Astrophysical Instrumentation

36h de lectures, 6 ECTS

Heads: Éric Thiébaut and Maud Langlois-Moretto (Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1)

This UE presents the instruments of astrophysics and the signal processing tools associated to their exploitation. The focus is set on high-angular resolution and high-contrast instruments (interferometry, adaptive optics, coronography,…). Additionally, this UE introduces the basics of numerical signal processing and presents a general methodology, based upon a modeling of instrumental effects, for image reconstruction or optimal exploitation of measurements.

Goals:

This UE aims to explain the working principles of a number of instruments used in astrophysics. This understanding is necessary to evaluate the specifications and also the limitations of current instruments. This UE presents the methodological basics of instrumental design and of signal and image numerical processing.

Contents:

  • Signal processing
  1. Modeling of instrumental effects
  2. Statistics of random signals
  3. Inverse problem approach
  4. Constrained optimization
  5. Maximum likelihood estimators / a posteriori maxima
  6. Reconstruction problems
  7. Detection problems
  • Astrophysical Instrumentation
  1. Image formation and angular resolution
  2. Telescopes
  3. Optical design
  4. Optical aberrations
  5. Atmospheric turbulence
  6. Adaptative optics
  7. High-contrast imaging
  8. Stellar interferometry
  9. Polarimetry
  10. Instrumentation for the direct detection of exoplanets