Modern Astronomical Optics
Spring 2012 topic: Observing Exoplanets
Letures and additional material for the course "Modern Astronomical Optics - Observing Exoplanets" (offered to graduate and undergraduate students at the University of Arizona)
Lectures prepared by Olivier Guyon, Jim Burge and Phil Hinz
Spring 2012 semester
This course provides an overview of astronomical optical systems and techniques for the observation of exoplanets. It introduces astronomical and optical concepts related to exoplanets observations. By focusing on a particularly challenging observational problem of modern astronomy, the course will teach design and analysis of ultra high precision optical systems and measurement techniques, including spectroscopy, photometry, optical metrology and interferometry.
Lectures
Introduction to course
1. Course introduction, Fundamentals of astronomical imaging systems
This part of the course serves as an introduction to the course, and introduces fundamental concepts of
astronomy and optics which will be explored in more details during the rest of the course.
Connect astronomy to telescope and instrument requirements. Introduction of units used for astronomy
and how they relate to radiometric quantities.
2. Brief Introduction to Exoplanets
3. Spectroscopic detection and characterization of exoplanets
- Fundamentals of radial velocity exoplanet measurements
- Spectral calibration to m/s level and below
- Spectrograph design for radial velocity measurement
4. Photometry: Transits and Microlensing
- Introduction to exoplanet transits
- What can we learn about exoplanets from transits ?: from statistical information to characterization of individual systems
- Transit spectroscopy
- Transit timing variations
- Effect of photon noise, scintillation (for ground-based systems)
- Transit Photometry from space
- Microlensing
TEAM PROJECTS #1
5. Astrometry
- Astrometric signatures of exoplanets
- Astrometry with interferometers
- Astrometry in imaging systems
6. Interferometric techniques
- Detecting dust around nearby stars with interferometers
- Nulling on sparse apertures
- Single aperture techniques
TEAM PROJECTS #2
7. Direct Imaging: Coronagraphy
- Introduction to Coronagraphic techniques
- Exoplanet science with coronagraphic imaging
- Coronagraphy principles
- Coronagraph systems for ground and space
8. Wavefront sensing and control techniques
- Introduction to adaptive optics
- Wavefront quality and stability requirements for high contrast imaging
- High precision wavefront sensing techniques
- Wavefront control systems for high contrast imaging : space and ground
TEAM PROJECTS #3
9. Summary of existing and future techniques, complementarity
Team Projects
Textbooks
The following texbooks are suggested for reference, but not required:
- Astronomical Optics (Shroeder)
- Exoplanets (Seager)