Research grant for David Doelman

David Doelman has been awarded a Veni grant for his research on advanced optical technologies for the next generation of space telescopes. These telescopes aim to directly study the light from Earth-like planets orbiting nearby stars, in search of evidence of liquid water and life.

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To achieve this, David Doelman is developing optics based on liquid crystals to filter the bright light from stars and characterize the atmospheres of faint planets.

Analysing light off earth-like planets directly

To investigate the habitability of Earth-like planets and search for signs of life, astronomers need to analyze light directly reflected by the planet itself. By measuring the spectrum of this light, they can determine the composition of a planet’s atmosphere, such as the presence of water or oxygen. Polarization measurements can also be used to observe glints in the reflected light on oceans or droplets in the atmosphere.

Coronagraphs for future space telescopes

Planets like Earth, which are just warm enough for liquid water, orbit close to their bright star, making it challenging to observe them directly. Future space telescopes like NASA’s Habitable Worlds Observatory will need to precisely filter out starlight to observe these exoplanets. A crucial step in this process is the development of refined optics for these telescopes.

Combining liquid crystal patterns for spectropolarimetry

The coronagraphs that David Doelman is developing use precise patterns in liquid crystals to effectively suppress starlight. By combining multiple patterns, it becomes possible to perform spectro-polarimetry across a broader spectrum of light. Additionally, optical aberrations in telescopes can be better corrected.

NWO Veni grant for Crystal Clear project of David Doelman

For his work, David Doelman was awarded a Veni grant on July 17, 2024, by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO).

Liquid crystal coronograph on SUBARU telescope and PICTURE-D balloon telescope

With the grant, David Doelman will install these special optics in a large telescope in Hawaii (SUBARU) and in a telescope suspended from a stratospheric balloon (PICTURE-D). Using these telescopes, David will observe debris disks, remnants of planet formation, and the environments around young stars. This marks the first step towards finding life on exoplanets with future missions.