Integration of the AdOpt Software into TCS

2016

The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) is an 8-meter class wide-field telescope now under construction on Cerro Pachón, near La Serena, Chile. This ground-based telescope is designed to conduct a decade-long time domain survey of the optical sky. In order to achieve the LSST scientific goals, the telescope requires delivering seeing limited image quality over the 3.5 degree field of view. Like many telescopes, LSST will use an Active Optics System (AOS) to correct in near real-time the system aberrations primarily introduced by gravity and temperature gradients. The LSST AOS uses a combination of 4 curvature wavefront sensors (CWS) located on the outside of the LSST field-of-view. The information coming from the 4 CWS is combined to calculate the appropriate corrections to be sent to the 3 different mirrors composing LSST. The AOS software incorporates a wavefront sensor estimation pipeline (WEP) and an active optics control system (AOCS). The WEP estimates the wavefront residua...

Advancements in Adaptive Optics, 2004

The scientific return on adaptive optics on large telescopes has generated a new vocabulary of different adaptive optics (AO) modalities. Multiobject AO (MOAO), multiconjugate AO (MCAO), ground-layer AO (GLAO), and extreme contrast AO (ExAO) each require complex new extensions in functional requirements beyond the experience gained with systems operational on large telescopes today. Because of this potential for increased complexity, a more formal requirements development process is recommended. We describe a methodology for requirements definition under consideration and summarize the current scientific prioritization of TMT AO capabilities.

2003

Over the past two years ESO has reinforced its efforts in the field of Adaptive Optics. The AO team has currently the challenging objectives to provide 8 Adaptive Optics systems for the VLT in the coming years and has now a world-leading role in that field. This paper will review all AO projects and plans. We will present an overview of the Nasmyth Adaptive Optics System (NAOS) with its infrared imager CONICA installed successfully at the VLT last year. Sodium Laser Guide Star plans will be introduced. The status of the 4 curvature AO systems (MACAO) developed for the VLT interferometer will be discussed. The status of the SINFONI AO module developed to feed the infrared integral field spectrograph (SPIFFI) will be presented. A short description of the Multi-conjugate Adaptive optics Demonstrator MAD and its instrumentation will be introduced. Finally, we will present the plans for the VLT second-generation AO systems and the researches performed in the frame of OWL.

2003

This presentation reports the numerical simulations we have done in order to evaluate the performance of the first-light AO system of LBT. The simulation tool used for this purpose is the Software Package CAOS, applicable for a wide range of AO systems and for which a brief recall of the main features is made. The whole process of atmospheric propagation of light, wavefront sensing (using a complete model of the pyramid wavefront sensor), wavefront reconstruction using the LBT672 adaptive secondary mirror modes), and closing of the loop, is simulated. The results are given in terms of obtained Strehl ratios in J-, H-, and K-band. Estimation of the resulting sky-coverage in K-band for different regions of the sky are also expressed. A comparison with the performance that would be obtained by using a Shack-Hartmann sensor is presented, confirming the gain achievable with the pyramid sensor.

2006

The VST (VLT Survey Telescope) active optics software must basically provide the analysis of the image coming from the wavefront sensor (a 10x10 subpupils Shack Hartmann device) and the calculation of primary mirror forces and secondary mirror displacements to correct the aberrations of the optical system, instrinsic or originated for thermal and gravity reasons. After the telescope commissioning the VST will be operated by ESO. In this framework, INAF-OAC staff was committed to design and realize the software in a VLT-compliant way. This will smoothen the integration, operation and maintenance of the telescope in the Paranal observatory.

2011

We provide an overview of the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) AO program, with an emphasis upon the progress made since the first AO4ELT conference held in 2009.

2020

AOSAT is a python package for the analysis of single-conjugate adaptive optics (SCAO) simulation results. Python is widely used in the astronomical community these days, and AOSAT may be used stand-alone, integrated into a simulation environment, or can easily be extended according to a user’s needs. Standalone operation requires the user to provide the residual wavefront frames provided by the SCAO simulation package used, the aperture mask (pupil) used for the simulation, and a custom setup file describing the simulation/analysis configuration. In its standard form, AOSAT’s "tearsheet" functionality will then run all standard analyzers, providing an informative plot collection on properties such as the point-spread function (PSF) and its quality, residual tip-tilt, the impact of pupil fragmentation, residual optical aberration modes both static and dynamic, the expected high-contrast performance of suitable instrumentation with and without coronagraphs, and the power spe...

SPIE Proceedings, 2012

We provide an update on the development of the first light adaptive optics systems for the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) over the past two years. The first light AO facility for TMT consists of the Narrow Field Infra-Red AO System (NFIRAOS) and the associated Laser Guide Star Facility (LGSF). This order 60 × 60 laser guide star (LGS) multi-conjugate AO (MCAO) architecture will provide uniform, diffraction-limited performance in the J, H, and K bands over 17-30 arc sec diameter fields with 50 per cent sky coverage at the galactic pole, as is required to support TMT science cases. Both NFIRAOS and the LGSF have successfully completed design reviews during the last twelve months. We also report on recent progress in AO component prototyping, control algorithm development, and system performance analysis.

2011

Astronomical Site testing data plays a vital role in the simulation, design, evaluation and operation of adaptive optics systems for large telescope. We present the example of TMT and its first light facilitiy adaptive optics system NFIRAOS, and illustrate the many simulations done based on site testing data.

Adaptive Optics Systems and Technology II, 2002

The adaptive optics (AO) system for the 6.5 m MMT conversion telescope is the first to compensate the aberrated wavefront at the telescope's secondary mirror. This approach has unique advantages in terms of optical simplicity, high throughput and low emissivity. Its realization presents many technical challenges, which have now been overcome. The deformable mirror is now characterized and accepted. It features a 1.9 mm thick 640mm diameter convex aspheric mirror (manufactured at the Steward Observatory Mirror Lab), mounted on a 50 mm thick ULE reference body with 336 actuators, as well as a cluster of 168 DSP's and associated analog circuitry. A wavefront sensor with integrated CCD and lenslet array has also been completed. The complete system is now starting to produce laboratory results, which we present below. Closed loop operation is tested under an auto-collimation illumination system that reflects aberrated artificial starlight from the convex secondary.