Focal-plane wavefront sensing with a photonic lantern
Extreme adaptive optics techniques are essential to reach the resolution and contrast necessary to directly image Earth-like planets around Sun-like stars using large ground-based telescopes. In particular, focal-plane wavefront sensing allows us to correct non-common path aberrations that would otherwise distort the science image while being inaccessible to the adaptive optics system. In collaboration with Prof. Rebecca Jensen-Clem, I’m currently running experiments using the SEAL testbed in the Laboratory for Adaptive Optics and the 3m Shane telescope at Lick Observatory to assess the photonic lantern’s performance as a wavefront sensor and science camera, and to find improvements in the design and operation of photonic lanterns so they can be used at large telescopes.
Read my SPIE proceedings from 2024, introducing our lab capabilities; 2025, presenting a dedicated testbed for photonic lantern testing; and 2025 (led by Lamat fellow Maria Cuevas), demonstrating the photonic lantern’s sensitivity to primary mirror segment phasing aberrations.
Laboratory demonstration of optimal identification and control of tip-tilt systems
I started this project in 2019, as a rising third-year undergraduate. Initially it was a pure simulation project, but I came back to it in 2021 to run laboratory tests of my simulations, as part of the UCSC Lamat REU. I published this work as an SPIE paper, and presented it at the 2022 Spirit of Lyot and SPIE conferences.
I wrote a real-time control framework for the UC Santa Cruz SEAL adaptive optics testbed, implemented a linear-quadratic-Gaussian controller with a turbulence/vibration-based physics model, and tested it in simulation and on the bench.