Simulating the performance of aperture mask designs for SCALES

TL;DR

This paper uses simulations to evaluate how different aperture mask designs can improve the high-contrast imaging capabilities of the upcoming SCALES instrument at Keck Observatory, focusing on exoplanet detection.

Contribution

It introduces a simulation-based assessment of various aperture mask designs for SCALES, highlighting their potential to enhance contrast in exoplanet imaging.

Findings

Certain mask designs improve contrast depth in simulations.

Simulations incorporate realistic AO performance and noise sources.

Results guide optimal mask selection for SCALES.

Abstract

Interferometric techniques such as aperture masking have the potential to enhance spatial resolution capabilities when imaging moderate-contrast sources with small angular size, such as close-in exoplanets and circumstellar disks around distant young stars. The Slicer Combined with an Array of Lenslets for Exoplanet Spectroscopy (SCALES) instrument, currently under development, is a lenslet integral field spectrograph that will enable the W. M. Keck Observatory to carry out high-contrast direct imaging of exoplanets between 2 and 5 microns. We explore the potential benefit of aperture masking to SCALES by testing the contrast achievable by several mask designs. The scalessim software package was used to simulate observations at wavelength bins in the M, L, and K bands, with optical path difference (OPD) maps used to simulate realistic Keck adaptive optics performance. Noise from astrophysical and instrumental sources was also applied to simulated signals. Mask designs were assessed based on depth of the generated contrast curves.