Adaptive optics for the CHARA array II

Stephen Ridgway; Theo ten Brummelaar; Judit Sturmann; Laszlo Sturmann; Nils Turner; Harold McAlister; John Monnier; Michael Ireland; Peter Tuthill; Derek Coburn; Chris Dainty; Nicholas Devaney; Alexander Goncharov; David Mozurkewich

doi:10.1117/12.857685

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1 November 2010 Adaptive optics for the CHARA array II

Stephen Ridgway, Theo ten Brummelaar, Judit Sturmann, Laszlo Sturmann, Nils Turner, Harold McAlister, John Monnier, Michael Ireland, Peter Tuthill, Derek Coburn, Chris Dainty, Nicholas Devaney, Alexander Goncharov, David Mozurkewich

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Proceedings Volume 7734, Optical and Infrared Interferometry II; 77340B (2010) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.857685
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2010, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

The efficiency of the CHARA Array has proven satisfactory for a wide variety of scientific programs enabled by the first-generation beam combination and detector systems. With multi-beam combination and more ambitious scientific goals, improvements in throughput and efficiency will be highly leveraged. Engineering data from several years of nightly operations are used to infer atmospheric characteristics and raw instrumental visibility in both classic optical and single-mode fiber beam combiners. This information is the basis for estimates of potential gains that could be afforded by the implementation of adaptive optics. In addition to the very important partial compensation for higher order atmosphere-induced wavefront errors, the benefits include reduction of static and quasi-static aberrations, reduction of residual tilt error, compensation for differential atmospheric refraction, and reduction of diffractive beam propagation losses, each leading to improved flux throughput and instrumental visibility, and to associated gains in operability and scientific productivity.

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Stephen Ridgway, Theo ten Brummelaar, Judit Sturmann, Laszlo Sturmann, Nils Turner, Harold McAlister, John Monnier, Michael Ireland, Peter Tuthill, Derek Coburn, Chris Dainty, Nicholas Devaney, Alexander Goncharov, and David Mozurkewich "Adaptive optics for the CHARA array II", Proc. SPIE 7734, Optical and Infrared Interferometry II, 77340B (1 November 2010); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.857685

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