Optimization applied to the design of an array of telescopes with high sensitivity imaging

Abstract : The direct observation of tiny little object, like exoplanets, is a challenging problem in optical astronomy. The design of an instrument with a strongly high resolution and a huge dynamics involve the assembling of several telescopes under the form of an array and the use of optical interferometric technology. This design of a so-called hypertelescope can be modelized under the form of nonlinear semi-infinite optimization problem those solutions are the positions and the diameter of the telescopes into the array. We report on some theoretical results and numerical experiments to solve this difficult problem.