument, all of which will contribute to enhance sensitivity and precision. An exoplanet in the habitable zone (~1 AU) around a star in a nearby star-forming region (~100 pc) has an angular separation from its host star of 10 milliarcseconds (mas hereafter) Such systems lie somewhat beyond the diffraction limit of.
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