Laser-Trapped Mirror Collaboration
Principal Investigators
Prof. Jin Au Kong and Dr. Tomasz M. Grzegorczyk, MIT
Prof. Jean-Marc Fournier, EPFL
Dr. Robert V. Stachnik, Christina River Institute
Prof. Elizabeth McCormack, Bryn Mawr College
Collaborators
Prof. Antoine Labeyrie, College de France and Observatoire de Haute-Provence
Prof. Pierre Jacquot, EPFL
Prof. Gerard Tayeb, Institut Fresnel (Marseille)
Prof. Robin Kaiser, Non-Linear Institute of Nice
Prof. René P. Salathé, EPFL
Marc Guillon, Université de Provence
Sponsor
NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts (NIAC)
Concept
Two counter-propagating beams in space realize an intereference pattern able to trap particles in a single fringe. The fringe needs to be well designed and to form a parabolic shape. By trapping particle along this parabola, a giant dish is created that can be used for a space telescope. This dish has tremendous advantages (self-healing, lightweight, easy to deploy, etc). [See Prof. Labeyrie's paper.]