Adaptive Optics for Large Telescopes

大型望远镜的自适应光学器件

• 批准号: RGPIN-2014-05245
• 负责人: Hickson, Paul
• 金额: $ 2.11万
• 依托单位: University of British Columbia
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2014
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2014-01-01 至 2015-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=567040
• 关键词: Adaptive; Optics; Large; Telescopes

The next-generation of extremely-large ground-based telescopes (ELTs) will provide a huge leap in scientific capability and discovery potential. With adaptive optics, these telescopes will provide three times the resolution and as much as 100 times the sensitivity of the current ground-based and space telescopes opening new frontiers in fields ranging from the study of extra-solar planetary systems to the first objects forming in the distant Universe. As a partner in the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) Canadians will benefit directly from these advanced capabilities. Adaptive optics (AO), is key to the performance of all future large ground-based telescopes because it provides the means to cancel the blurring effect of atmospheric turbulence. Current AO systems are already providing impressive gains in resolution and sensitivity. The next-generation AO systems will require high-powered lasers and highly-sophisticated electromechanical and control systems. The lasers are used to illuminate sodium atoms in the upper atmosphere in order to produce artificial laser guide stars. These are used to sense the instantaneous distortion produced by the atmosphere, allowing the AO system to compensate for it. In developing these systems, it is essential to understand and characterize the distribution of sodium atoms. By equipping the 6-metre Large Zenith Telescope (LZT) with a pulsed laser and sensitive detector system, we have developed a sodium lidar (laser radar) system that produces data of unprecedented resolution and quality. I will use this facility to study and better understand the structure and dynamics of this important region of the atmosphere, and provide critical data that are needed for the design of the adaptive optics systems for extremely large telescopes. The LZT lidar facility also provides a unique opportunity to support the development of the AO lasers needed by the ELT projects. Such lasers must meet exacting requirements of power, beam quality, stability and efficiency. Their development requires an ongoing program of testing, evaluation and verification. At the LZT lidar facility, we are able to accurately measure properties of the laser and its launch telescope, such as the brightness and sharpness of the laser guide star. At the same time, the lidar provides simultaneous information about the abundance and distribution of sodium atoms. This allows the efficiency of the laser to be determined. This research program will support testing not only of lasers being considered for the TMT, but also for the European ELT. Canadians are participating, with the Université de Liège in Belgium and the Arayabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences in India, in a project to place a dedicated survey telescope at a Devesthal Peak in the Himalayas. The International Liquid-Mirror Telescope is a zenith-pointing 4-m telescope equipped with a 16-megapixel imaging camera. It will survey the strip of sky passing overhead night after night, searching for transient events such as supernovae and monitoring the variability of gravitational lenses. The design of the ILMT draws upon Canadian technology developed at the Université Laval and UBC and perfected with the LZT. I plan to assist with the commissioning and testing of the ILMT and participate in its scientific programs.

下一代超大型地面望远镜（ELT）将在科学能力和发现潜力方面实现巨大飞跃。这些望远镜采用自适应光学技术，其分辨率将是目前地面和空间望远镜的三倍，灵敏度将高达100倍，从而在从研究太阳系外行星系统到研究遥远宇宙中形成的第一批天体等领域开辟新的领域。作为30米望远镜的合作伙伴，加拿大人将直接受益于这些先进的能力。自适应光学（AO）是未来所有大型地面望远镜性能的关键，因为它提供了消除大气湍流模糊效应的方法。目前的AO系统已经在分辨率和灵敏度方面提供了令人印象深刻的增益。下一代AO系统将需要高功率激光器和高度复杂的机电和控制系统。这些激光被用来照射高层大气中的钠原子，以制造人造激光导航星。这些都是用来感测由大气产生的瞬时畸变，允许AO系统来补偿它。在开发这些系统时，了解和表征钠原子的分布是至关重要的。通过为6米大天顶望远镜配备脉冲激光器和灵敏探测器系统，我们开发了一种钠激光雷达（激光雷达）系统，产生了前所未有的分辨率和质量的数据。我将利用这个设施来研究和更好地了解大气层这一重要区域的结构和动力学，并提供设计超大望远镜自适应光学系统所需的关键数据。LZT激光雷达设施还提供了一个独特的机会，以支持ELT项目所需的AO激光器的开发。这种激光器必须满足功率、光束质量、稳定性和效率的严格要求。它们的开发需要一个持续的测试、评估和验证计划。在LZT激光雷达设施中，我们能够精确测量激光器及其发射望远镜的特性，例如激光制导星星的亮度和锐度。与此同时，激光雷达提供有关钠原子丰度和分布的同步信息。这允许确定激光器的效率。该研究计划不仅将支持TMT正在考虑的激光器的测试，还将支持欧洲ELT的测试。加拿大人正在与比利时列日大学和印度Arayabhatta观测科学研究所一起参与一个项目，在喜马拉雅山的Devesthal峰放置一台专用巡天望远镜。国际液体镜望远镜是一个指向天顶的4米望远镜，配备了一个1600万像素的成像相机。它将夜复一夜地观测头顶上掠过的天空，寻找超新星等瞬变事件，并监测引力透镜的变化。ILMT的设计借鉴了加拿大拉瓦尔大学和不列颠哥伦比亚大学开发的技术，并与LZT一起完善。我计划协助ILMT的调试和测试，并参与其科学计划。