An introduction to stellar coronagraphy

This article gives a simple and original presentation of various coronagraphs inherited from the Lyot coronagraph. We first present the Lyot and Roddier phase mask coronagraphs and study their properties as a function of the focal mask size. We show that the Roddier phase mask can be used to produce an apodization for the star. Optimal coronagraphy can be obtained from two main approaches, using prolate spheroidal pupil apodization and a finite-size focal mask, or using a clear aperture and an infinite mask of variable transmission. To cite this article: A. Ferrari et al., C. R. Physique 8 (2007).