Enabling binary stars high-contrast imaging on the Roman Space Telescope coronagraph instrument

Abstract

The Multi-Star Wavefront Control (MSWC) algorithm can be used to suppress scattered light from an off-axis companion star, enabling high-contrast imaging in binary star systems. Applying this technique to the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope (Roman, formerly WFIRST) Coronagraph Instrument (CGI) could significantly increase the number of possible targets for the mission. Some of those targets are beyond the deformable mirror spatial Nyquist control zone, and therefore super-Nyquist MSWC would be necessary. In this paper, we present a feasibility analysis of implementing MSWC on Roman CGI.