SIMBAD references

The dark-speckle method (Labeyrie, 1995A&A...298..544L) combines features of speckle interferometry and adaptive optics to provide images of faint circumstellar material. We present preliminary results of observations, and simulations concluding to the feasibility of exo-planet imaging from the ground. Laboratory simulations with an avalanche photodiode indicate the detectability of a stellar companion of relative intensity 10^–6 at 5 Airy radii from the star. New, more general, expressions for the signal-to-noise ratio and integration time are given. Comparisons with direct long-exposure imaging indicate that the method improves the detectability of circumstellar nebulosity, faint companions and planets.