Work

Starlight coupling through atmospheric turbulence into few-mode fibres and photonic lanterns in the presence of partial adaptive optics correction

Year: 2020

Type: article

Abstract: ABSTRACT Starlight corrupted by atmospheric turbulence cannot couple efficiently into astronomical instruments based on integrated optics as they require light of high spatial coherence to couple into their single-mode waveguides. Low-order adaptive optics in combination with photonic lanterns offer a practical approach to achieve efficient coupling into multiplexed astrophotonic devices. We investigate, aided by simulations and an experimental testbed, the trade-off between the degrees of freedom of the adaptive optics system and those of the input waveguide of an integrated optic component leading to a cost-effective hybrid system that achieves a signal-to-noise ratio higher than a standalone device fed by a single-mode fibre.

Source: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

DOI: 10.1093/mnras/staa3752

Authors: Momen Diab, Aline N Dinkelaker, John Davenport, Kalaga Madhav, Martin M Roth

Institution: Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam

Language: English

Topic: Adaptive optics and wavefront sensing

Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics

Field: Physics and Astronomy

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funder: Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung

Award: Zentrum für Innovationskompetenz innoFSPEC - Nachwuchsgruppe: Innovative faseroptische Spektroskopie und Sensorik