Shearing interferometer with adjustable optical path difference for exoplanet detection

摘要

The direct detection of exoplanets is obstructed by bright of a nearby star. Rotational shearing interferometer may cancels the light from the star in the infrared region when its OPD is λ/2, however, this ideal condition are almost impossible to achieve. We propose a technique that incorporates a wedge prisms system to control the interferometer OPD, the interferometer is based in the Mach-Zhender configuration and incorporates two dove prisms as rotational shearing system. Simulated interference patterns are presented to evaluate the system feasibility.