No Arabic abstract
Multi-object adaptive optics (MOAO) has been demonstrated by the CANARY instrument on the William Herschel Telescope. However, for proposed MOAO systems on the next generation Extremely Large Telescopes, such as EAGLE, many challenges remain. Here we investigate requirements that MOAO operation places on deformable mirrors (DMs) using a full end-to-end Monte-Carlo AO simulation code. By taking into consideration a prior global ground-layer (GL) correction, we show that actuator density for the MOAO DMs can be reduced with little performance loss. We note that this reduction is only possible with the addition of a GL DM, whose order is greater than or equal to that of the original MOAO mirrors. The addition of a GL DM of lesser order does not affect system performance (if tip/tilt star sharpening is ignored). We also quantify the maximum mechanical DM stroke requirements (3.5 $mu$m desired) and provide tolerances for the DM alignment accuracy, both lateral (to within an eighth of a sub-aperture) and rotational (to within 0.2$^circ$). By presenting results over a range of laser guide star asterism diameters, we ensure that these results are equally applicable for laser tomographic AO systems. We provide the opportunity for significant cost savings to be made in the implementation of MOAO systems, resulting from the lower requirement for DM actuator density.
Recent advances in adaptive optics (AO) have led to the implementation of wide field-of-view AO systems. A number of wide-field AO systems are also planned for the forthcoming Extremely Large Telescopes. Such systems have multiple wavefront sensors of different types, and usually multiple deformable mirrors (DMs). Here, we report on our experience integrating cameras and DMs with the real-time control systems of two wide-field AO systems. These are CANARY, which has been operating on-sky since 2010, and DRAGON, which is a laboratory adaptive optics real-time demonstrator instrument. We detail the issues and difficulties that arose, along with the solutions we developed. We also provide recommendations for consideration when developing future wide-field AO systems.
The performance of a wide-field adaptive optics system depends on input design parameters. Here we investigate the performance of a multi-object adaptive optics system design for the European Extremely Large Telescope, using an end-to-end Monte-Carlo adaptive optics simulation tool, DASP, with relevance for proposed instruments such as MOSAIC. We consider parameters such as the number of laser guide stars, sodium layer depth, wavefront sensor pixel scale, actuator pitch and natural guide star availability. We provide potential areas where costs savings can be made, and investigate trade-offs between performance and cost, and provide solutions that would enable such an instrument to be built with currently available technology. Our key recommendations include a trade-off for laser guide star wavefront sensor pixel scale of about 0.7 arcseconds per pixel, and a field of view of at least 7 arcseconds, that EMCCD technology should be used for natural guide star wavefront sensors even if reduced frame rate is necessary, and that sky coverage can be improved by a slight reduction in natural guide star sub-aperture count without significantly affecting tomographic performance. We find that adaptive optics correction can be maintained across a wide field of view, up to 7 arcminutes in diameter. We also recommend the use of at least 4 laser guide stars, and include ground-layer and multi-object adaptive optics performance estimates.
MAORY is the adaptive optics module for ELT providing two gravity invariant ports with the same optical quality for two different client instruments. It enable high angular resolution observations in the near infrared over a large field of view (~1 arcmin2 ) by real time compensation of the wavefront distortions due to atmospheric turbulence. Wavefront sensing is performed by laser and natural guide stars while the wavefront sensor compensation is performed by an adaptive deformable mirror in MAORY which works together with the telescopes adaptive and tip tilt mirrors M4 and M5 respectively.
MCViNE (Monte-Carlo VIrtual Neutron Experiment) is a versatile Monte Carlo (MC) neutron ray-tracing program that provides researchers with tools for performing computer modeling and simulations that mirror real neutron scattering experiments. By adopting modern software engineering practices such as using composite and visitor design patterns for representing and accessing neutron scatterers, and using recursive algorithms for multiple scattering, MCViNE is flexible enough to handle sophisticated neutron scattering problems including, for example, neutron detection by complex detector systems, and single and multiple scattering events in a variety of samples and sample environments. In addition, MCViNE can take advantage of simulation components in linear-chain-based MC ray tracing packages widely used in instrument design and optimization, as well as NumPy-based components that make prototypes useful and easy to develop. These developments have enabled us to carry out detailed simulations of neutron scattering experiments with non-trivial samples in time-of-flight inelastic instruments at the Spallation Neutron Source. Examples of such simulations for powder and single-crystal samples with various scattering kernels, including kernels for phonon and magnon scattering, are presented. With simulations that closely reproduce experimental results, scattering mechanisms can be turned on and off to determine how they contribute to the measured scattering intensities, improving our understanding of the underlying physics.
The performance of a wide-field adaptive optics system depends on input design parameters. Here we investigate the performance of a multi-conjugate adaptive optics system design for the European Extremely Large Telescope, using an end-to-end Monte-Carlo adaptive optics simulation tool, DASP. We consider parameters such as the number of laser guide stars, sodium layer depth, wavefront sensor pixel scale, number of deformable mirrors, mirror conjugation and actuator pitch. We provide potential areas where costs savings can be made, and investigate trade-offs between performance and cost. We conclude that a 6 laser guide star system using 3 DMs seems to be a sweet spot for performance and cost compromise.