arXiv subjects

Iljadin Manurung

Publications and source records attributed to Iljadin Manurung.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

The PLACID active coronagraphic imager instrument: commissioning status

The world's first adaptive stellar coronagraph, the Programmable Liquid-crystal Active Coronagraphic Imager for the 4-m DAG telescope (PLACID) uses a spatial light modulator operating from H- to Ks-band to dynamically adjust the focal-plane phase mask entirely in software. Positioned between the TROIA XAO system and the DIRAC infrared detector, PLACID was installed on the Nasmyth platform of the Turkish 4-m DAG telescope in 2025, followed by optical alignment and successful preliminary acceptance tests with the calibration light source in early 2026. On-sky commissioning is expected, as soon as the TROIA XAO system will be operational. When on-sky, it will enable high-contrast imaging of exoplanets, brown dwarfs, disks, and binary systems, being able to easily deploy any desired phase pattern in the focal plane. Upcoming features include self-calibration of non-common path aberrations, coronagraphic nulling of binary-stars, and coherent differential imaging. We present the preliminary acceptance procedures and internal alignment results, discovery-space estimates, new binary star features and observation tools, to be ready for first science by late 2026/early 2027.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2025

The Programmable Liquid-crystal Active Coronagraphic Imager for the 4-m DAG telescope (PLACID) instrument: installation and commissioning update

The Programmable Liquid-crystal Active Coronagraphic Imager for the DAG telescope (PLACID) instrument is a novel high-contrast direct imaging facility that was recently installed on the new Turkish 4-m DAG telescope. In brief, PLACID consists in a fore-optics coronagraphic intermediate stage platform, installed in-between the TROIA XAO system and the DIRAC HAWAII-1RG focal-plane array. The PLACID instrument was delivered to ATASAM campus facilities in March of 2024, and transported to summit in October of 2024. In February of 2025, the PLACID optical breadboard was craned to the DAG observatory floor, and successfully installed on the optical table of the diffraction-limited Nasmyth platform of the 4-m telescope. Following the official DAG Acceptance milestone in the spring of 2025, Assembly, Integration and Validation (AIV) activities have started in July of 2025, when PLACID was cabled up with all active components fully interfaced and tested for functional integrity. When on-sky by early 2026, PLACID will be the world's first active coronagraph system, fielding a customized spatial light modulator (SLM) acting as a dynamically programmable focal-plane phase mask (FPM) coronagraph from H- to Ks-band. This will provide a wealth of novel options to observers, among which software-only abilities to change or re-align the FPM pattern in function of observational conditions or science requirements. Future features will include non-common path aberrations (NCPA) self-calibration, angular differential imaging (ADI) coronagraphy for binary or triple stars, as well as coherent differential imaging (CDI). We hereby present the PLACID AIV activities that have taken place over the last twelve months, and the next steps for commissioning the instrument internally, and on-sky later this year.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2024

The Programmable Liquid-crystal Active Coronagraphic Imager for the DAG telescope (PLACID) instrument: On-site status update ahead of first light

The Programmable Liquid-crystal Active Coronagraphic Imager for the DAG telescope (PLACID) instrument is a novel high-contrast direct imaging facility that was recently delivered to the Turkish 4-m DAG telescope, with first light anticipated by the end of 2024. In a nutshell, PLACID consists in a fore-optics coronagraphic intermediate stage platform, installed in-between the TROIA XAO system and the DIRAC HAWAII-1RG focal-plane array. The PLACID project, led by a consortium of Swiss Universities contracted by the Atatürk University Astrophysics Research and Application Center (ATASAM), has passed the Delivery Readiness Review (DRR) milestone in September 2023, and was delivered to ATASAM campus facilities in March 2024. The PLACID commissioning activities with the calibration light source at the summit, on the DAG telescope Nasmyth platform, are foreseen to take place this fall, with first light scheduled to take place before the end of the year. When on-sky, PLACID will be the world's first ''active coronagraph'' facility, fielding a customized spatial light modulator (SLM) acting as a dynamically programmable focal-plane phase mask (FPM) coronagraph from H- to Ks-band. This will provide a wealth of novel options to observers, among which software-only abilities to change or re-align the FPM pattern in function of conditions or science requirements, free of any actuator motion. Future features will include non-common path aberrations (NCPA) self-calibration, optimized coronagraphy for binary stars, as well as coherent differential imaging (CDI). We hereby present the delivered PLACID instrument, its current capabilities, and Factory Acceptance commissioning results with relevant performance metrics.

astro-ph.IM↗