Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensing with elongated sodium laser beacons: centroiding versus matched filtering

We describe modeling and simulation results for the Thirty Meter Telescope on the degradation of sodium laser guide star Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor measurement accuracy that will occur due to the spatial structure and temporal variations of the mesospheric sodium layer. By using a contiguous set of lidar measurements of the sodium profile, the performance of a standard centroid and of a more refined noise-optimal matched filter spot position estimation algorithm is analyzed and compared for a nominal mean signal level equal to 1000 photodetected electrons per subaperture per integration time, as a function of subaperture to laser launch telescope distance and CCD pixel readout noise. Both algorithms are compared in terms of their rms spot position estimation error due to noise, their associated wavefront error when implemented on the Thirty Meter Telescope facility adaptive optics system, their linear dynamic range, and their bias when detuned from the current sodium profile

Sky coverage modeling for the whole sky for laser guide star multiconjugate adaptive optics

The scientific productivity of laser guide star adaptive optics systems strongly depends on the sky coverage, which describes the probability of finding natural guide stars for the tip/tilt wavefront sensor(s) to achieve a certain performance. Knowledge of the sky coverage is also important for astronomers planning their observations. In this paper, we present an efficient method to compute the sky coverage for the laser guide star multiconjugate adaptive optics system, the Narrow Field Infrared Adaptive Optics System (NFIRAOS), being designed for the Thirty Meter Telescope project. We show that NFIRAOS can achieve more than 70% sky coverage over most of the accessible sky with the requirement of 191 nm total rms wavefront

Impact of Laser Guide Star Fratricide on TMT MCAO System

Laser beams projected from the ground to form laser guide stars (LGS) experience scattering and absorption that reduce their intensity as they propagate through the atmosphere. Some fraction of the scattered light will be collected by the other LGS wavefront sensors and causes additional background in parts of the pupil. This cross-talk is referred to as the fratricide effect. In this paper we quantify the magnitude of four different sources of scattering/absorption and back scattering, and evaluate their impact on performance with various zenith angles and turbulence profiles for the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) MCAO system, NFIRAOS. The resulting wavefront error is on the order of 5 to 20 nm RMS, provided that the mean background from the fratricide can be calibrated and subtracted with an accuracy of 80%. We have also found that the impact of fratricide is a weak function of LGS asterism radius

Modeling update for the Thirty Meter Telescope laser guide star dual-conjugate adaptive optics system

This paper describes the modeling efforts undertaken in the past couple of years to derive wavefront error (WFE) performance estimates for the Narrow Field Infrared Adaptive Optics System (NFIRAOS), which is the facility laser guide star (LGS) dual-conjugate adaptive optics (AO) system for the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT). The estimates describe the expected performance of NFIRAOS as a function of seeing on Mauna Kea, zenith angle, and galactic latitude (GL). They have been developed through a combination of integrated AO simulations, side analyses, allocations, lab and lidar experiments

Impact of sodium laser guide star fratricide on multi-conjugate adaptive optics systems

Laser beams projected from the ground to form sodium layer laser guide stars (LGSs) for adaptive optics (AO) systems experience scattering and absorption that reduce their intensity as they propagate upward through the atmosphere. Some fraction of the scattered light will be collected by the other wavefront sensors and causes additional background in parts of the pupil. This cross-talk between different LGS wavefront sensors is referred to as the fratricide effect. In this paper we quantify the magnitude of four different sources of scattering/absorption and backscattering, and we evaluate their impact on performance with various zenith angles and turbulence profiles for one particular AO system. The resulting wavefront error for the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) multi-conjugate AO (MCAO) system, NFIRAOS, is on the order of 5 to 20 nm RMS, provided that the mean background from the fratricide effect can be calibrated and subtracted with an accuracy of 80%. We also present the impact on system performance of momentary variations in LGS signal levels due to variations in cirrus absorption or laser power, and we show that this affects the performance more than does an equal variation in the level of the fratricide

Strategies to cope with sodium layer profile variations in laser guide star AO systems

The vertical profile of the mesospheric sodium layer varies significantly on a time scale of one minute. These variations can impact the random and systematic measurement errors of laser guide star Shack-Hartmann wave front sensors, particularly on extremely large telescopes. Sensor performance can be improved by selecting pixel processing weights matched to the sodium layer profile, assuming that the shape of the profile can be measured or estimated in real time. In this paper we describe the magnitude of these effects for the Thirty Meter Telescope AO system NFIRAOS. We review several existing approaches for measuring or estimating the sodium layer profile in real time. We then describe a new method for estimating the profile directly from the laser guide star wave front pixel intensities themselves, jointly with the subaperture tip/tilt measurements. The algorithm used for this purpose is based upon the multi-frame iterative blind deconvolution algorithm from image post processing: Subaperture tip/tilts and the sodium profile are estimated successively, bootstrapping the estimate of each quantity from the previous estimate of the other. We present promising initial simulation results on the potential performance of the algorithm, and suggest areas for future work

Spatial frequency domain model for adaptive optics compensation of segmented mirror misalignments and figure errors

In addition to their essential function of providing atmospheric turbulence compensation, astronomical Adaptive Optical (AO) systems also supplement the role of active optics (aO) by providing some additional correction of the wavefront aberrations introduced by mirror mounting, alignment, thermal distortion and/or fabrication errors. This feature is particularly desirable for segmented mirror telescopes such as the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT), but wavefront discontinuities across segment boundaries are challenging to properly sense and correct. In this paper we describe a fast, analytical, frequency domain model which may be used to study and quantify the above effects, and discuss a range of sample results obtained to support the development of the top-level requirements for the TMT primary mirror. In general, AO compensation of mirror segment piston errors is not particulary useful unless the deformable mirror (DM) interactuator spacing is equivalent to no more than one-half of a mirror segment diameter (when both of these dimensions are expressed in the same pupil plane). Effective AO compensation of mirror segment tip/tilt errors, or low order segment figure errors such as astigmatism, typically requires 3-4 DM actuators per mirror segment. These results illustrate the importance of quantifying and minimizing uncorrectable telescope wavefront errors when developing performance predictions for adaptive optical systems

Wavefront reconstruction algorithms and simulation results for multiconjugate adaptive optics on giant telescopes

The very high-order multi-conjugate adaptive optics (MCAO) systems proposed for future giant telescopes will require new, computationally efficient, concepts for wavefront reconstruction. Advanced methods from computational linear algebra have recently been applied to this problem, and explicit simulations of MCAO wavefront reconstruction problems for 30-meter class telescopes are now possible using desktop personal computers. In this paper, we present sample simulation results obtained using these techniques to illustrate the trends in MCAO performance as the telescope aperture diameter increases from 8 to 32 meters. We consider systems based upon natural guidestars, sodium laser guidestars, and Rayleigh laser guidestars. The performance achieved by the first two classes of guidestars is similar, and the variation in their performance with respect to telescope size is very gradual over this range of aperture diameters. Next, we describe work in progress to adapt the minimum variance reconstruction algorithm, which is optimized for open-loop wavefront estimation, to the more realistic and meaningful case of closed-loop wavefront control. Finally, we summarize the current status of efforts to quantify the impact of sodium laser guide star (LGS) elongation on guidestar signal requirements for LGS AO systems on 30 meter class telescopes