TOPS: a small space telescope using phase induced-amplitude apodization (PIAA) to image rocky and giant exo-planets
- Creators
- Guyon, Olivier
- Angel, James R. P.
- Bowers, Charles
- Burge, James
- Burrows, Adam
- Codona, Johanan
- Greene, Thomas
- Iye, Masanori
- Kasting, James
- Martin, Hubert
- McCarthy, Donald W., Jr.
- Meadows, Victoria
- Meyer, Michael
- Pluzhnik, Eugene A.
- Sleep, Norman
- Tamura, Motohide
- Tenerelli, Domenick
- Vanderbei, Robert
- Woodgate, Bruce
- Woodruff, Robert A.
- Woolf, Neville J.
- Other:
- Coulter, Daniel R.
Abstract
The Telescope to Observe Planetary Systems (TOPS) is a proposed space mission to image planetary systems of nearby stars simultaneously in a few wide spectral bands covering the visible light (0.4-0.9 μm). It achieves its power by combining a high accuracy wavefront control system with a highly efficient Phase-Induced Amplitude Apodization (PIAA) coronagraph which provides strong suppression very close to the star (within 2 λ/D). The PIAA coronagraphic technique opens the possibility of imaging Earthlike planets in visible light with a smaller telescope than previously supposed. If sized at 1.2-m, TOPS would image and characterize many Jupiter-sized planets, and discover 2 RE rocky planets within habitable zones of the ≈10 most favorable stars. With a larger 2-m aperture, TOPS would have the sensitivity to reveal Earth-like planets in the habitable zone around ≈20 stars, and to characterize any found with low resolution spectroscopy. Unless the occurrence of Earth-like planets is very low (η⊕ <~ 0.2), a useful fraction of the TPF-C scientific program would be possible with aperture much smaller than the baselined 8 by 3.5m for TPF, with its more conventional coronagraph. An ongoing laboratory experiment has successfully demonstrated high contrast coronagraphic imaging within 2 λ/d with the PIAA coronagraph / focal plane wavefront sensing scheme envisioned for TOPS.
Additional Information
© 2007 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Concept development for TOPS has been supported at Arizona by NASA under Terrestrial Planet Finder Instrument Concept Study grant NNG05GO57G. Development of the PIAA coronagraph and focal plane wavefront control techniques is supported by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan and JPL contract numbers 1254445 and 1257767 for Development of Technologies for the Terrestrial Planet Finder Mission.Attached Files
Published - 66930J.pdf
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Additional details
- Eprint ID
- 99656
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:20191104-134416252
- NNG05GO57G
- NASA
- National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
- 1254445
- JPL
- 1257767
- JPL
- Created
-
2019-11-04Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
-
2021-11-16Created from EPrint's last_modified field
- Series Name
- Proceedings of SPIE
- Series Volume or Issue Number
- 6693