Hardware demonstration of low-order wavefront sensing and control for HWO exoplanet imaging

Abstract

We describe a NASA Strategic Astrophysics Technology initiative with an optical wavefront control element for the active correction of low-order wavefront errors in a space observatory coronagraph. This element facilitates the separation of active low-order and static high-order wavefront control to be demonstrated in concert with a high-contrast coronagraph and Zernike wavefront sensor in a laboratory vacuum environment. This element is intended to actively stabilize the low-order wavefront upstream of the coronagraph, to offload correction of static low-order errors from the high-order deformable mirrors, and potentially to relax requirements for active wavefront control in the telescope optical systems. We anticipate that lessons learned in these experiments will validate predictive models and provide guidance for hardware refinements in future work. This is an early design option for the Habitable Worlds Observatory coronagraph instrument and high performance testbeds.