Diffraction-Limited Imaging of Space Objects III.

Abstract : This report investigate methods for obtaining diffraction limited images of space objects, despite the turbulent atmosphere, by reconstructing images from data provided by optical interferometers (particularly stellar speckle interferometry). Major accomplishments include the following: (1) A new closed form recursive algorithm was invente for reconstructing sampled objects having latent reference points. (2) Improvements in the iterative Fourier transform algorithm were devised, solving the stagnation problems of stripes and of simultaneous twin images. (3) Uniqueness of the reconstructed image was demonstrated empirically. (4) Reconstruction of complex valued objects was shown to to be possible. (5) The Hayes Quatieri recursive algorithm was shown to suffer from a uniqueness problem, and that algorithm was generalized. (6) An improved method for estimating the object's Fouriere modulus from stellar speckle interferometry data was devised.