Lambertus Hesselink

Differential phase contrast imaging can provide direct access to electron density, and dark field (or small angle scatter) contrast enables access to surface and texture details significantly below the detector resolution. These new imaging capabilities offer the opportunity to image soft tissue for medical applications, or liquids and low density powders for aviation security applications. In contrast to sources for optical interferometers, X-ray sources are incoherent, requiring external means to create partially coherent photons.

Michael Raymer

In an initial experiment by our group, photon inter­ference between a nonlocal single-photon state and a spectrally single-mode, quasi-thermal source has been implemented, enabling reconstruction of the source spatial distribution with increased usable signal per source photon detected in coincidence with the nonlocal oscillator photon – the first instance of quantum-enhanced sensing in this context. The longer-term goal is to discover the optimal quantum-enhanced protocol to achieve ultimate SNR and telescope resolution of faint astronomical objects.

Jared Males

I will review our recent work to characterize the fundamental limits imposed by atmospheric turbulence on exoplanet detection from the ground, including the impact of the speckle correlation lifetime. The underlying theory can also be applied to space-based instruments. The results have implications for AO control, coronagraph design, post-coronagraph wave front control, and post-processing algorithm development. I will then present the status of our new extreme-AO system, MagAO-X, and discuss how our team at UArizona is using MagAO-X to push towards achieving the fundamental limits.

Joseph Howard

Astronomy is arguably in a golden age, where current and future NASA space telescopes are expected to contribute to this rapid growth in understanding of our universe. A summary of our current space assets will be given, as well as an update on the status of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), almost ready for launch. Future telescopes will also be discussed, including the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope (RST), the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA), as well as mission concept studies being prioritized in the 2020 Decadal Survey in Astrophysics.