Kavli Affiliate: Bruce Macintosh
| First 5 Authors: Vincent Chambouleyron, J. Kent Wallace, Rebecca Jensen-Clem, Bruce Macintosh,
| Summary:
A crucial component of the high-contrast instrumental chain in astronomy is
the wavefront sensor (WFS). A key property of this component is its
sensitivities, which reflect its ability to efficiently use incoming photons to
encode the phase aberrations. This paper introduces a new class of highly
sensitive wavefront sensors that approach the fundamental sensitivity limits
dictated by physics. Assuming a high Strehl regime, we define what linear
operator is describing the ideal WFS that would achieve maximum sensitivity. We
then show that there is a substantial similarity between this ideal WFS and the
second-order ideal coronagraph. Leveraging the exhibited link between ideal
wavefront sensing and coronagraphy, we propose a novel WFS concept based on
high-performance coronagraphic architecture : the bivortex WFS. This sensor
employs charge-2 vortex masks. Simulations for an ideal system demonstrate that
this sensor achieves unprecedented sensitivity, even surpassing the highly
sensitive Zernike WFS class (especially for low spatial frequencies), while
paving the way for new high-contrast architectures integrating simultaneous
sensing and coronagraphy.
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