Exoplanet Imaging with a Phase‐induced Amplitude Apodization Coronograph. II. Performance

The phase-induced amplitude apodization coronagraph (PIAAC) uses a lossless achromatic apodization of the telescope pupil to produce a coronagraphic image without compromising the throughput and angular resolution of the telescope. Whereas the principle of the PIAAC concept was discussed in a previous paper, the purpose of this work is to provide an exhaustive analysis of the expected performances of a PIAAC on a 4 m diameter telescope in space. Results presented here are based on realistic simulations of extrasolar terrestrial planets (ETPs) orbiting F, G, K, and M stars within 30 pc of the solar system and take into account the probability distributions of planet phase and angular separation. We show that a quasi-complete detection survey of 100 stars (with six observations per star) would require about 2 days of "open shutter" observing time in the ideal system considered in this work (4 m telescope, 100% throughput). A classical apodizer would require exposure times about 100 times longer than PIAAC on a Sun-Earth system at 10 pc. Small pointing errors and non-monochromatic observing require slight oversizing of the focal plane mask with little impact on the system performance.