Garima Singh

Post-Doctoral Researcher

Adaptive Optics (AO)/Extreme AO instrumentation, high-contrast imaging of Exoplanets

Adaptive Optics -- High Contrast Imaging -- Wavefront Sensing -- SCExAO -- THD2

Current Research Summary:

I am a Marie-Curie Postdoctoral fellow at l'Observatoire de Paris-Meudon, currently working on improving the high-contrast imaging (HCI) capabilities of THD2 bench (Très Haute Dynamique) at LESIA. So far only a handful of exoplanets at large angular separations have been imaged with the ground-based telescopes. Such discoveries are not enough to understand the unified mechanism behind the planetary formation and evolution. To understand the whole story, current exoplanet imaging technologies from ground are required to be improved, upgraded and refined to enable planet imaging at small angular separations. To achieve this goal, the contrast of at least 10-8 (infrared) is required at the inner work of a coronagraph (a device that blocks the starlight), which is a challenge to date. My work on THD2 involves a thorough testing/analysis of current capabilities (low/high-order wavefront sensing, speckle suppression and focal plane wavefront sensing algorithms) under real (turbulence) and similar conditions. To increase the census of planet imaging from ground, the requirement (and my research) is: 1) to understand/define current technological limits, and 2) propose upgrades to the current and upcoming HCI instruments for 8-meter class and extremely large telescopes respectively. Once demonstrated from ground, similar technologies can be adapted by Space-based coronagraphs to search for Earth-like planets around sun-type stars.

My PhD research (2012-2015) was on the SCExAO instrument where I developed a new low-order wavefront sensor to measure the low-order aberrations upstream of the phase mask coronagraphs. To know all the technical details related with my research, you may contact via email.

Prior Research: