System design and analysis of the exo-planet imaging camera and spectrograph (EPICS) for the European ELT

Conference item

One of the main science objectives of the European ELT is the direct imaging of extrasolar planets. The large aperture of the telescope has the potential to significantly enlarge the discovery space towards older gas giant exo-planets seen in reflected light. In this paper, we give an overview of the EPICS system design strategy during the phase A study. In order to tackle the critical limitations to high contrast, extensive end-to-end simulations will be developed since the start to test different scenarios and guide the overall design. Keywords: Extremely Large Telescope, high contrast imaging, extrasolar planets, instrumentation, adaptive optics.

Authors: Verinaud, C; Korkiakoski, V; Yaitskova, N; Martinez, P; Kasper, M

• Publication status: Published
• Host title: GROUND-BASED AND AIRBORNE INSTRUMENTATION FOR ASTRONOMY II, PTS 1-4
• Volume: 7014
• Publication date: 2008-01-01
• DOI: 10.1117/12.790009
• ISSN: 0277-786X
• ISBN: 9780819472243
• Keywords: extrasolar planets; adaptive optics; Extremely Large Telescope; high contrast imaging; instrumentation