Closing the technology gap for the Extremely Large Telescope’s planetary camera and spectrograph (ELT-PCS): development of the coronagraph and focal plane wavefront control strategies
Abstract
The Planetary Camera and Spectrograph (PCS) will be the ELT’s dedicated instrument for exoplanet characterization, with a central goal of discovering and studying rocky exoplanets. To prepare for these ambitious objectives, the PCS R and D consortium, launched in January 2025 under ESO’s leadership, was established to advance the conceptual design and bridge critical technology gaps. We will report on the progress of the coronagraph and focal-plane wavefront control work package. Our efforts focus on the development of coronagraphs tailored for PCS and on strategies for integrating wavefront control into their operation. A key component of this work is the PCS Coronagraph Evaluation Pipeline (PCS-CEP), designed to provide a uniform framework for assessing coronagraph performance and wavefront control, an approach inspired by the Habitable Worlds Observatory coronagraph design survey. PCS-CEP enables a fair comparison of diverse concepts, ensuring a level playing field for innovation.
Authors 28
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Leiden University · University of Arizona
Affiliation as printed
Leiden Univ. (Netherlands)
Steward Observatory, The Univ. of Arizona (United States)
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Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · Université Paris Cité · Université Paris Sciences et Lettres · Observatoire de Paris · Sorbonne Université
Affiliation as printed
LIRA, Univ. Paris Cité, Observatoire de Paris (France)
Univ. PSL, Sorbonne Univ., CNRS (France)
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Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · Institut de Planétologie et d'Astrophysique de Grenoble · Université Grenoble Alpes
Affiliation as printed
Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, IPAG (France)
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Institute of Astrophysics and Space Sciences
Affiliation as printed
Instituto de Astrofísica e Ciências do Espaço (Portugal)
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Affiliation as printed
Liège Univ. (Belgium)
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Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · Université Paris Cité · Université Paris Sciences et Lettres · Observatoire de Paris · Sorbonne Université · LIRA - Laboratoire d'instrumentation et de recherche en astrophysique
Affiliation as printed
LIRA, Observatoire de Paris, Univ. PSL (France)
Sorbonne Univ., Univ. Paris Cité, CY Cergy Paris Univ., CNRS (France)
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Affiliation as printed
Univ. do Porto (Portugal)
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Leiden University · The University of Sydney
Affiliation as printed
Leiden Univ. (Netherlands)
Univ. of Sydney (Australia)
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Lyon 1 Université · Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · Centre de Recherche Astrophysique de Lyon
Affiliation as printed
Ctr. de Recherche Astrophysique de Lyon (France)
Univ. Claude Bernard Lyon 1, END de Lyon, CNRS, CRAL (France)
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Université Paris-Saclay · Institut d’Optique Graduate School · Laboratoire Charles Fabry
Affiliation as printed
Lab. Charles Fabry, Institut d’Optique Graduate School, Univ. de Paris-Saclay (France)
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Université Paris-Saclay · Institut d’Optique Graduate School · Laboratoire Charles Fabry
Affiliation as printed
Lab. Charles Fabry, Institut d’Optique Graduate School, Univ. de Paris-Saclay (France)
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Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · Université Paris Cité · Université Paris Sciences et Lettres · Observatoire de Paris · Sorbonne Université · LIRA - Laboratoire d'instrumentation et de recherche en astrophysique
Affiliation as printed
LIRA, Observatoire de Paris, Univ. PSL (France)
Sorbonne Univ., Univ. Paris Cité, CY Cergy Paris Univ., CNRS (France)
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Affiliation as printed
Univ. Bern (Switzerland)
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Université Paris-Saclay · Institut d’Optique Graduate School · Laboratoire Charles Fabry
Affiliation as printed
Lab. Charles Fabry, Institut d’Optique Graduate School, Univ. de Paris-Saclay (France)
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Affiliation as printed
Leiden Univ. (Netherlands)
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Lyon 1 Université · École Normale Supérieure de Lyon · Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · Centre de Recherche Astrophysique de Lyon
Affiliation as printed
Ctr. de Recherche Astrophysique de Lyon (France)
Univ. Claude Bernard Lyon 1, ENS de Lyon, CNRS, CRAL (France)
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Affiliation as printed
Leiden Univ. (Netherlands)
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Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · Lagrange Laboratory · Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur
Affiliation as printed
Univ. Côte d’Azur, Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur, CNRS, Lab. Lagrange (France)
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Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · Université Paris Cité · Université Paris Sciences et Lettres · Observatoire de Paris · Sorbonne Université · LIRA - Laboratoire d'instrumentation et de recherche en astrophysique
Affiliation as printed
LIRA, Observatoire de Paris, Univ. PSL (France)
Sorbonne Univ., Univ. Paris Cité, CY Cergy Paris Univ., CNRS (France)
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Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · Lagrange Laboratory · Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur
Affiliation as printed
Univ. Côte d’Azur, Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur, CNRS, Lab. Lagrange (France)
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Affiliation as printed
Liège Univ. (Belgium)
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Affiliation as printed
Leiden Univ. (Netherlands)
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Max Planck Institute for Astronomy
Affiliation as printed
Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie (Germany)
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Université Paris-Saclay · Institut d’Optique Graduate School · Laboratoire Charles Fabry
Affiliation as printed
Lab. Charles Fabry, Institut d’Optique Graduate School, Univ. de Paris-Saclay (France)
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Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · Lagrange Laboratory · Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur
Affiliation as printed
Univ. Côte d’Azur, Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, CNRS, Lab. Lagrange (France)
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Affiliation as printed
Leiden Univ. (Netherlands)
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Affiliation as printed
Leiden Univ. (Netherlands)
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Affiliation as printed
Leiden Univ. (Netherlands)
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