An infusion of new blood using the Toptica laser with GeMS: Results of the commissioning and science performance

Adaptive Optics (AO) systems aim at detecting and correcting for optical distortions induced by atmospheric turbulences. The Gemini Multi Conjugated AO System GeMS is operational and regularly used for science observations since 2013 delivering close to diffraction limit resolution over a large field of view. GeMS entered this year into a new era. The laser system has been upgraded from the old 50W Lockheed Martin Coherent Technologies (LMCT) pulsed laser to the Toptica 20/2W CW SodiumStar laser. The laser has been successfully commissioned and is now used regularly in operation. In this paper we first review the performance obtained with the instrument. I will go then into the details of the commissioning of the Toptica laser and show the improvements obtained in term of acquisition, stability, reliability and performanc

GRAVITY: observing the universe in motion

GRAVITY is the second generation VeryLarge Telescope Interferometer instrument for precision narrow-angle as -trometry and interferometric imaging.With its fibre-fed integrated optics,wavefront sensors, fringe tracker, beamstabilisation and a novel metrologyconcept, GRAVITY will push the sensitivity and accuracy of astrometry andinterferometric imaging far beyond whatis offered today. Providing precisionastrometry of order 10 microarcseconds,and imaging with 4-milliarcsecondresolution, GRAVITY will revolutionisedynamical measurements of celestialobjects: it will probe physics close tothe event horizon of the Galactic Centreblack hole; unambiguously detect andmeasure the masses of black holesin massive star clusters throughout theMilky Way; uncover the details of massaccretion and jets in young stellarobjects and active galactic nuclei; andprobe the motion of binary stars, exoplanets and young stellar discs. Theinstrument capabilities of GRAVITY areoutlined and the science opportunitiesthat will open up are summarised

Future wavelength calibration standards at ESO : the Laser Frequency Comb

A new technique for precise wavelength calibration of high-resolution spectrographs using frequency combs has recently been proposed. After introducing the basic concepts and advantages of this technique, we describe the ongoing development between ESO and the Max-Planck Institute for Quantum Optics for a novel wavelength calibration system that aims, within three years, to construct a laboratory demonstrator

Reshaping and polishing the GeMS MCAO system

International audienc

GeMS, the path toward AO facility

GeMS, the Gemini South MCAO System, has now been in regular operation since mid-2013 with the imager instrument GSAOI. We review the performance obtained during this past year as well as some of its current limitations. While in operation, GeMS is still evolving to push them back and is currently in the path of receiving two major upgrades which will allow new exciting science cases: a new natural guide star wavefront sensor called NGS2 and a replacement of the current 50W laser. We are also actively moving along the path of further deeper integration with the future AO-fed instruments, we present our first preliminary results of astrometric and spectrometric calibrations with diverse Gemini instruments using an internal calibration source. We finally report our efforts to make GeMS a more robust instrument with the integration of a vibration rejection feature and a more user-friendly AO system as well with advanced gain optimization automatization

GeMS, the path toward AO facility

GeMS, the Gemini South MCAO System, has now been in regular operation since mid-2013 with the imager instrument GSAOI. We review the performance obtained during this past year as well as some of its current limitations. While in operation, GeMS is still evolving to push them back and is currently in the path of receiving two major upgrades which will allow new exciting science cases: a new natural guide star wavefront sensor called NGS2 and a replacement of the current 50W laser. We are also actively moving along the path of further deeper integration with the future AO-fed instruments, we present our first preliminary results of astrometric and spectrometric calibrations with diverse Gemini instruments using an internal calibration source. We finally report our efforts to make GeMS a more robust instrument with the integration of a vibration rejection feature and a more user-friendly AO system as well with advanced gain optimization automatization

An infusion of new blood using the Toptica laser with GeMS: results of the commissioning and science performance

International audienc