Poke: An open-source ray-based physical optics platform

TL;DR

Poke is an open-source Python platform that integrates ray tracing and physical optics to accurately model optical systems, including diffraction and polarization effects, facilitating advanced optical analysis for large telescopes.

Contribution

The paper introduces Poke, a novel open-source platform that combines commercial ray tracing APIs with physical optics engines for comprehensive optical modeling.

Findings

Successfully modeled diffraction and polarization effects in large telescopes.

Enabled integration of ray aberrations into diffraction simulations.

Applied to next-generation astronomical observatories.

Abstract

Integrated optical models allow for accurate prediction of the as-built performance of an optical instrument. Optical models are typically composed of a separate ray trace and diffraction model to capture both the geometrical and physical regimes of light. These models are typically separated across both open-source and commercial software that don't interface with each other directly. To bridge the gap between ray trace models and diffraction models, we have built an open-source optical analysis platform in Python called Poke that uses commercial ray tracing APIs and open-source physical optics engines to simultaneously model scalar wavefront error, diffraction, and polarization. Poke operates by storing ray data from a commercial ray tracing engine into a Python object, from which physical optics calculations can be made. We present an introduction to using Poke, and highlight the capabilities of two new propagation physics modules that add to the utility of existing scalar diffraction models. Gaussian Beamlet Decomposition is a ray-based approach to diffraction modeling that allows us to integrate physical optics models with ray trace models to directly capture the influence of ray aberrations in diffraction simulations. Polarization Ray Tracing is a ray-based method of vector field propagation that can diagnose the polarization aberrations in optical systems. Poke has been recently used to study the next generation of astronomical observatories, including the ground-based Extremely Large Telescopes and a 6 meter space telescope early concept for NASA's Habitable Worlds Observatory.