Glossary#

Within coronagraphs.py#

Variable Name

Length

Unit

Meaning

User Editable

Istar

[npix, npix]

Dimensionless

Star intensity distribution (on-axis PSF)

No

noisefloor

[npix, npix]

Dimensionless

Noise floor of the coronagraph

No

photometric_aperture_radius

Scalar

λ/D

Photometric aperture radius

Yes

psf_trunc_ratio

Scalar

Dimensionless

truncate the off-axis PSF at a threshold (thresh = psf_trunc_ratio * max(off-axis PSF))

Yes

photometric_aperture_throughput

[npix, npix, npsfratios]

Dimensionless

fraction of light entering the coronagraph that ends up within the photometric core of the off-axis (planet) PSF assuming perfectly reflecting/transmitting optics, where the core is the solid angle area Omega and is set by either psf_trunc_ratio or photometric_aperture_radius.

No

omega_lod

[npix, npix, npsfratios]

(λ/D)²

Solid angle of the photometric aperture

No

skytrans

[npix, npix]

Dimensionless

Sky transmission; the coronagraph’s performance when observing an infinitely extended source

No

pixscale

Scalar

λ/D

Pixel scale of the coronagraph model

No

npix

Scalar

Dimensionless

length of one side of the coronagraph model images (assuming a square)

No

xcenter

Scalar

Pixel

X-coordinate of the image center

No

ycenter

Scalar

Pixel

Y-coordinate of the image center

No

bandwidth

Scalar

Dimensionless

Fractional bandwidth of coronagraph

Yes

stellar_radius

Scalar

R_sun

stellar radius in solar radii

Yes

stellar_angular_diameter_arcsec

Scalar

arcsec

angular diameter of the star

No

npsfratios

Scalar

Dimensionless

Number of PSF truncation ratios (default 1)

No

nrolls

Scalar

Dimensionless

Number of roll angles performed

Yes

nchannels

Scalar

Dimensionless

Number of channels in coronagraph

Yes

minimum_IWA

Scalar

λ/D

Minimum Inner Working Angle

Yes

maximum_OWA

Scalar

λ/D

Maximum Outer Working Angle

Yes

coronagraph_optical_throughput

[nlambda]

Dimensionless

Throughput for all coronagraph optics

Yes

coronagraph_spectral_resolution

Scalar

Dimensionless

Spectral resolution of the coronagraph

Yes

contrast

Scalar

Dimensionless

Noise floor contrast of coronagraph

Yes

noisefloor_factor

Scalar

Dimensionless

Systematic noise floor factor

Yes

noisefloor_PPF

Scalar

Dimensionless

Noise floor post-processing factor

Yes

Tcore

Scalar

Dimensionless

Core throughput of coronagraph (used in ToyModel only, or if photometric_aperture_radius is specified for omega_lod calculation)

Yes

TLyot

Scalar

Dimensionless

Lyot transmission of the coronagraph (used in ToyModel only)

Yes

PSFpeak

Scalar

Dimensionless

Peak value of the off-axis PSF

No

A note on calculating omega_lod:#

The photometric aperture omega_lod can be calculated via two methods, and the user should specify either the psf_trunc_ratio or photometric_aperture_radius parameters to do so.

  • photometric_aperture_radius simply sets a radius for the photometric aperture, such that omega_lod = \pi * (photometric_aperture_radius * (lambda/D))^2, where omega_lod is the solid angle of the photometric aperture.

  • In contrast, psf_trunc_ratio is a more complex way of calculating the photometric aperture solid angle omega_lod, necessary because the off-axis PSF is not always going to be a perfect circle, and can be misshapen. In principle, this method takes an off-axis PSF and calculates omega_lod as all pixels in the PSF that are above the threshold psf_trunc_ratio * max(off-axis PSF), accounting for imperfect PSF shapes. Note: If the off-axis PSF shape is a perfect airy disk, then psf_trunc_ratio is simply 1 - photometric_aperture_radius.

  • Finally, photometric_aperture_throughput is an entirely different, but related, parameter, not to be confused with the two parameters above. This parameter is essentially the core throughput of the off-axis PSF. In other words, this is the fraction of light entering the coronagraph that ends up within the photometric core of the off-axis (planet) PSF assuming perfectly reflecting/transmitting optics, where the core is the solid angle area omega_lod and is set by either psf_trunc_ratio or photometric_aperture_radius.

Within telescopes.py#

Variable Name

Length

Unit

Meaning

User Editable

diameter

Scalar

m

Circumscribed diameter of telescope aperture

Yes

Area

Scalar

m^2

Effective collecting area of telescope

No

unobscured_area

Scalar

Dimensionless

Unobscured area percentage

Yes

toverhead_fixed

Scalar

Time

Fixed overhead time

Yes

toverhead_multi

Scalar

Dimensionless

Multiplicative overhead time

Yes

telescope_optical_throughput

[nlambda]

Dimensionless

Optical throughput of telescope

Yes

temperature

Scalar

Temperature

Temperature of the warm optics

Yes

T_contamination

Scalar

Dimensionless

Effective throughput factor for contamination

Yes

Within detectors.py#

Variable Name

Length

Unit

Meaning

User Editable

pixscale_mas

Scalar

Milliarcsecond

Detector pixel scale

Yes

npix_multiplier

[nlambda]

Dimensionless

Number of detector pixels per image plane “pixel”

Yes

DC

[nlambda]

Electron / (Pixel * Second)

Dark current

Yes

RN

[nlambda]

Electron / (Pixel * Read)

Read noise

Yes

tread

[nlambda]

Second

Read time

Yes

CIC

[nlambda]

Electron / (Pixel * Photon)

Clock-induced charge

Yes

QE

[nlambda]

Electron / Photon

Quantum efficiency of detector

Yes

dQE

[nlambda]

Dimensionless

Effective QE due to degradation

Yes

Within observation.py#

Variable Name

Length

Unit

Meaning

User Editable

wavelength

[nlambda]

um

Observation wavelengths

Yes

SNR

[nlambda]

Dimensionless

Signal-to-noise ratio

Yes

CRb_multiplier

Scalar

Dimensionless

Factor to multiply assuming differential imaging to remove background

Yes

td_limit

Scalar

s

Limit placed on exposure times

No

exptime

[nlambda]

s

Exposure time for each wavelength

No

fullsnr

[nlambda]

Dimensionless

Calculated SNR for each wavelength

No

observing_mode

Scalar

String

Observing mode (e.g., ‘IMAGER’ or ‘IFS’)

Yes

Within astrophysical_scene.py#

Variable Name

Length

Unit

Meaning

User Editable

dist

Scalar

pc

Distance to star

Yes

vmag

Scalar

Magnitude

Stellar magnitude at V band

Yes

mag

[nlambda]

Magnitude

Stellar magnitude at desired wavelengths

Yes

stellar_angular_diameter_arcsec

Scalar

Arcsecond

Angular diameter of star

No

nzodis

Scalar

Zodi

Amount of exozodi around target star

Yes

ra

Scalar

Degree

Right ascension of target star

Yes

dec

Scalar

Degree

Declination of target star

Yes

semimajor_axis

Scalar

Astronomical Units

Semimajor axis of the planet’s orbit (used to calculate separation; assumes face-on orbit)

Yes

separation

Scalar

Arcsecond

Separation of planet

Yes

xp

Scalar

Arcsecond

X-coordinate of planet (defaults to zero for now)

No

yp

Scalar

Arcsecond

Y-coordinate of planet

No

deltamag

[nlambda]

Magnitude

Magnitude difference between planet and host star

Yes

min_deltamag

[nlambda]

Magnitude

Brightest planet to resolve at the IWA

Yes

F0V

Scalar

Photon / (s * cm² * nm)

Flux zero point for V band

Yes

F0

[nlambda]

Photon / (s * cm² * nm)

Flux zero points for prescribed wavelengths

Yes

M_V

Scalar

Magnitude

Absolute V band magnitude of target star

No

Fzodi_list

[nlambda]

Dimensionless

Zodiacal light fluxes

No

Fexozodi_list

[nlambda]

Dimensionless

Exozodiacal light fluxes

No

Fbinary_list

[nlambda]

Dimensionless

Binary star fluxes

No

Fp_over_Fs

[nlambda]

Dimensionless

Flux of planet relative to star

Yes

Fs_over_F0

[nlambda]

Dimensionless

Stellar flux relative to F0

No

Within observatory.py#

Variable Name

Length

Unit

Meaning

User Editable

optics_throughput

[nlambda]

Dimensionless

Optical throughput of the entire system

Yes*

epswarmTrcold

[nlambda]

Dimensionless

Warm emissivity * cold transmission factor

Yes*

total_throughput

[nlambda]

Dimensionless

Total throughput including optics and detector

No

Within parse_input.py#

Variable Name

Length

Unit

Meaning

User Editable

secondary_flag

Scalar

Boolean

Flag for secondary variables

Yes

observatory_preset

Scalar

String

Preset configuration for the observatory

Yes

telescope_type

Scalar

String

Type of telescope to use

Yes

coronagraph_type

Scalar

String

Type of coronagraph to use

Yes

detector_type

Scalar

String

Type of detector to use

Yes

observing_mode

Scalar

String

Observing mode (e.g., ‘IMAGER’ or ‘IFS’)

Yes

Within exposure_time_calculator.py#

Variable Name

Length

Unit

Meaning

User Editable

deltalambda_nm

Scalar

nm

Bandwidth for each wavelength

No

lod

Scalar

Dimensionless

λ/D (wavelength / telescope diameter)

No

lod_rad

Scalar

Radian

λ/D in radians

No

lod_arcsec

Scalar

Arcsecond

λ/D in arcseconds

No

area_cm2

Scalar

cm²

Telescope collecting area

No

detpixscale_lod

Scalar

λ/D

Detector pixel scale in λ/D units

No

stellar_diam_lod

Scalar

λ/D

Stellar diameter in λ/D units

No

det_sep_pix

Scalar

Pixel

Separation at IWA in pixels

No

det_sep

Scalar

Arcsecond

Separation at IWA in arcseconds

No

det_Istar

Scalar

Dimensionless

Max stellar intensity at IWA

No

det_skytrans

Scalar

Dimensionless

Max sky transmission at IWA

No

det_photometric_aperture_throughput

Scalar

Dimensionless

Max photometric aperture fraction at IWA

No

det_omega_lod

Scalar

(λ/D)²

Solid angle corresponding to max photometric_aperture_throughput at IWA

No

det_npix

Scalar

Pixel

Number of pixels in detector

No

CRp

Scalar

Electron/s

Planet count rate

No

CRbs

Scalar

Electron/s

Stellar leakage count rate

No

CRbz

Scalar

Electron/s

Local zodiacal light count rate

No

CRbez

Scalar

Electron/s

Exozodiacal light count rate

No

CRbbin

Scalar

Electron/s

Binary star count rate

No

CRbth

Scalar

Electron/s

Thermal background count rate

No

CRbd

Scalar

Electron/s

Detector noise count rate

No

CRnf

Scalar

Electron/s

Noise floor count rate

No

CRb

Scalar

Electron/s

Total background count rate

No

t_photon_count

Scalar

s

Photon counting time

No