Optical design of the Extreme Coronagraph for Living Planetary Systems instrument for the LUVOIR mission study

Qian Gong; Matthew R. Bolcar; James A. Corsetti; Julie A. Crooke; Joseph A. Generie; Tyler D. Groff; Jason E. Hylan; Andrew L. Jones; Roser Juanola Parramon; Avi M. Mandell; Garrett J. West; Neil T. Zimmerman

doi:10.1117/1.JATIS.5.2.025002

9 May 2019 Optical design of the Extreme Coronagraph for Living Planetary Systems instrument for the LUVOIR mission study

Qian Gong, Matthew R. Bolcar, James A. Corsetti, Julie A. Crooke, Joseph A. Generie, Tyler D. Groff, Jason E. Hylan, Andrew L. Jones, Roser Juanola Parramon, Avi M. Mandell, Garrett J. West, Neil T. Zimmerman

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Journal of Astronomical Telescopes, Instruments, and Systems, Vol. 5, Issue 2, 025002 (May 2019). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JATIS.5.2.025002

Abstract

The large UV/optical/IR surveyor (LUVOIR) is a concept for a highly capable, multiwavelength space observatory with ambitious science goals. Finding and characterizing a wide range of exoplanets, including those that might be habitable, is a major goal of the study. The ambitious science goals drive the challenges of optical design. This paper will present how the optical design meets the unique challenges for coronagraphs on large telescopes to achieve high contrast for a wide wavelength range from 200 to 2000 nm. Some of these unique challenges include the position and size of occulter masks, deformable mirror placement and separation, tight tolerances on the optical system and each element, and finally, packaging all instruments in a limited space. Three types of modules are designed after the coronagraph to explore the exoplanets and analyze the spectrum of detected exoplanet signals: two imaging cameras, two integral field spectrographs, and one high-resolution spectrometer. All of them work together to provide information to meet scientific challenges in searching for habitable planets. The optical designs, unique challenges, and the solutions for all coronagraph and spectral modules are presented. Their specifications derived from science goals are also presented.

CC BY: © The Authors. Published by SPIE under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported License. Distribution or reproduction of this work in whole or in part requires full attribution of the original publication, including its DOI.

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Qian Gong, Matthew R. Bolcar, James A. Corsetti, Julie A. Crooke, Joseph A. Generie, Tyler D. Groff, Jason E. Hylan, Andrew L. Jones, Roser Juanola Parramon, Avi M. Mandell, Garrett J. West, and Neil T. Zimmerman "Optical design of the Extreme Coronagraph for Living Planetary Systems instrument for the LUVOIR mission study," Journal of Astronomical Telescopes, Instruments, and Systems 5(2), 025002 (9 May 2019). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JATIS.5.2.025002

Received: 22 October 2018; Accepted: 12 April 2019; Published: 9 May 2019

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