Open AccessDesigning asymmetric and branched petals for planet-finding occulters
Author(s) -
Eric Cady,
N. Jeremy Kasdin,
Stuart Shaklan
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.18.000523
Subject(s) - starlight , petal , planet , exoplanet , telescope , optics , physics , spitzer space telescope , aperture (computer memory) , spacecraft , asymmetry , astronomy , stars , biology , botany , quantum mechanics , acoustics
One of the proposed methods for finding small extrasolar planets is through use of an occulter, a spacecraft which flies in formation with a space-based telescope to block the light from a star, while leaving nearby planets unaffected. This is accomplished by placing the occulter far enough from the telescope to give it a small angular size, and by carefully choosing the shape to strongly suppress the starlight at the telescope aperture. For most designs, this shape takes the form of a number of bilaterally-symmetric structures called petals, arrayed about a circular central disk. In this paper, we show that the necessary number of petals may be reduced by the introduction of an asymmetry in the petal shape, and describe a a general procedure for producing such a shape by optimization for any occulter with petals. In addition, we show that permitting openings within each petal allows a number of additional modifications to be made without affecting the suppression.