SAXO+/SPHERE+

The second stage of the adaptive optics system, downstream from the first (SAXO), of the SPHERE/VLTI instrument dedicated to the detection and characterization of exoplanets, operating in the infrared at 3 kHz with a pyramidal analyzer. The team has various responsibilities in the project, which aims to boost SPHERE’s performance in terms of angular resolution and high contrast: SPHERE+ will notably be able to access the majority of the observable population of young giant planets.

Reference: e.g., “Numerical simulations for the SAXO+ upgrade: Performance analysis of the adaptive optics system,” Goulas, C. et al., 2024