SCExAO, a testbed for developing high-contrast imaging technologies for ELTs

TL;DR

SCExAO is a versatile high-contrast imaging platform and testbed on an 8-meter telescope, enabling development and validation of advanced wavefront sensing and control technologies crucial for future ELTs to detect exoplanets.

Contribution

This paper introduces SCExAO as a testbed for developing and deploying new high-contrast imaging algorithms and technologies for ELTs, demonstrating live capabilities and ongoing advancements.

Findings

High Strehl ratio (>80%) in H-band achieved

Real-time predictive AO control demonstrated

Multiple high-contrast imaging technologies under development

Abstract

To directly detect exoplanets and protoplanetary disks, the development of high accuracy wavefront sensing and control (WFS&C) technologies is essential, especially for ground-based Extremely Large Telescopes (ELTs). The Subaru Coronagraphic Extreme Adaptive Optics (SCExAO) instrument is a high-contrast imaging platform to discover and characterize exoplanets and protoplanetary disks. It also serves as a testbed to validate and deploy new concepts or algorithms for high-contrast imaging approaches for ELTs, using the latest hardware and software technologies on an 8-meter class telescope. SCExAO is a multi-band instrument, using light from 600 to 2500 nm, and delivering a high Strehl ratio (>80% in median seeing in H-band) downstream of a low-order correction provided by the facility AO188. Science observations are performed with coronagraphs, an integral field spectrograph, or single aperture interferometers. The SCExAO project continuously reaches out to the community for development and upgrades. Existing operating testbeds such as the SCExAO are also unique opportunities to test and deploy the new technologies for future ELTs. We present and show a live demonstration of the SCExAO capabilities (Real-time predictive AO control, Focal plane WFS&C, etc) as a host testbed for the remote collaborators to test and deploy the new WFS&C concepts or algorithms. We also present several high-contrast imaging technologies that are under development or that have already been demonstrated on-sky.