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arXiv · 2609.22556

Initial modeling and testbed feasibility studies of WaveDriver: a laser guide star AO system for HWO

Dominic F. Sanchez·Benjamin L. Gerard·Peter Waswa·Alex Geringer-Smith·Aditya Sengupta·Alexx Perloff·Michael Messerly·William Moore·Matthew Cook·Paul Pax·Cesar Laguna·Mathew DeMartino·Kevin Bundy·Rebecca Jensen-Clem·Aaron Lemmer·S. Mark Ammons·Megan Eckart·Lisa Poyneer·Eric Strang
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Abstract

The Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) will require $>100\times$ greater wavefront stability than achieved by JWST, pushing conventional telescope architectures to picometer-level performance limits. WaveDriver is a mission concept that relaxes these constraints by employing an external laser guide star (LGS) spacecraft flying in formation with HWO to enable wavefront sensing and control. Early results from the High Contrast Testbed demonstrate feasibility of required stability using coronagraphs, multiple deformable mirrors, and a suite of wavefront sensors. We report mission design analyses, initial testbed stability metrics, compare sensor performance, and present an optical model that quantifies LGS brightness, conjugation errors, and field errors arising from finite beacon separation.

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Dominic F. Sanchez, Benjamin L. Gerard, Peter Waswa, Alex Geringer-Smith, Aditya Sengupta, Alexx Perloff, Michael Messerly, William Moore, Matthew Cook, Paul Pax, Cesar Laguna, Mathew DeMartino, Kevin Bundy, Rebecca Jensen-Clem, Aaron Lemmer, S. Mark Ammons, Megan Eckart, Lisa Poyneer, Eric Strang. 2026-09-18. Initial modeling and testbed feasibility studies of WaveDriver: a laser guide star AO system for HWO. https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.22556

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