Spatio-angular Minimum-variance Tomographic Controller for Multi-Object Adaptive Optics systems

Multi-object astronomical adaptive-optics (MOAO) is now a mature wide-field observation mode to enlarge the adaptive-optics-corrected field in a few specific locations over tens of arc-minutes. The work-scope provided by open-loop tomography and pupil conjugation is amenable to a spatio-angular Linear-Quadratic Gaussian (SA-LQG) formulation aiming to provide enhanced correction across the field with improved performance over static reconstruction methods and less stringent computational complexity scaling laws. Starting from our previous work [1], we use stochastic time-progression models coupled to approximate sparse measurement operators to outline a suitable SA-LQG formulation capable of delivering near optimal correction. Under the spatio-angular framework the wave-fronts are never explicitly estimated in the volume,providing considerable computational savings on 10m-class telescopes and beyond. We find that for Raven, a 10m-class MOAO system with two science channels, the SA-LQG improves the limiting magnitude by two stellar magnitudes when both Strehl-ratio and Ensquared-energy are used as figures of merit. The sky-coverage is therefore improved by a factor of 5.Comment: 30 pages, 7 figures, submitted to Applied Optic

Multi-Conjugate Adaptive Optics Simulator for the Thirty Meter Telescope: Design, Implementation, and Results

We present a multi-conjugate adaptive optics (MCAO) system simulator bench, HeNOS (Herzberg NFIRAOS Optical Simulator). HeNOS is developed to validate the performance of the MCAO system for the Thirty Meter Telescope, as well as to demonstrate techniques critical for future AO developments. In this paper, we focus on describing the derivations of parameters that scale the 30-m telescope AO system down to a bench experiment and explain how these parameters are practically implemented on an optical bench. While referring other papers for details of AO technique developments using HeNOS, we introduce the functionality of HeNOS, in particular, three different single-conjugate AO modes that HeNOS currently offers: a laser guide star AO with a Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor, a natural guide star AO with a pyramid wavefront sensor, and a laser guide star AO with a sodium spot elongation on the Shack-Hartmann corrected by a truth wavefront sensing on a natural guide star. Laser tomography AO and ultimate MCAO are being prepared to be implemented in the near future

Luciola Hypertelescope Space Observatory

Luciola is a large (one kilometer) "multi-aperture densified-pupil imaging interferometer", or "hypertelescope" employing many small apertures, rather than a few large ones, for obtaining direct snapshot images with a high information content. A diluted collector mirror, deployed in space as a flotilla of small mirrors, focuses a sky image which is exploited by several beam-combiner spaceships. Each contains a pupil densifier micro-lens array to avoid the diffractive spread and image attenuation caused by the small sub-apertures. The elucidation of hypertelescope imaging properties during the last decade has shown that many small apertures tend to be far more efficient, regarding the science yield, than a few large ones providing a comparable collecting area. For similar underlying physical reasons, radio-astronomy has also evolved in the direction of many-antenna systems such as the proposed Low Frequency Array having hundreds of thousands of individual receivers . With its high limiting magnitude, reaching the mv=30 limit of HST when 100 collectors of 25cm will match its collecting area, high-resolution direct imaging in multiple channels, broad spectral coverage from the 1200 Angstrom ultra-violet to the 20 micron infra-red, apodization, coronagraphic and spectroscopic capabilities, the proposed hypertelescope observatory addresses very broad and innovative science covering different areas of ESA s Cosmic Vision program. In the initial phase, a focal spacecraft covering the UV to near IR spectral range of EMCCD photon-counting cameras ( currently 200 to 1000nm), will image details on the surface of many stars, as well as their environment, including multiple stars and clusters. Spectra will be obtained for each resel. It will also image neutron star, black-hole and micro-quasar candidates, as well as active galactic nuclei, quasars, gravitational lenses, and other Cosmic Vision targets observable with the initial modest crowding limit. With subsequent upgrade missions, the spectral coverage can be extended from 120nm to 20 microns, using four detectors carried by two to four focal spacecraft. The number of collector mirrors in the flotilla can also be increased from 12 to 100 and possibly 1,000. The imaging and spectroscopy of habitable exoplanets in the mid infra-red then becomes feasible once the collecting area reaches 6m2 , using a specialized mid infra-red focal spacecraft. Calculations ( Boccaletti et al., 2000) have shown that hypertelescope coronagraphy has unequalled sensitivity for detecting, at mid infra-red wavelengths, faint exoplanets within the exo-zodiacal glare. Later upgrades will enable the more difficult imaging and spectroscopy of these faint objects at visible wavelengths, using refined techniques of adaptive coronagraphy (Labeyrie. & Le Coroller, 2004). Together, the infra-red and visible spectral data carry rich information on the possible presence of life. The close environment of the central black-hole in the Milky Way will be imageable with unprecedented detail in the near infra-red . Cosmological imaging of remote galaxies at the limit of the known universe is also expected, from the ultra-violet to the near infra-red, following the first upgrade, and with greatly increasing sensitivity through successive upgrades. These areas will indeed greatly benefit from the upgrades, in terms of dynamic range, limiting complexity of the objects to be imaged, size of the elementary Direct Imaging Field , and limiting magnitude, approaching that of an 8-meter space telescope when 1000 apertures of 25cm are installed. Similar gains will occur for addressing fundamental problems in physics and cosmology, particularly when observing neutron stars and black holes, single or binary, including the giant black holes, with accretion disks and jets, in active galactic nuclei beyond the Milky Way. Gravitational lensing and micro-lensing patterns, including time-variable patterns and perhaps millisecond lensing flasheshich may be beamed by diffraction from sub-stellar masses at sub-parsec distances (Labeyrie, 1994) , will also be observable initially in the favourable cases, and upgrades will greatly improve the number of observable objects. The observability of gravitational waves emitted by binary lensing masses, in the form of modulated lensing patterns, is a debated issue ( Ragazzoni et al., 2003) but will also become addressable observationally. The technology readiness of Luciola approaches levels where low-orbit testing and stepwise implementation will become feasible in the 2015-2025 time frame. For the following decades beyond 2020, once accurate formation flying techniques will be mastered, much larger hypertelescopes such as the proposed 100km Exo-Earth Imager and the 100,000 km Neutron Star Imager should also become feasible. Luciola is therefore also seen as a precursor toward such very powerful instruments

GPI 2.0: Performance Evaluation of the Wavefront Sensor's EMCCD

The Gemini Planet Imager (GPI) is a high contrast imaging instrument that aims to detect and characterize extrasolar planets. GPI is being upgraded to GPI 2.0, with several subsystems receiving a re-design to improve the instrument's contrast. To enable observations on fainter targets and increase stability on brighter ones, one of the upgrades is to the adaptive optics system. The current Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor (WFS) is being replaced by a pyramid WFS with an low-noise electron multiplying CCD (EMCCD). EMCCDs are detectors capable of counting single photon events at high speed and high sensitivity. In this work, we characterize the performance of the HN\"u 240 EMCCD from N\"uv\"u Cameras, which was custom-built for GPI 2.0. The HN\"u 240 EMCCD's characteristics make it well suited for extreme AO: it has low dark current ($<$ 0.01 e-/pix/fr), low readout noise (0.1 e-/pix/fr at a gain of 5000), high quantum efficiency ( 90% at wavelengths from 600-800 nm; 70% from 800-900 nm), and fast readout (up to 3000 fps full frame). Here we present test results on the EMCCD's noise contributors, such as the readout noise, pixel-to-pixel variability and CCD bias. We also tested the linearity and EM gain calibration of the detector. All camera tests were conducted before its integration into the GPI 2.0 PWFS system.Comment: 16 pages, 14 figures. Conference Proceedings for AO4ELT7, held in June 2023 in Avignon, Franc

Contrôle des téléscopes automatiques et des grands interféromètres stellaires terrestres et spatiaux (cas du télescope prototype OVLA à monture sphérique et optique active)

AIX-MARSEILLE1-BU Sci.St Charles (130552104) / SudocAIX-MARSEILLE1.OAMP.Le Verrier (130552205) / SudocLYON1 ST GENIS-Observatoire (692042202) / SudocMEUDON-Observatoire (920482302) / SudocPARIS-Observatoire (751142302) / SudocBORDEAUX1-Observatoire (331672201) / SudocSudocFranceF

Development of multi time-step tomographic reconstruction with RAVEN

In this paper, we present a tomographic reconstruction method to reduce a tomographic error, multi time-stepreconstruction, for a wide-eld adaptive optics (WFAO). Based on the frozen ow assumption, we can computethe time evolution of measurements from wave-front sensors (WFS) at previous time-steps with using windinformation. Our idea is to reduce the tomographic error by using the measurements at both the current andprevious time-steps simultaneously. We also develop a method to estimate wind speed and direction at eachaltitude from temporal correlations of phase distortion pattern reconstructed by a classical tomography. Weevaluate the performance of the method by a laboratory experiment with the RAVEN, a multi-object adaptiveoptics (MOAO) technical and science demonstrator. In the laboratory experiment, our wind estimation methodcan estimate wind speeds and directions of multiple layers. By the multi time-step reconstruction method, theensquared energy in a 140 mas box increases about 3{5% compared with a classical tomographic reconstruction

Development of multi time-step tomographic reconstruction with RAVEN

In this paper, we present a tomographic reconstruction method to reduce a tomographic error, multi time-stepreconstruction, for a wide-eld adaptive optics (WFAO). Based on the frozen ow assumption, we can computethe time evolution of measurements from wave-front sensors (WFS) at previous time-steps with using windinformation. Our idea is to reduce the tomographic error by using the measurements at both the current andprevious time-steps simultaneously. We also develop a method to estimate wind speed and direction at eachaltitude from temporal correlations of phase distortion pattern reconstructed by a classical tomography. Weevaluate the performance of the method by a laboratory experiment with the RAVEN, a multi-object adaptiveoptics (MOAO) technical and science demonstrator. In the laboratory experiment, our wind estimation methodcan estimate wind speeds and directions of multiple layers. By the multi time-step reconstruction method, theensquared energy in a 140 mas box increases about 3{5% compared with a classical tomographic reconstruction

Development of multi time-step tomographic reconstruction with RAVEN

In this paper, we present a tomographic reconstruction method to reduce a tomographic error, multi time-stepreconstruction, for a wide-eld adaptive optics (WFAO). Based on the frozen ow assumption, we can computethe time evolution of measurements from wave-front sensors (WFS) at previous time-steps with using windinformation. Our idea is to reduce the tomographic error by using the measurements at both the current andprevious time-steps simultaneously. We also develop a method to estimate wind speed and direction at eachaltitude from temporal correlations of phase distortion pattern reconstructed by a classical tomography. Weevaluate the performance of the method by a laboratory experiment with the RAVEN, a multi-object adaptiveoptics (MOAO) technical and science demonstrator. In the laboratory experiment, our wind estimation methodcan estimate wind speeds and directions of multiple layers. By the multi time-step reconstruction method, theensquared energy in a 140 mas box increases about 3{5% compared with a classical tomographic reconstruction

Detection of The Terrestrial Vegetation In The Earthshine As A Test For The Search of Life On Extrasolar Planets

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