First Principle Simulator of a Stochastically Varying Image Plane for Photon-counting High Contrast Applications
- 17 September 2020
- journal article
- research article
- Published by IOP Publishing in Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific
- Vol. 132 (1016), 104503
- https://doi.org/10.1088/1538-3873/aba9e4
Abstract
Optical and near-infrared Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detectors, or MKIDs are low-temperature detectors with inherent spectral resolution that are able to instantly register individual photons with potentially no false counts or readout noise. These properties make MKIDs transformative for exoplanet direct imaging by enabling photon-statistics-based planet-discrimination techniques as well as performing conventional noise-subtraction techniques on shorter timescales. These detectors are in the process of rapid development, and as such, the full extent of their performance enhancing potential has not yet be quantified. MKID Exoplanet Direct Imaging Simulator, or MEDIS, is a general-purpose end-to-end numerical simulator for high-contrast observations with MKIDs. The simulator exploits current optical propagation libraries and augments them with a new MKIDs simulation module to provide a pragmatic model of many of the degradation effects present during the detection process. We use MEDIS to demonstrate how changes in various MKID properties affect the contrast-separation performance when conventional differential imaging techniques are applied to low-flux, short duration observations. We show that to improve performance at close separations will require increasing the maximum count rate or pixel sampling when there is high residual flux after the coronagraph. We predict that taking pixel yield from the value achieved by current instruments of 80% and increasing it to 100% would result in an improvement in contrast of a factor of similar to 4 at 3 lambda/Dand similar to 8 at 6 lambda/D. Achieving better contrast performance in this low flux regime would then require exploiting the information encoded in the photon arrival time statistics.Keywords
Funding Information
- Division of Astronomical Sciences (1710385)
This publication has 15 references indexed in Scilit:
- MKID digital readout tuning with deep learningAstronomy and Computing, 2018
- VIP: Vortex Image Processing Package for High-contrast Direct ImagingThe Astronomical Journal, 2017
- FUNDAMENTAL LIMITATIONS OF HIGH CONTRAST IMAGING SET BY SMALL SAMPLE STATISTICSThe Astrophysical Journal, 2014
- Wave-front sensor strategies for SPHERE: first on-sky results and future improvementsPublished by SPIE-Intl Soc Optical Eng ,2014
- KIDSpec: an MKID based medium resolution integral field spectrographPublished by SPIE-Intl Soc Optical Eng ,2014
- DETECTION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF EXOPLANETS AND DISKS USING PROJECTIONS ON KARHUNEN-LOÈVE EIGENIMAGESThe Astrophysical Journal Letters, 2012
- A readout for large arrays of microwave kinetic inductance detectorsReview of Scientific Instruments, 2012
- Experimental evidence for a surface distribution of two-level systems in superconducting lithographed microwave resonatorsApplied Physics Letters, 2008
- Exoplanet detection with simultaneous spectral differential imaging: effects of out-of-pupil-plane optical aberrationsPublished by SPIE-Intl Soc Optical Eng ,2006
- A broadband superconducting detector suitable for use in large arraysNature, 2003