Charge-injection Device Imaging of Sirius with Contrast Ratios Greater Than 1:26 Million

The intrinsic nature of many astronomical objects, such as binary and multiple systems, exoplanets, circumstellar and debris disks, and quasar host galaxies, introduces challenging requirements for observational instrumentation and techniques. In each case, we encounter situations where the light from bright sources hampers our ability to detect surrounding fainter targets. To explore all features of such astronomical scenes, we must perform observations at the maximum possible contrast ratios. Charge-injection devices (CIDs) are capable of potentially exceeding contrast ratios of log(10)(CR) > 9 (i.e., 1 part in 1 billion) due to their unique readout architectures and inherent anti-blooming abilities. An on-sky testing of a commercially available CID, SpectraCAM XDR (SXDR), demonstrated raw contrast ratios from sub-optimal ground-based astronomical observations that imposed practical limits on the maximum achievable contrast ratios using CIDs. Here, we demonstrate the extreme contrast ratio imaging capabilities of the SXDR using observations of Sirius with the 1.0 m Jacobus Kapteyn Telescope, La Palma, Spain. Based on wavelet-based analysis and precise photometric and astrometric calibrations, we report a direct contrast ratio of Delta m(r) = 18.54, log(10)(CR) = 7.41 +/- 0.08, or 1 part in 26 million. This is an order of magnitude higher compared to the previous CID results.