Theoretical study of the occulted solar coronagraph

摘要

This paper presents a theoretical study of diffraction driven instrumental stray light present in the coronagraph optical system. The externally occulted solar coronagraph is emphasized. Basic design rules are provided for future coronagraph designs. Physical insight of the occulting efficiency for multiple-disk occulters is discussed. The relationships among the internal occulter, external occulter, and Lyot stop is addressed in detail. A new approach is proposed to further reduce the inner Field Of View (FOV) cutoff without sacrificing the outer FOV.