Center for Adaptive Optics

自适应光学中心位于圣克鲁斯的加州大学自适应光学是一种用于消除由光学系统内变化的畸变引起的图像模糊的方法。地球大气中的湍流会使天文图像变得模糊。 以类似的方式，眼睛内部的缺陷和液体会导致撞击视网膜的图像模糊。自适应光学的使用使地面望远镜能够像在太空中一样清晰地看到，这些技术用于观察人眼的视网膜时，可以显著地使视网膜的图像变得清晰。尽管自适应光学在20世纪50年代就被建议用于天文学，但直到今天才有必要的技术（光学、计算机、激光）的发展已经成熟到足以使自适应光学对天文学和视觉科学产生重要影响。 用于天文学的大型望远镜的自适应光学保证了分辨率的惊人提高，提高了10到30倍。使用自适应光学的大型地面望远镜甚至可以超过哈勃太空望远镜的性能，而且成本要低得多。视觉科学的自适应光学有望纠正眼睛的像差，并为了解活体人类视网膜中的视锥细胞和视杆细胞的结构和发育提供强有力的工具。它还有望在视网膜缺陷大到足以威胁我们的视力之前诊断出微小的视网膜缺陷。自适应光学系统需要几种非常先进的技术的结合-精密光学，波前传感器，变形镜，自适应光学中心（CfAO）是一家致力于将光学和激光技术结合在一起的高科技公司。将专注于自适应光学的天文学和视觉科学应用，并将与其他自适应光学社区分享技术。 它将开发针对自适应光学优化的新仪器。天文学的例子包括“积分场”摄谱仪，它可以同时拍摄天空中数千个微小的连续区域的光谱（用于研究遥远的星系和原太阳系），以及日冕仪，可以拍摄靠近明亮物体的非常微弱的物体（用于研究星系中的黑洞和附近恒星周围的行星）。为视觉科学开发的仪器包括共焦扫描激光检眼镜，它可以实现高的深度分辨率和横向分辨率。该仪器将使视网膜血管和向大脑传递信号的视神经纤维的高分辨率三维重建成为可能。CfAO将在科学教育和推广方面开展强有力的计划，其中重要组成部分是系统改善教育，培训劳动力的多样化，以及提高公众的科学素养。

Center for Adaptive OpticsThe University of California at Santa CruzABSTRACTAdaptive optics is a method for removing the blurring of images caused by changing distortions within optical systems. Turbulence in the Earth's atmosphere causes blurring of astronomical images. In an analogous manner internal imperfections and fluids in the eye cause blurring of images striking the retina. The use of adaptive optics allows groundbased telescopes to see as clearly as if they were in space, and these techniques, when used to look at the retina of the human eye, dramatically sharpens images of the retina.Although adaptive optics was suggested for astronomy in the 1950s, only today are the requisite technologies (optics, computers, lasers) mature enough for adaptive optics to make an important impact on astronomy and vision science. Adaptive optics for astronomy on large telescopes promises a spectacular improvement in resolution, by factors of 10 to 30. Large ground-based telescopes using adaptive optics can even exceed the performance of the Hubble Space Telescope and at much lower cost. Adaptive optics for vision science promises to correct the aberrations of the eye and to provide a powerful tool for understanding the structure and development of cones and rods in the living human retina. It also holds the promise of diagnosing tiny retinal defects before they become large enough to threaten our a person's vision.Adaptive optics systems require the marriage of several very advanced technologies--precision optics, wavefront sensors, deformable mirrors, and lasers--all tied together by high-speed control systems.The Center for Adaptive Optics (CfAO) will concentrate on astronomical and vision science applications of adaptive optics and will reach out to other adaptive optics communities to share technologies. It will develop new instruments optimized for adaptive optics. Examples from astronomy include "integral-field" spectrographs that take spectra of thousands of tiny contiguous regions of the sky simultaneously (for studies of distant galaxies and proto-solar-systems), as well as coronagraphs to image very faint objects close to bright ones (for studies of black holes in galaxies and planets around nearby stars). Instruments to be developed for vision science include a confocal scanning laser opthalmoscope, which achieves high depth resolution as well as lateral resolution. This instrument will make possible high-resolution 3-D reconstruction of retinal blood vessels and of optic nerve fibers that carry signals to the brain.The CfAO will conduct a strong program in science education and outreach, with significant components in the systemic improvement of education, diversification of the trained work force, and enhancement of public scientific literacy.