High-contrast exoplanet imaging at Keck Observatory with SCALES and next generation adaptive optics

The Slicer Combined with Array of Lenslets for Exoplanet Spectroscopy (SCALES) is a 2–5 micron integral field spectrograph designed to directly image and characterize exoplanets. Around the time of SCALES’ commissioning, Keck Observatory will also receive a nearly 3000-actuator deformable mirror upgrade as part of the High-Order All Sky Keck Adaptive Optics (HAKA) project. HAKA, along with other adaptive optics (AO) improvements—such as predictive wavefront control, speckle nulling, and infrared pyramid wavefront sensing—will enhance contrast and image quality, improving exoplanet detection. Using simulations, we estimate SCALES’ achievable contrast before and after these AO improvements. From simulated Gaia and Roman planet populations, we predicted the number of planets SCALES can directly image. Our results suggest that these AO upgrades significantly increase the number of detectable planets. With Gaia data expected in 2026 and Roman data in the 2030s, SCALES will play a key role in exoplanet research while demonstrating the impact of AO advancements.