Frequency stability characterization of a broadband fiber Fabry-Perot interferometer [IMA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1703.00001

An optical etalon illuminated by a white light source provides a broadband comb-like spectrum that can be employed as a calibration source for astronomical spectrographs in radial velocity (RV) surveys for extrasolar planets. For this application the frequency stability of the etalon is critical, as its transmission spectrum is susceptible to frequency fluctuations due to changes in cavity temperature, optical power and input polarization. In this paper we present a laser frequency comb measurement technique to characterize the frequency stability of a custom-designed fiber Fabry-Perot interferometer (FFP). Simultaneously probing the stability of two etalon resonance modes, we assess both the absolute stability of the etalon and the long-term stability of the cavity dispersion. We measure mode positions with MHz precision, which corresponds to splitting the FFP resonances by a part in 500 and to RV precision of ~1 m/s. We address limiting systematic effects, including the presence of parasitic etalons, that need to be overcome to push the metrology of this system to the equivalent RV precision of 10 cm/s. Our results demonstrate a means to characterize environmentally-driven perturbations of etalon resonance modes across broad spectral bandwidths, as well as motivate the benefits and challenges of FFPs as spectrograph calibrators.

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J. Jennings, S. Halverson, R. Terrien, et. al.
Thu, 2 Mar 17
41/44

Comments: 13 pages, 7 figures, submitted to Opt. Express

Photonic Chiral Vortical Effect [CL]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1702.08886

Circularly polarized photons have the Berry curvature in the semiclassical regime. Based on the kinetic equation for such chiral photons, we derive the (non)equilibrium expression of the photon current in the direction of the vorticity. We briefly discuss the relevance of this “photonic chiral vortical effect” in pulsars and rotating massive stars and its possible realization in semiconductors.

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N. Yamamoto
Wed, 1 Mar 17
7/67

Comments: 9 pages

Quantum correlation measurements in interferometric gravitational wave detectors [CL]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1702.03329

Quantum fluctuations in the phase and amplitude quadratures of light set limitations on the sensitivity of modern optical instruments. The sensitivity of the interferometric gravitational wave detectors, such as the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational wave Observatory (LIGO), is limited by quantum shot noise, quantum radiation pressure noise, and a set of classical noises. We show how the quantum properties of light can be used to distinguish these noises using correlation techniques. Particularly, in the first part of the paper we show estimations of the coating thermal noise and gas phase noise, hidden below the quantum shot noise in the Advanced LIGO sensitivity curve. We also make projections on the observatory sensitivity during the next science runs. In the second part of the paper we discuss the correlation technique that reveals the quantum radiation pressure noise from the background of classical noises and shot noise. We apply this technique to the Advanced LIGO data, collected during the first science run, and experimentally estimate the quantum correlations and quantum radiation pressure noise in the interferometer for the first time.

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D. Martynov, V. Frolov, S. Kandhasamy, et. al.
Tue, 14 Feb 17
29/71

Comments: N/A

Light radiation pressure upon an optically orthotropic surface [CL]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1702.01465

In this paper, we discuss the problem of determination of light radiation pressure force upon an anisotropic surface. The anisotropy of optical parameters is considered to have major and minor axes so the model is called as an orthotropic model. We derive the equations for the force components from the emission, absorption, and reflection, utilizing the modified Maxwell specular-diffuse model. The proposed model can be used as a model of flat solar sail with anisotropically-dispersed wrinkles.

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N. Nerovny
Tue, 7 Feb 17
58/64

Comments: 12 pages

An analytic expression for coronagraphic imaging through turbulence. Application to on-sky coronagraphic phase diversity [IMA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1701.08633

The ultimate performance of coronagraphic high contrast exoplanet imaging systems such as SPHERE or GPI is limited by quasi-static aberrations. These aberrations produce speckles that can be mistaken for planets in the image. In order to design instruments, correct quasi-static aberrations or analyse data, the expression of the point spread function of a coronagraphic instrument in the presence of residual turbulence is most useful. Here we derive an analytic expression for this point spread function that is an extension to coronagraphic imaging of Roddier’s expression for imaging through turbulence. We give a physical interpretation of its structure, we validate it by numerical simulations and we show that it is computationally efficient. Finally, we incorporate this imaging model into a coronagraphic phase diversity method (COFFEE) and validate by simulations that it allows wave-front reconstruction in the presence of residual turbulence. The preliminary results, which give a sub-nanometric precision in the case of a SPHERE-like system, strongly suggest that quasi-static aberrations could be calibrated during observations by this method.

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O. Herscovici-Schiller, L. Mugnier and J. Sauvage
Tue, 31 Jan 17
4/58

Comments: This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in the monthly notices of the royal astronomical society following peer review, MNRAS 2017 slx009

Fabrication and Analysis of Three-Layer All-Silicon Interference Optical Filter with Sub-Wavelength Structure toward High Performance Terahertz Optics [IMA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1610.07071

We propose an all-silicon multi-layer interference filter composed solely of silicon with sub-wavelength structure (SWS) in order to realize high performance optical filters operating in the THz frequency region with robustness against cryogenic thermal cycling and mechanical damage. We demonstrate fabrication of a three-layer prototype using well-established common micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) technologies as a first step toward developing practical filters. The measured transmittance of the three-layer filter agrees well with the theoretical transmittances calculated by a simple thin-film calculation with effective refractive indices as well as a rigorous coupled-wave analysis simulation. We experimentally show that SWS layers can work as homogeneous thin-film interference layers with effective refractive indices even if there are multiple SWS layers in a filter.

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H. Makitsubo, T. Wada, H. Kataza, et. al.
Tue, 25 Oct 16
15/69

Comments: Accepted for publication in J Infrared Milli Terahz Waves. The final publication will be available at Springer via this http URL

Angular Momentum of Twisted Radiation from an Electron in Spiral Motion [CL]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1610.02182

We theoretically demonstrate for the first time that a single free electron in circular/spiral motion emits twisted photons carrying well defined orbital angular momentum along the axis of the electron circulation, in adding to spin angular momentum. We show that, when the electron velocity is relativistic, the radiation field contains harmonic components and the photons of l-th harmonic carry lhbar total angular momentum for each. This work indicates that twisted photons are naturally emitted by free electrons and more ubiquitous in laboratories and in nature than ever been thought.

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M. Katoh, M. Fujimoto, H. Kawaguchi, et. al.
Mon, 10 Oct 16
28/51

Comments: N/A

Gravitational birefringence of light in Robertson-Walker cosmologies [CL]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1610.00555

The spacetime evolution of massless spinning particles in a Robertson-Walker background is derived using the deterministic system of equations of motion due to Papapetrou, Souriau and Saturnini. A numerical integration of this system of differential equations in the case of the standard model is performed. The deviation of the photon worldlines from the null geodesics is of the order of the wavelength. Perturbative solutions are also worked out in a more general case. An experimental measurement of this deviation would test the acceleration of our expanding universe.

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C. Duval and T. Schucker
Tue, 4 Oct 16
55/81

Comments: 25 pages, 5 figures

Stability of a Light Sail Riding on a Laser Beam [IMA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1609.09506

The stability of a light sail riding on a laser beam is analyzed both analytically and numerically. Conical sails on Gaussian beams, which have been studied in the past, are shown to be unstable in general. A new architecture for a passively stable sail and beam configuration is proposed. The novel spherical shell sail design is capable of “beam riding” without the need for active feedback control. Full three-dimensional ray-tracing simulations are performed to verify our analytical results.

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Z. Manchester and A. Loeb
Mon, 3 Oct 16
26/47

Comments: N/A

Automated alignment of a reconfigurable optical system using focal-plane sensing and Kalman filtering [IMA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1608.07550

Automation of alignment tasks can provide improved efficiency and greatly increase the flexibility of an optical system. Current optical systems with automated alignment capabilities are typically designed to include a dedicated wavefront sensor. Here, we demonstrate a self-aligning method for a reconfigurable system using only focal plane images. We define a two lens optical system with eight degrees of freedom. Images are simulated given misalignment parameters using ZEMAX software. We perform a principal component analysis (PCA) on the simulated dataset to obtain Karhunen-Lo\`eve (KL) modes, which form the basis set whose weights are the system measurements. A model function which maps the state to the measurement is learned using nonlinear least squares fitting and serves as the measurement function for the nonlinear estimator (Extended and Unscented Kalman filters) used to calculate control inputs to align the system. We present and discuss both simulated and experimental results of the full system in operation.

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J. Fang and D. Savransky
Mon, 29 Aug 16
34/41

Comments: N/A

Gamma ray vortices from nonlinear inverse Compton scattering of circularly polarized light [CL]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1608.04894

Inverse Compton scattering (ICS) is an elemental radiation process that produces high-energy photons both in nature and in the laboratory. Non-linear ICS is a process in which multiple photons are converted to a single high-energy photon. Here, we theoretically show that the photon produced by non-linear ICS of circularly polarized photons is a vortex, which means that it possesses a helical wave front and carries orbital angular momentum. Our work explains a recent experimental result regarding non-linear Compton scattering that clearly shows an annular intensity distribution as a remarkable feature of a vortex beam. Our work implies that gamma ray vortices should be produced in various situations in astrophysics in which high-energy electrons and intense circularly polarized light fields coexist. They should play a critical role in stellar nucleosynthesis. Non-linear ICS is the most promising radiation process for realizing a gamma ray vortex source based on currently available laser and accelerator technologies, which would be an indispensable tool for exploring gamma ray vortex science.

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Y. Taira, T. Hayakawa and M. Katoh
Thu, 18 Aug 16
3/51

Comments: N/A

Chalcogenide glass planar MIR couplers for future chip based Bracewell interferometers [IMA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1608.04438

Photonic integrated circuits are established as the technique of choice for a number of astronomical processing functions due to their compactness, high level of integration, low losses, and stability. Temperature control, mechanical vibration and acoustic noise become controllable for such a device enabling much more complex processing than can realistically be considered with bulk optics. To date the benefits have mainly been at wavelengths around 1550 nm but in the important Mid-Infrared region, standard photonic chips absorb light strongly. Chalcogenide glasses are well known for their transparency to beyond 10000 nm, and the first results from coupler devices intended for use in an interferometric nuller for exoplanetary observation in the Mid-Infrared L band (3800-4200 nm) are presented here showing that suitable performance can be obtained both theoretically and experimentally for the first fabricated devices operating at 4000 nm.

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H. Goldsmith, N. Cvetojevic, M. Ireland, et. al.
Wed, 17 Aug 16
3/48

Comments: in Proc. SPIE 9907, Optical and Infrared Interferometry and Imaging V, 990730 (August 4, 2016)

Overview of Advanced LIGO Adaptive Optics [CL]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1608.02934

This is an overview of the adaptive optics used in Advanced LIGO (aLIGO), known as the thermal compensation system (TCS). The thermal compensation system was designed to minimize thermally-induced spatial distortions in the interferometer optical modes and to provide some correction for static curvature errors in the core optics of aLIGO. The TCS is comprised of ring heater actuators, spatially tunable CO$_{2}$ laser projectors and Hartmann wavefront sensors. The system meets the requirements of correcting for nominal distortion in Advanced LIGO to a maximum residual error of 5.4nm, weighted across the laser beam, for up to 125W of laser input power into the interferometer.

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A. Brooks, B. Abbott, M. Arain, et. al.
Thu, 11 Aug 16
38/51

Comments: N/A

Astronomical photonics in the context of infrared interferometry and high-resolution spectroscopy [IMA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1608.02640

We review the potential of Astrophotonics, a relatively young field at the interface between photonics and astronomical instrumentation, for spectro-interferometry. We review some fundamental aspects of photonic science that drove the emer- gence of astrophotonics, and highlight the achievements in observational astrophysics. We analyze the prospects for further technological development also considering the potential synergies with other fields of physics (e.g. non-linear optics in condensed matter physics). We also stress the central role of fiber optics in routing and transporting light, delivering complex filters, or interfacing instruments and telescopes, more specifically in the context of a growing usage of adaptive optics.

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L. Labadie, J. Berger, N. Cvetojevic, et. al.
Wed, 10 Aug 16
14/47

Comments: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation conference, June 2016, 21 pages, 10 Figures

Collimating Slicer for Optical Integral Field Spectroscopy [IMA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1607.07198

Integral Field Spectroscopy (IFS) is a technique that gives simultaneously the spectrum of each spatial sampling element in a given object field. It is a powerful tool which rearranges the data cube (x, y, lambda) represented by two spatial dimensions defining the field and the spectral decomposition in a detector plane. In IFS, the spatial unit reorganizes the field and the spectral unit is being composed of a classical spectrograph.The development of a Collimating Slicer aims at proposing a new type of integral field spectrograph which should be more compact. The main idea is to combine the image slicer with the collimator of the spectrograph, thus mixing the spatial and spectral units. The traditional combination of slicer, pupil and slit elements and the spectrograph collimator is replaced by a new one composed of a slicer and collimator only. In this paper, the state of the art of integral field spectroscopy using image slicers is described. The new system based onto the development of a Collimating Slicer for optical integral field spectroscopy is depicted. First system analysis results and future improvements are discussed. It finally turns out that this new system looks very promising for low resolution spectroscopy.

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F. Laurent and F. Henault
Tue, 26 Jul 16
60/75

Comments: 13 pages

Apodized vortex coronagraph designs for segmented aperture telescopes [IMA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1607.06400

Current state-of-the-art high contrast imaging instruments take advantage of a number of elegant coronagraph designs to suppress starlight and image nearby faint objects, such as exoplanets and circumstellar disks. The ideal performance and complexity of the optical systems depends strongly on the shape of the telescope aperture. Unfortunately, large primary mirrors tend to be segmented and have various obstructions, which limit the performance of most conventional coronagraph designs. We present a new family of vortex coronagraphs with numerically-optimized gray-scale apodizers that provide the sensitivity needed to directly image faint exoplanets with large, segmented aperture telescopes, including the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) as well as potential next-generation space telescopes.

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G. Ruane, J. Jewell, D. Mawet, et. al.
Fri, 22 Jul 16
57/57

Comments: To appear in SPIE proceedings vol. 9912

Intensity interferometry: Optical imaging with kilometer baselines [IMA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1607.03490

Optical imaging with microarcsecond resolution will reveal details across and outside stellar surfaces but requires kilometer-scale interferometers, challenging to realize either on the ground or in space. Intensity interferometry, electronically connecting independent telescopes, has a noise budget that relates to the electronic time resolution, circumventing issues of atmospheric turbulence. Extents up to a few km are becoming realistic with arrays of optical air Cherenkov telescopes (primarily erected for gamma-ray studies), enabling an optical equivalent of radio interferometer arrays. Pioneered by Hanbury Brown and Twiss, digital versions of the technique have now been demonstrated, reconstructing diffraction-limited images from laboratory measurements over hundreds of optical baselines. This review outlines the method from its beginnings, describes current experiments, and sketches prospects for future observations.

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D. Dravins
Thu, 14 Jul 16
26/72

Comments: 12 pages, 3 figures, 92 references. Invited keynote talk presented at the conference ‘SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation’, Edinburgh, Scotland (2016); to be published in SPIE Proc. 9907, ‘Optical and Infrared Interferometry and Imaging V’

Modal noise characterisation of a hybrid reformatter [CL]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1607.03363

This paper reports on the modal noise characterisation of a hybrid reformatter. The device consists of a multicore-fibre photonic lantern and an ultrafast laser-inscribed slit reformatter. It operates around 1550 nm and supports 92 modes. Photonic lanterns transform a multimode signal into an array of single-mode signals, and thus combine the high coupling efficiency of multimode fibres with the diffraction-limited performance of single-mode fibres. This paper presents experimental measurements of the device point spread function properties under different coupling conditions, and its throughput behaviour at high spectral resolution. The device demonstrates excellent scrambling but its point spread function is not completely stable. Mode field diameter and mode barycentre position at the device output vary as the multicore-fibre is agitated due to the fabrication imperfections.

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I. Spaleniak, D. MacLachlan, I. Gris-Sanchez, et. al.
Wed, 13 Jul 16
39/74

Comments: 9 pages, 9 figures, submitted to SPIE Astronomical Telescopes & Instrumentation 2016 (9912-78)

Optical design of a multi-resolution, single shot spectrograph [CL]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1607.02357

Multi-object or integral field spectrographs are recognized techniques for achieving simultaneous spectroscopic observations of different or extended sky objects with a high multiplex factor. In this communication is described a complementary approach for realizing similar measurements under different spectral resolutions at the same time. We describe the basic principle of this new type of spectrometer, that is based on the utilization of an optical pupil slicer. An optical design inspired from an already studied instrument is then presented and commented for the sake of illustration. Technical issues about the pupil slicer and diffractive components are also discussed. We finally conclude on the potential advantages and drawbacks of the proposed system.

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F. Henault and F. Laurent
Mon, 11 Jul 16
41/62

Comments: 13 pages

Experimental demonstration of a crossed cubes nuller for coronagraphy and interferometry [IMA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1607.01560

In this communication we present the first experimental results obtained on the Crossed-cubes nuller (CCN), that is a new type of Achromatic phase shifter (APS) based on a pair of crossed beamsplitter cubes. We review the general principle of the CCN, now restricted to two interferometric outputs for achieving better performance, and describe the experimental apparatus developed in our laboratory. It is cheap, compact, and easy to align. The results demonstrate a high extinction rate in monochromatic light and confirm that the device is insensitive to its polarization state. Finally, the first lessons from the experiment are summarized and discussed in view of future space missions searching for extra-solar planets located in the habitable zone, either based on a coronagraphic telescope or a sparse-aperture nulling interferometer

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F. Henault, B. Arezki, G. Bourdarot, et. al.
Thu, 7 Jul 16
43/43

Comments: 12 pages

Design and construction of an optical test bed for eLISA imaging systems and tilt-to-length coupling [IMA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1607.00408

The evolved Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (eLISA) is a future space-based interferometric gravitational-wave detector consisting of three spacecraft in a triangular configuration. The interferometric measurements of path length changes between satellites will be performed on optical benches in the satellites. Angular misalignments of the interfering beams will couple into the length measurement and represent a significant noise source (tilt-to-length (TTL) coupling). Imaging systems are foreseen to reduce this TTL coupling.
We have designed and built two different imaging systems to suppress this coupling. To investigate tilt-to-length coupling experimentally we designed and constructed an optical test bed. It consists of a minimal optical bench and a telescope simulator. The minimal optical bench comprises the science interferometer where the local laser is interfered with light from a remote spacecraft. In our experiment, a simulated version of this received beam is generated on the telescope simulator. The telescope simulator provides a tilting flat-top beam, a reference interferometer and an additional static beam as a phase reference. We avoid TTL coupling in the reference interferometer by using a small photo diode placed in a copy of the beam rotation point. We show that the test bed is operational with an initial measurement of tilt-to-length coupling without imaging systems.

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M. Chwalla, K. Danzmann, G. Barranco, et. al.
Tue, 5 Jul 16
24/80

Comments: N/A

All-fiber upconversion high spectral resolution wind lidar using a Fabry-Perot interferometer [IMA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1606.04798

An all-fiber, micro-pulse and eye-safe high spectral resolution wind lidar (HSRWL) at 1550nm is proposed and demonstrated by using a pair of upconversion single-photon detectors and a fiber Fabry-Perot scanning interferometer (FFP-SI). In order to improve the optical detection efficiency, both the transmission spectrum and the reflection spectrum of the FFP-SI are used for spectral analyses of the aerosol backscatter and the reference laser pulse. The reference signal is tapped from the outgoing laser and served as a zero velocity indicator. The Doppler shift is retrieved from a frequency response function Q, which is defined as the ratio of difference of the transmitted signal and the reflected signal to their sum. Taking advantages of high signal-to-noise ratio of the detectors and high spectral resolution of the FFP-SI, the Q spectra of the aerosol backscatter are reconstructed along the line-of-sight (LOS) of the telescope. By applying a least squares fit procedure to the measured Q spectra, the center frequencies and the bandwidths are obtained simultaneously. And then the Doppler shifts are determined relative to the center frequency of the reference signal. To eliminate the influence of temperature fluctuations on the FFP-SI, the FFP-SI is cased in a chamber with temperature stability of 0.001 during the measurement. Continuous LOS wind observations are carried out on two days at Hefei (31.843 N, 117.265 E), China. In the meantime, LOS wind measurements from the HSRWL show good agreement with the results from an ultrasonic wind sensor (Vaisala windcap WMT52). Due to the computational expensive of the convolution operation of the Q function, an empirical method is adopted to evaluate the quality of the measurements. The standard deviation of the wind speed is 0.76 m/s at the 1.8 km. The standard deviation of the retrieved bandwidth variation is 2.07 MHz at the 1.8 km.

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M. Shangguan, H. Xia, C. Wang, et. al.
Thu, 16 Jun 16
53/67

Comments: 19pages 13figures

Development of high resolution arrayed waveguide grating spectrometers for astronomical applications: first results [IMA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1606.02730

Astrophotonics is the next-generation approach that provides the means to miniaturize near-infrared (NIR) spectrometers for upcoming large telescopes and make them more robust and inexpensive. The target requirements for our spectrograph are: a resolving power of about 3000, wide spectral range (J and H bands), free spectral range of about 30 nm, high on-chip throughput of about 80% (-1dB) and low crosstalk (high contrast ratio) between adjacent on-chip wavelength channels of less than 1% (-20dB). A promising photonic technology to achieve these requirements is Arrayed Waveguide Gratings (AWGs). We have developed our first generation of AWG devices using a silica-on-silicon substrate with a very thin layer of silicon-nitride in the core of our waveguides. The waveguide bending losses are minimized by optimizing the geometry of the waveguides. Our first generation of AWG devices are designed for H band and have a resolving power of around 1500 and free spectral range of about 10 nm around a central wavelength of 1600 nm. The devices have a footprint of only 12 mm x 6 mm. They are broadband (1450-1650 nm), have a peak on-chip throughput of about 80% (-1 dB) and contrast ratio of about 1.5% (-18 dB). These results confirm the robustness of our design, fabrication and simulation methods. Currently, the devices are designed for Transverse Electric (TE) polarization and all the results are for TE mode. We are developing separate J- and H-band AWGs with higher resolving power, higher throughput and lower crosstalk over a wider free spectral range to make them better suited for astronomical applications.

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P. Gatkine, S. Veilleux, Y. Hu, et. al.
Fri, 10 Jun 16
46/54

Comments: 12 pages, 13 figures, 3 tables. SPIE Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation, Edinburgh (26 June – 1 July, 2016)

Gravitational wave detection with optical lattice atomic clocks [CL]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1606.01859

We propose a space-based gravitational wave detector consisting of two spatially separated, drag-free satellites sharing ultra-stable optical laser light over a single baseline. Each satellite contains an optical lattice atomic clock, which serves as a sensitive, narrowband detector of the local frequency of the shared laser light. A synchronized two-clock comparison between the satellites will be sensitive to the effective Doppler shifts induced by incident gravitational waves (GWs) at a level competitive with other proposed space-based GW detectors, while providing complementary features. The detected signal is a differential frequency shift of the shared laser light due to the relative velocity of the satellites, rather than a phase shift arising from the relative satellite positions, and the detection window can be tuned through the control sequence applied to the atoms’ internal states. This scheme enables the detection of GWs from continuous, spectrally narrow sources, such as compact binary inspirals, with frequencies ranging from ~3 mHz – 10 Hz without loss of sensitivity, thereby bridging the detection gap between space-based and terrestrial GW detectors. Our proposed GW detector employs just two satellites, is compatible with integration with an optical interferometric detector, and requires only realistic improvements to existing ground-based clock and laser technologies.

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S. Kolkowitz, I. Pikovski, N. Langellier, et. al.
Tue, 7 Jun 16
52/80

Comments: 8 pages, 2 figures, and supplemental material

Multicore fibre technology – the road to multimode photonics [IMA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1606.00969

For the past forty years, optical fibres have found widespread use in ground-based and space-based instruments. In most applications, these fibres are used in conjunction with conventional optics to transport light. But photonics offers a huge range of optical manipulations beyond light transport that were rarely exploited before 2001. The fundamental obstacle to the broader use of photonics is the difficulty of achieving photonic action in a multimode fibre. The first step towards a general solution was the invention of the photonic lantern (Leon-Saval, Birks & Bland-Hawthorn 2005) and the delivery of high-efficiency devices (< 1 dB loss) five years on (Noordegraaf et al 2009). Multicore fibres (MCF), used in conjunction with lanterns, are now enabling an even bigger leap towards multimode photonics. Until recently, the single-moded cores in MCFs were not sufficiently uniform to achieve telecom (SMF-28) performance. Now that high-quality MCFs have been realized, we turn our attention to printing complex functions (e.g. Bragg gratings for OH suppression) into their N cores. Our first work in this direction used a Mach-Zehnder interferometer (near-field phase mask) but this approach was only adequate for N=7 MCFs as measured by the grating uniformity (Lindley et al 2014). We have now built a Sagnac interferometer that gives a three-fold increase in the depth of field sufficient to print across N > 127 cores. We achieved first light this year with our 500mW Sabre FRED laser. These are sophisticated and complex interferometers. We report on our progress to date and summarize our first-year goals which include multimode OH suppression fibres for the Anglo-Australian Telescope/PRAXIS instrument and the Discovery Channel Telescope/MOHSIS instrument under development at the University of Maryland.

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J. Bland-Hawthorn, S. Min, E. Lindley, et. al.
Mon, 6 Jun 16
19/54

Comments: 14 pages

A Mach-Zehnder interferometer based on orbital angular momentum for improved vortex coronagraph efficiency [CL]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1605.08033

The Annular Groove Phase Mask (AGPM) is a vectorial vortex phase mask. It acts as a half-wave plate with a radial fast axis orientation operating in the mid infrared domain. When placed at the focus of a telescope element provides a continuous helical phase ramp for an on axis sources, which creates the orbital angular momentum. Thanks to that phase, the intensity of the central source is canceled by a down-stream pupil stop, while the off axis sources are not affected. However due to experimental conditions the nulling is hardly perfect. To improve the null, a Mach-Zehnder interferometer containing Dove prisms differently oriented can be proposed to sort out light based on its orbital angular momentum (OAM). Thanks to the differential rotation of the beam, a {\pi} phase shift is achieved for the on axis light affected by a non zero OAM. Therefore the contrast between the star and its faint companion is enhanced. Nevertheless, due the Dove prisms birefringence, the performance of the interferometer is relatively poor. To solve this problem, we propose to add a birefringent wave-plate in each arm to compensate this birefringence. In this paper, we will develop the mathematical model of the wave front using the Jones formalism. The performance of the interferometer is at first computed for the simple version without the birefringent plate. Then the effect of the birefringent plate is be mathematically described and the performance is re-computed.

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P. Piron, C. Delacroix, E. Huby, et. al.
Fri, 27 May 16
5/56

Comments: N/A

Micro-pulse upconversion Doppler lidar for wind and visibility detection in the atmospheric boundary layer [IMA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1605.06736

For the first time, a versatile, eyesafe, compact and direct detection Doppler lidar is developed using upconversion single-photon detection method. An all-fiber and polarization maintaining architecture is realized to guarantee the high optical coupling efficiency and the system stability. Using integrated-optic components, the conservation of etendue of the optical receiver is achieved by manufacturing a fiber-coupled periodically poled Lithium niobate waveguide and an all-fiber Fabry-Perot interferometer (FPI). The so-called double-edge direct detection is implemented using a single-channel FPI and a single upconversion detector, incorporating time-division multiplexing method. The relative error of the system is lower than 0.1% over 9 weeks. To show the robust of the system, atmospheric wind and visibility over 48 hours are detected in the boundary layer. In the intercomparison experiments, lidar shows good agreement with the ultrasonic wind sensor (Vaisala windcap WMT52), with standard deviation of 1.04 m/s in speed and 12.3{\deg} in direction.

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H. Xia, M. Shangguan, C. Wang, et. al.
Tue, 24 May 16
38/73

Comments: 10 pages 6figures

Wave diffraction by a cosmic string [CEA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1605.03176

We show that if a cosmic string exists, it may be identified through characteristic diffraction pattern in the energy spectrum of the observed signal. In particular, if the string is on the line of sight, the wave field is shown to fit the Cornu spiral. We suggest a simple procedure, based on Keller’s geometrical theory of diffraction, which allows to explain wave effects in conical spacetime of a cosmic string in terms of interference of four characteristic rays. Our results are supposed to be valid for scalar massless waves, including gravitational waves, electromagnetic waves, or even sound in case of condensed matter systems with analogous topological defects.

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I. Fernandez-Nu%7Bn%7Dez and O. Bulashenko
Thu, 12 May 16
41/59

Comments: 5 pages, 6 figures

Theory of Thomson scattering in inhomogeneous media [CL]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1604.08260

Thomson scattering of laser light is one of the most fundamental diagnostics of plasma density, temperature and magnetic fields. It relies on the assumption that the properties in the probed volume are homogeneous and constant during the probing time. On the other hand, laboratory plasmas are seldom uniform and homogeneous on the temporal and spatial dimensions over which data is collected. This is partic- ularly true for laser-produced high-energy-density matter, which often exhibits steep gradients in temperature, density and pressure, on a scale determined by the laser focus. Here, we discuss the modification of the cross section for Thomson scattering in fully-ionized media exhibiting steep spatial inhomogeneities and/or fast temporal fluctuations. We show that the predicted Thomson scattering spectra are greatly altered compared to the uniform case, and may even lead to violations of detailed balance. Therefore, careful interpretation of the spectra is necessary for spatially or temporally inhomogeneous systems.

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P. Kozlowski, B. Crowley, D. Gericke, et. al.
Fri, 29 Apr 16
35/57

Comments: 18 pages, 4 figures. Publication with corrected referencing for submitted article: this http URL

Ground-based gamma-ray telescopes as ground stations in deep-space lasercom [IMA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1604.08200

As the amount of information to be transmitted from deep-space rapidly increases, the radiofrequency technology has become a bottleneck in space communications. RF is already limiting the scientific outcome of deep-space missions and could be a significant obstacle in the developing of manned missions. Lasercom holds the promise to solve this problem, as it will considerably increase the data rate while decreasing the energy, mass and volume of onboard communication systems. In RF deep-space communications, where the received power is the main limitation, the traditional approach to boost the data throughput has been increasing the receiver’s aperture, e.g. the 70-m antennas in the NASA’s Deep Space Network. Optical communications also can benefit from this strategy, thus 10-m class telescopes have typically been suggested to support future deep-space links. However, the cost of big telescopes increase exponentially with their aperture, and new ideas are needed to optimize this ratio. Here, the use of ground-based gamma-ray telescopes, known as Cherenkov telescopes, is suggested. These are optical telescopes designed to maximize the receiver’s aperture at a minimum cost with some relaxed requirements. As they are used in an array configuration and multiple identical units need to be built, each element of the telescope is designed to minimize its cost. Furthermore, the native array configuration would facilitate the joint operation of Cherenkov and lasercom telescopes. These telescopes offer very big apertures, ranging from several meters to almost 30 meters, which could greatly improve the performance of optical ground stations. The key elements of these telescopes have been studied applied to lasercom, reaching the conclusion that it could be an interesting strategy to include them in the future development of an optical deep-space network.

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A. Carrasco-Casado, J. Sanchez-Pena and R. Vergaz
Thu, 28 Apr 16
13/57

Comments: 5 pages, 8 figures, 2015 IEEE International Conference on Space Optical Systems and Applications (ICSOS)

Reconstruction of a conic-section surface from autocollimator-based deflectometric profilometry [CL]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1604.08090

We present a description of our method to process a set of autocollimator-based deflectometer 1-dimensional line-scans taken over a large optical surface and reconstruct them to a best-fit conic-section surface. The challenge with our task is that each line-scan is in a different (unknown) coordinate reference frame with respect to the other line-scans in the set. This problem arises due to the limited angular measurement range of the autocollimator used in the deflectometer and the need to measure over a greater range; this results in the optic under measurement being rotated (in pitch and roll) between each scan to bring the autocollimator back into measurement range and therefore each scan is taken in a different coordinate frame. We describe an approach using a 6N+2 dimension optimisation (where N is the number of scan lines taken across the mirror) that uses a gradient-based non-linear least squares fitting combined with a multi-start global search strategy to find the best-fit surface. Careful formulation of the problem is required to reduce numerical noise and allow the routine to converge on a solution of the required accuracy.

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S. Thompson, R. Lang, P. Rees, et. al.
Thu, 28 Apr 16
55/57

Comments: 12 pages, 11 figures, Published in Applied Optics

Beyond the diffraction limit via optical amplification [IMA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1604.06928

In a previous article we suggested a method to overcome the diffraction limit behind a telescope. We refer to theory and recent numerical simulations, and test whether it is indeed possible to use photon amplification to enhance the angular resolution of a telescope or a microscope beyond the diffraction limit. An essential addition is the proposal to select events with above-average ratio of stimulated to spontaneous photons. We find that the diffraction limit of a telescope is surpassed by a factor ten for an amplifier gain of 200, if the analysis is restricted to a tenth of the incoming astronomical photons. A gain of 70 is sufficient with a hundredth of the photons.

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A. Kellerer and E. Ribak
Tue, 26 Apr 16
19/61

Comments: Accepted for publication in Optics Letters

Mission to the Gravitational Focus of the Sun: A Critical Analysis [EPA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1604.06351

The gravitational field of the sun will focus light from a distant source to a focal point at a minimal distance of 500 Astronomical Units from the sun. A proposed mission to this gravitational focus could use the sun as a very large lens, allowing (in principle) a large amplification of signal from the target, and a very high magnification. This article discusses some of the difficulties involved in using the sun as such a gravitational telescope for a candidate mission, that of imaging the surface of a previously-detected exoplanet. These difficulties include the pointing and focal length, and associated high magnification; the signal to noise ratio associated with the solar corona, and the focal blur. In addition, a method to calculate the signal gain and magnification is derived using the first-order deflection calculation and classical optics, showing that the gain is finite for an on-axis source of non-zero area.

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G. Landis
Fri, 22 Apr 16
49/54

Comments: 15 pages, 9 figures

A Broadband Micro-machined Far-Infrared Absorber [IMA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1604.03780

The experimental investigation of a broadband far-infrared meta-material absorber is described. The observed absorptance is $>\,0.95$ from ${\rm 1-20\,THz}$ (${\rm 300-15\,\mu m}$) over a temperature range spanning ${\rm 5-300\,K}$. The meta-material, realized from an array of tapers ${\rm \approx 100\,\mu m}$ in length, is largely insensitive to the detailed geometry of these elements and is cryogenically compatible with silicon-based micro-machined technologies. The electromagnetic response is in general agreement with a physically motivated transmission line model.

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E. Wollack, A. Datesman, C. Jhabvala, et. al.
Thu, 14 Apr 16
9/53

Comments: 6 pages, 2 figures, submitted to Review of Scientific Instruments

Infrared dielectric properties of low-stress silicon oxide [CL]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1603.04815

Silicon oxide thin films play an important role in the realization of optical coatings and high-performance electrical circuits. Estimates of the dielectric function in the far- and mid-infrared regime are derived from the observed transmittance spectrum for a commonly employed low-stress silicon oxide formulation. The experimental, modeling, and numerical methods used to extract the dielectric function are presented.

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G. Cataldo, E. Wollack, A. Brown, et. al.
Wed, 16 Mar 16
24/53

Comments: 4 pages, 3 figures, 1 table

Theoretical spectroscopy of quasars within Karlsson's law [IMA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1603.04278

The law introduced by Karlsson in spectroscopy of low-redshift quasars involves the Lyman spectrum of hydrogen atoms. Thus, it appears necessary to study the concepts introduced by a standard spectroscopy of quasars, studied here, with those deducted from $\Lambda$-CDM.A visible absorption of a sharp and saturated spectral line in a gas requires a long path without perturbations as collisions or cosmological redshift. Spectra of absorbed, saturated lines of quasars obeying Karlsson’s law mainly result from interactions of natural, thermal light radiated by quasar with relatively cold, low presure atomic hydrogen. These lines are produced by three processes: a) A conventional absorption in a relatively cold gas produces a set of lines; b) These lines are multiplied by absorption after fundamental 3K or 4K redshifts, where K is Karlsson’s constant: Spectra show that redshifts 3K (or 4K) exactly bring absorbed Lyman beta (or gamma) line on Lyman alpha: redshift almost disappears, and gas lines are intensely absorbed in the absence of alpha absorption; c) Redshifts occur in regions where light at alpha frequency is poorly absorbed due to permanent redshift, except when excitation of hydrogen to 2P level is sufficient for a superradiant flash emission at alpha frequency. This causes an intense absorption of high radiance rays from quasar, so the absorption of a line at current Lyman alpha frequency. Lightning and pumping produce relaxation oscillations that write many absorption lines. Redshifts by H atoms in 2P levels are due to parametric interactions composed of Impulsive Stimulated Raman Scatterings (ISRS): excited hydrogen atoms catalyze energy exchanges between observed ray and background cold thermal radiation, in agreement with thermodynamics. Description of Universe becomes much simpler, but less marvelous.

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J. Moret-Bailly
Tue, 15 Mar 16
14/77

Comments: arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1512.08516

Technology for the next gravitational wave detectors [IMA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1602.05021

This paper reviews some of the key enabling technologies for advanced and future laser interferometer gravitational wave detectors, which must combine test masses with the lowest possible optical and acoustic losses, with high stability lasers and various techniques for suppressing noise. Sect. 1 of this paper presents a review of the acoustic properties of test masses. Sect. 2 reviews the technology of the amorphous dielectric coatings which are currently universally used for the mirrors in advanced laser interferometers, but for which lower acoustic loss would be very advantageous. In sect. 3 a new generation of crystalline optical coatings that offer a substantial reduction in thermal noise is reviewed. The optical properties of test masses are reviewed in sect. 4, with special focus on the properties of silicon, an important candidate material for future detectors. Sect. 5 of this paper presents the very low noise, high stability laser technology that underpins all advanced and next generation laser interferometers.

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V. Mitrofanov, S. Chao, H. Pan, et. al.
Wed, 17 Feb 16
5/55

Comments: N/A

Millimeter-Wave Broadband Anti-Reflection Coatings Using Laser Ablation of Sub-Wavelength Structures [IMA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1601.08246

We report on the first use of laser ablation to make sub-millimeter, broad-band, anti-reflection coatings (ARC) based on sub-wavelength structures (SWS) on alumina and sapphire. We used a 515 nm laser to produce pyramid-shaped structures with pitch of about 320 \mu m and total height of near 800 \mu m. Transmission measurements between 70 and 140 GHz are in agreement with simulations using electromagnetic propagation software. The simulations indicate that SWS ARC with the fabricated shape should have a fractional bandwidth response of $\Delta \nu / \nu_{center}\ = 0.55$ centered on 235 GHz for which reflections are below 3%. Extension of the bandwidth to both lower and higher frequencies, between few tens of GHz and few THz, should be straightforward with appropriate adjustment of laser ablation parameters.

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T. Matsumura, K. Young, Q. Wen, et. al.
Mon, 1 Feb 16
18/42

Comments: 8 pages, 15 figures. To be submitted to Applied Optics

Life under a black sun [CL]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1601.02897

Life is dependent on the income of energy with low entropy and the disposal of energy with high entropy. On Earth, the low-entropy energy is provided by solar radiation and the high-entropy energy is disposed as infrared radiation emitted into the cold space. Here we turn the situation around and assume cosmic background radiation as the low-entropy source of energy for a planet orbiting a black hole into which the high-entropy energy is disposed. We estimate the power that can be produced by thermodynamic processes on such a planet, with a particular interest in planets orbiting a fast rotating Kerr black hole as in the science fiction movie {\em Interstellar}. We also briefly discuss a reverse Dyson sphere absorbing cosmic background radiation from the outside and dumping waste energy to a black hole inside.

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T. Opatrny, L. Richterek and P. Bakala
Wed, 13 Jan 16
49/81

Comments: 8 pages, 6 figures

Randomized Aperture Imaging [IMA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1601.00033

Speckled images of a binary broad band light source (600-670 nm), generated by randomized reflections or transmissions, were used to reconstruct a binary image by use of multi-frame blind deconvolution algorithms. Craft store glitter was used as reflective elements. Another experiment used perforated foil. Also reported here are numerical models that afforded controlled tip-tilt and piston aberrations. These results suggest the potential importance of a poorly figured, randomly varying segmented imaging system.

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X. Peng, G. Ruane and G. Swartzlander
Tue, 5 Jan 16
9/104

Comments: 10 pages, 9 figures, draft for OSA journal

The Segmented Beamformer for Electromagnetic Waves of the Terahertz Free Electron Laser [CL]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1512.05639

The quasi-optical segmented mirror for a formation of the target irradiation field was manufactured and investigated. It was designed for the high power THz beam of the free electron laser (FEL) using as a target a dust particle cloud, simulating cosmic dust. Numerical calculation of the beam shape and its low power laboratory measurements was made in the spectral region 1 – 3 THz of the first phase of the Novosibirsk FEL construction. The theoretical calculations of the diffraction effects reveal a speckle structure of a target spot, which was confirmed by the laboratory experiment. The beamformer technology was adapted for manufacturing and such device could be widely used for a concentration of powerful terahertz radiation.

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G. Bogomolov, V. Gromov, A. Letunov, et. al.
Mon, 21 Dec 15
2/41

Comments: 10 pages (in Russian), 14 figures

Optical Gravitational Wave Antenna with Increased Power Handling Capability [CL]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1512.05911

Fundamental sensitivity of an optical interferometric gravitational wave detector increases with increase of the optical power which, in turn, limited because of the opto-mechanical parametric instabilities of the interferometer. We propose to optimize geometrical shape of the mirrors of the detector to reduce the diffraction-limited finesse of unessential optical modes of the interferometer resulting in increase of the threshold of the opto-mechanical instabilities and subsequent increase of the measurement sensitivity. Utilizing parameters of the LIGO interferometer we found that the proposed technique allows constructing a Fabry-Perot interferometer with round trip diffraction loss of the fundamental mode not exceeding $5$~ppm, whereas the loss of the first dipole as well as the other high order modes exceed $1,000$~ppm and $8,000$~ppm, respectively. The optimization comes at the price of tighter tolerances on the mirror tilt stability, but does not result in a significant modification of the optical beam profile and does not require changes in the the gravity detector read-out system. The cavity with proposed mirrors is also stable with respect to the slight modification of the mirror shape.

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A. Matsko, M. Poplavskiy, H. Yamamoto, et. al.
Mon, 21 Dec 15
6/41

Comments: 5 pages, 4 figures

Observation of image pair creation and annihilation from superluminal scattering sources [IMA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1512.02622

The invariance of the speed of light implies a series of consequences related to our perception of simultaneity and of time itself. Whilst these consequences are experimentally well studied for subluminal speeds, the kinematics of superluminal motion lack direct evidence. Using high temporal resolution imaging techniques, we demonstrate that if a source approaches an observer at superluminal speeds, the temporal ordering of events is inverted and its image appears to propagate backwards. If the source changes its speed, crossing the interface between sub- and super-luminal propagation, we observe image pair annihilation and creation. These results show that it is not possible to unambiguously determine the kinematics of an event from imaging and time-resolved measurements alone.

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M. Clerici, G. Spalding, R. Warburton, et. al.
Wed, 9 Dec 15
28/63

Comments: N/A

Optical characterization of gaps in directly bonded Si compound optics using infrared spectroscopy [IMA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1511.01183

Silicon direct bonding offers flexibility in the design and development of Si optics by allowing manufacturers to combine subcomponents with a potentially lossless and mechanically stable interface. The bonding process presents challenges in meeting the requirements for optical performance because air gaps at the Si interface cause large Fresnel reflections. Even small (35 nm) gaps reduce transmission through a direct bonded Si compound optic by 4% at $\lambda = 1.25 \; \mu$m at normal incidence. We describe a bond inspection method that makes use of precision slit spectroscopy to detect and measure gaps as small as 14 nm. Our method compares low finesse Fabry-P\'{e}rot models to high precision measurements of transmission as a function of wavelength. We demonstrate the validity of the approach by measuring bond gaps of known depths produced by microlithography.

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M. Gully-Santiago, D. Jaffe and V. White
Thu, 5 Nov 15
78/79

Comments: 16 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in Applied Optics

The flexibility of optical metrics [CL]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1510.02384

We firstly revisit the importance, naturalness and limitations of the so-called optical metrics for describing the propagation of light rays in the limit of geometric optics. We then exemplify their flexibility and nontriviality in some nonlinear material media and in the context of nonlinear theories of the electromagnetism, both underlain by curved backgrounds, where optical metrics could be flat and impermeable membranes only to photons could be conceived, respectively. Finally, we underline and discuss the relevance and potential applications of our analyses in a broad sense, ranging from material media to compact astrophysical systems.

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E. Bittencourt, J. Pereira, I. Smolyaninov, et. al.
Fri, 9 Oct 15
5/61

Comments: 8 pages

Resolution enhancement by extrapolation of coherent diffraction images: a quantitative study about the limits and a numerical study of non-binary and phase objects [CL]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1510.01654

In coherent diffractive imaging (CDI) the resolution with which the reconstructed object can be obtained is limited by the numerical aperture of the experimental setup. We present here a theoretical and numerical study for achieving super-resolution by post-extrapolation of coherent diffraction images, such as diffraction patterns or holograms. We proof that a diffraction pattern can unambiguously be extrapolated from just a fraction of the entire pattern and that the ratio of the extrapolated signal to the originally available signal, is linearly proportional to the oversampling ratio. While there could be in principle other methods to achieve extrapolation, we devote our discussion to employing phase retrieval methods and demonstrate their limits. We present two numerical studies; namely the extrapolation of diffraction patterns of non-binary and that of phase objects together with a discussion of the optimal extrapolation procedure.

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T. Latychevskaia and H. Fink
Wed, 7 Oct 15
37/72

Comments: N/A

Optimized focal and pupil plane masks for vortex coronagraphs on telescopes with obstructed apertures [IMA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1509.05794

We present methods for optimizing pupil and focal plane optical elements that improve the performance of vortex coronagraphs on telescopes with obstructed or segmented apertures. Phase-only and complex masks are designed for the entrance pupil, focal plane, and the plane of the Lyot stop. Optimal masks are obtained using both analytical and numerical methods. The latter makes use of an iterative error reduction algorithm to calculate “correcting” optics that mitigate unwanted diffraction from aperture obstructions. We analyze the achieved performance in terms of starlight suppression, contrast, off-axis image quality, and chromatic dependence. Manufacturing considerations and sensitivity to aberrations are also discussed. This work provides a path to joint optimization of multiple coronagraph planes to maximize sensitivity to exoplanets and other faint companions.

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G. Ruane, O. Absil, E. Huby, et. al.
Tue, 22 Sep 15
22/77

Comments: N/A

Lyot-plane phase masks for improved high-contrast imaging with a vortex coronagraph [IMA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1509.05750

The vortex coronagraph is an optical instrument that precisely removes on-axis starlight allowing for high contrast imaging at small angular separation from the star, thereby providing a crucial capability for direct detection and characterization of exoplanets and circumstellar disks. Telescopes with aperture obstructions, such as secondary mirrors and spider support structures, require advanced coronagraph designs to provide adequate starlight suppression. We introduce a phase-only Lyot-plane optic to the vortex coronagraph that offers improved contrast performance on telescopes with complicated apertures. Potential solutions for the European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT) are described and compared. Adding a Lyot-plane phase mask relocates residual starlight away from a region of the image plane thereby reducing stellar noise and improving sensitivity to off-axis companions. The phase mask is calculated using an iterative phase retrieval algorithm. Numerically, we achieve a contrast on the order of $10^{-6}$ for a companion with angular displacement as small as $4~\lambda/D$ with an E-ELT type aperture. Even in the presence of aberrations, improved performance is expected compared to either a conventional vortex coronagraph or optimized pupil plane phase element alone.

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G. Ruane, E. Huby, O. Absil, et. al.
Mon, 21 Sep 15
15/58

Comments: 6 pages, 7 figures, Accepted for publication in A&A

X-ray optical systems: from metrology to Point Spread Function [CL]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1509.04777

One of the problems often encountered in X-ray mirror manufacturing is setting proper manufacturing tolerances to guarantee an angular resolution – often expressed in terms of Point Spread Function (PSF) – as needed by the specific science goal. To do this, we need an accurate metrological apparatus, covering a very broad range of spatial frequencies, and an affordable method to compute the PSF from the metrology dataset. […] However, the separation between these spectral ranges is difficult do define exactly, and it is also unclear how to affordably combine the PSFs, computed with different methods in different spectral ranges, into a PSF expectation at a given X-ray energy. For this reason, we have proposed a method entirely based on the Huygens-Fresnel principle to compute the diffracted field of real Wolter-I optics, including measured defects over a wide range of spatial frequencies. Owing to the shallow angles at play, the computation can be simplified limiting the computation to the longitudinal profiles, neglecting completely the effect of roundness errors. Other authors had already proposed similar approaches in the past, but only in far-field approximation, therefore they could not be applied to the case of Wolter-I optics, in which two reflections occur in sequence within a short range. The method we suggest is versatile, as it can be applied to multiple reflection systems, at any X-ray energy, and regardless of the nominal shape of the mirrors in the optical system. The method has been implemented in the WISE code, successfully used to explain the measured PSFs of multilayer-coated optics for astronomic use, and of a K-B optical system in use at the FERMI free electron laser.

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D. Spiga and L. Raimondi
Thu, 17 Sep 15
43/45

Comments: N/A

Construction of a medium-sized Schwarzschild-Couder telescope as a candidate for the Cherenkov Telescope Array: development of the optical alignment system [IMA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1509.02463

The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) is an international project for a next-generation ground-based gamma-ray observatory. CTA, conceived as an array of tens of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes, comprising small, medium and large-size telescopes, is aiming to improve on the sensitivity of current-generation experiments by an order of magnitude and provide energy coverage from 20 GeV to more than 300 TeV. The Schwarzschild-Couder (SC) medium-size candidate telescope model features a novel aplanatic two-mirror optical design capable of a wide field-of-view with significantly improved imaging resolution as compared to the traditional Davis-Cotton optics design. Achieving this imaging resolution imposes strict alignment requirements to be accomplished by a dedicated alignment system. In this contribution we present the status of the development of the SC optical alignment system, soon to be materialized in a full-scale prototype SC medium-size telescope at the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory in southern Arizona.

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D. Nieto, S. Griffiths, B. Humensky, et. al.
Wed, 9 Sep 15
40/56

Comments: In Proceedings of the 34th International Cosmic Ray Conference (ICRC2015), The Hague, The Netherlands. All CTA contributions at arXiv:1508.05894