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We report the direct imaging discovery of a low-mass companion to the nearby accelerating A star, HIP 109427, with the Subaru Coronagraphic Extreme Adaptive Optics (SCExAO) instrument coupled with the MKID Exoplanet Camera (MEC) and CHARIS integral field spectrograph. CHARIS data reduced with reference star PSF subtraction yield 1.1-2.4 $\mu$m spectra. MEC reveals the companion in $Y$ and $J$ band at a comparable signal-to-noise ratio using stochastic speckle discrimination, with no PSF subtraction techniques. Combined with complementary follow-up $L_{\rm p}$ photometry from Keck/NIRC2, the SCExAO data favors a spectral type, effective temperature, and luminosity of M4-M5.5, 3000-3200 $K$, and $\log_{10}(L/L_{\rm \odot}) = -2.28^{+0.04}_{-0.04}$, respectively. Relative astrometry of HIP 109427 B from SCExAO/CHARIS and Keck/NIRC2, and complementary Gaia-Hipparcos absolute astrometry of the primary favor a semimajor axis of $6.55^{+3.0}_{-0.48}$ au, an eccentricity of $0.54^{+0.28}_{-0.15}$, an inclination of $66.7^{+8.5}_{-14}$ degrees, and a dynamical mass of $0.280^{+0.18}_{-0.059}$ $M_{\odot}$. This work shows the potential for extreme AO systems to utilize speckle statistics in addition to widely-used post-processing methods to directly image faint companions to nearby stars near the telescope diffraction limit., Comment: 13 pages, 7 figures, 3 tables

PALM-3000 (P3K), the second generation adaptive optics (AO) instrument for the 5.1 meter Hale telescope at Palomar Observatory, was released as a facility class instrument in October 2011 and has since been used on-sky for over 600 nights as a workhorse science instrument and testbed for coronagraph and detector development. In late 2019 P3K underwent a significant upgrade to its wavefront sensor (WFS) arm and real-time control (RTC) system to reinforce its position as a state-of-the-art AO facility and extend its faint-end capability for high-resolution imaging and precision radial velocity follow-up of Kepler and TESS targets. The main features of this upgrade include an EM-CCD WFS camera capable of 3.5 kHz framerates, and an advanced Digital signal Processor (DSP) based RTC system to replace the aging GPU based system. Similar to the pre-upgrade system, the Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor supports multiple pupil sampling modes using a motorized lenslet stage. The default sampling mode with 64x64 subapertures has been re-commissioned on-sky in late 2019, with a successful return to science observations in November 2019. In 64x mode the upgraded system is already achieving K-band Strehl ratios up to 85% on sky and can lock on natural guide stars as faint as mV=16. A 16x16 subaperture mode is scheduled for on-sky commissioning in Fall 2020 and will extend the system's faint limit even further. Here we present the design and on-sky re-commissioning results of the upgraded system, dubbed P3K-II., Comment: 13 pages, 10 figures. To appear in Proceedings of SPIE ATI 2020

We present the MKID Exoplanet Camera (MEC), a z through J band (800 - 1400 nm) integral field spectrograph located behind The Subaru Coronagraphic Extreme Adaptive Optics (SCExAO) at the Subaru Telescope on Maunakea that utilizes Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detectors (MKIDs) as the enabling technology for high contrast imaging. MEC is the first permanently deployed near-infrared MKID instrument and is designed to operate both as an IFU, and as a focal plane wavefront sensor in a multi-kHz feedback loop with SCExAO. The read noise free, fast time domain information attainable by MKIDs allows for the direct probing of fast speckle fluctuations that currently limit the performance of most high contrast imaging systems on the ground and will help MEC achieve its ultimate goal of reaching contrasts of $10^{-7}$ at 2$\lambda / D$. Here we outline the instrument details of MEC including the hardware, firmware, and data reduction and analysis pipeline. We then discuss MEC's current on-sky performance and end with future upgrades and plans., Comment: To be published in Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific

The energy resolution of a single photon counting Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detector (MKID) can be degraded by noise coming from the primary low temperature amplifier in the detector's readout system. Until recently, quantum limited amplifiers have been incompatible with these detectors due to dynamic range, power, and bandwidth constraints. However, we show that a kinetic inductance based traveling wave parametric amplifier can be used for this application and reaches the quantum limit. The total system noise for this readout scheme was equal to ~2.1 in units of quanta. For incident photons in the 800 to 1300 nm range, the amplifier increased the average resolving power of the detector from ~6.7 to 9.3 at which point the resolution becomes limited by noise on the pulse height of the signal. Noise measurements suggest that a resolving power of up to 25 is possible if redesigned detectors can remove this additional noise source.

Full characterization of imaging detectors involves subjecting them to spatially and temporally varying illumination patterns over a large dynamic range. Here we present a scene generator that fulfills many of these functions. Based on a modern smartphone, it has a number of good features, including the ability to generate nearly arbitrary optical scenes, high spatial resolution (13 um), high dynamic range (~10^4), near-Poisson limited illumination stability over time periods from 100 ms to many days, and no background noise. The system does not require any moving parts and may be constructed at modest cost. We present the optical, mechanical, and software design, test data validating the performance, and application examples., Comment: 14 pages. This version includes code, available here: https://github.com/Leo-Neat

We present DARKNESS (the DARK-speckle Near-infrared Energy-resolving Superconducting Spectrophotometer), the first of several planned integral field spectrographs to use optical/near-infrared Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detectors (MKIDs) for high-contrast imaging. The photon counting and simultaneous low-resolution spectroscopy provided by MKIDs will enable real-time speckle control techniques and post-processing speckle suppression at framerates capable of resolving the atmospheric speckles that currently limit high-contrast imaging from the ground. DARKNESS is now operational behind the PALM-3000 extreme adaptive optics system and the Stellar Double Coronagraph at Palomar Observatory. Here we describe the motivation, design, and characterization of the instrument, early on-sky results, and future prospects., Comment: 17 pages, 17 figures. PASP Published

Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detectors, or MKIDs, have proven to be a powerful cryogenic detector technology due to their sensitivity and the ease with which they can be multiplexed into large arrays. A MKID is an energy sensor based on a photon-variable superconducting inductance in a lithographed microresonator, and is capable of functioning as a photon detector across the electromagnetic spectrum as well as a particle detector. Here we describe the first successful effort to create a photon-counting, energy-resolving ultraviolet, optical, and near infrared MKID focal plane array. These new Optical Lumped Element (OLE) MKID arrays have significant advantages over semiconductor detectors like charge coupled devices (CCDs). They can count individual photons with essentially no false counts and determine the energy and arrival time of every photon with good quantum efficiency. Their physical pixel size and maximum count rate is well matched with large telescopes. These capabilities enable powerful new astrophysical instruments usable from the ground and space. MKIDs could eventually supplant semiconductor detectors for most astronomical instrumentation, and will be useful for other disciplines such as quantum optics and biological imaging., Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in Optics Express

Direct imaging of an Earth-like exoplanet will require future missions, such as the proposed HabEx or LUVOIR concepts, to achieve starlight suppression with planet/star contrast ratios on the order of 10−10 at angular separations <100 milliarcseconds in visible wavelengths. To facilitate the technology and algorithm development required to enable this ambitious scientific goal, NASA’s Exoplanet Exploration Program (ExEP) High Contrast Imaging Testbed (HCIT) facility at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) recently commissioned the Decadal Survey Testbed (DST), a state-of-the-art, flexible, and extremely stable coronagraph testbed. This testbed integrates years of experience and lessons learned at HCIT and has now demonstrated contrast ratios as low as few times 10−10 in 10% bandwidth. Following the success of DST, the HCIT team has developed a companion testbed, the Decadal Survey Testbed 2 (DST2) that further implements lessons learned from DST, and will provide the HCIT with additional coronagraph testbed capacity and efficiency. Commissioning for DST2 is currently targeted for Fall 2021. Here we provide an update on the status of DST, and report on the design, performance modeling simulations, and status of integration and testing for DST2, highlighting updates to the design from the original DST.

PALM-3000 (P3K), the second-generation adaptive optics (AO) instrument for the 5.1 meter Hale telescope atPalomar Observatory, was released as a facility class instrument in October 2011 and has since been used on-skyfor over 600 nights as a workhorse science instrument and testbed for coronagraph and detector development.In late 2019 P3K underwent a significant upgrade to its wavefront sensor (WFS) arm and real-time control(RTC) system to reinforce its position as a state-of-the-art AO facility and extend its faint-end capability forhigh-resolution imaging and precision radial velocity follow-up of Kepler and TESS targets. The main featuresof this upgrade include an EM-CCD WFS camera capable of 3.5 kHz framerates, and an advanced Digital SignalProcessor (DSP) based RTC system to replace the aging GPU based system. Similar to the pre-upgrade system,the Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor supports multiple pupil sampling modes using a motorized lenslet stage.The default sampling mode with 64×64 subapertures has been re-commissioned on-sky in late 2019, witha successful return to science observations in November 2019. In 64×mode the upgraded system is alreadyachieving K-band Strehl ratios up to 85% on-sky and can lock on natural guide stars as faint as mV=16. A16×16 subaperture mode is scheduled for on-sky commissioning in Fall 2020 and will extend the system’s faintlimit even further. Here we present the design and on-sky re-commissioning results of the upgraded system,dubbed P3K-II.

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Full characterization of imaging detectors involves subjecting them to spatially and temporally varying illumination patterns over a large dynamic range. Here we present a scene generator that fulfills many of these functions. Based on a modern smartphone, it has a number of good features, including high spatial resolution (13 um), high dynamic range (∼104), near-Poisson limited illumination stability over time periods from 100 ms to many days, and no background noise. The system does not require any moving parts and may be constructed at modest cost. We present the optical, mechanical, and software design, test data validating the performance, and application examples.