Facility Class Guide Star Laser Systems for Astronomical Adaptive Optics

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AbstractThis award supports a collaborative effort among the Gemini Observatory, the U.S. Air Force Starfire Optical Range, and the Keck Observatory to develop reliable sodium wavelength lasers for use as adaptive optics guide stars. Used to excite the sodium D lines in the sodium layer of the Earth's atmosphere, the laser creates an "artificial guide star" that can be used as a point source to measure the aberrations in the incoming stellar wavefront caused by the atmosphere. The technique, originally developed by the Department of Defense, has been proven. The purpose of this program is to advance the state-of-the-art in available laser power and to provide a design for a reliable, low-cost laser that could be operated at many observatories without the necessity for specialized and expensive technical support. The development program will be carried out by industrial firms under the guidance of the collaborating institutions and an expert advisory committee.