The FALCON concept: multi-object adaptive optics and atmospheric tomography for integral field spectroscopy – principles and performance on an 8-m telescope

Integral field spectrographs are major instruments with which to study the mechanisms involved in the formation and the evolution of early galaxies. When combined with multi-object spectroscopy, those spectrographs can behave as machines used to derive physical parameters of galaxies during their formation process. Up to now, there has been only one available spectrograph with multiple integral field units, i.e. FLAMES/GIRAFFE on the European Southern Observatory (ESO) Very Large Telescope (VLT). However, current ground-based instruments suffer from a degradation of their spatial resolution due to atmospheric turbulence. In this article we describe the performance of FALCON, an original concept of a new-generation multi-object integral field spectrograph with adaptive optics for the ESO VLT. The goal of FALCON is to combine high angular resolution (0.25 arcsec) and high spectral resolution  ( R > 5000)  in the J and H bands over a wide field of view  (10 × 10 arcmin²)  in the VLT Nasmyth focal plane. However, instead of correcting the whole field, FALCON will use multi-object adaptive optics (MOAO) to perform the adaptive optics correction locally on each scientific target. This requires us then to use atmospheric tomography in order to use suitable natural guide stars for wavefront sensing. We will show that merging MOAO and atmospheric tomography allows us to determine the internal kinematics of distant galaxies up to z ≈ 2 with a sky coverage of 50 per cent, even for objects observed near the Galactic pole. The application of such a concept to extremely large telescopes seems therefore to be a very promising way to study galaxy evolution from z = 1 to redshifts as high as z = 7.     

Determination of the profile of atmospheric optical turbulence strength from SLODAR data

Slope Detection and Ranging (SLODAR) is a technique for the measurement of the vertical profile of atmospheric optical turbulence strength. Its main applications are astronomical site characterization and real-time optimization of imaging with adaptive optical correction. The turbulence profile is recovered from the cross-covariance of the slope of the optical phase aberration for a double star source, measured at the telescope with a wavefront sensor (WFS). Here, we determine the theoretical response of a SLODAR system based on a Shack–Hartmann WFS to a thin turbulent layer at a given altitude, and also as a function of the spatial power spectral index of the optical phase aberrations. Recovery of the turbulence profile via fitting of these theoretical response functions is explored. The limiting resolution in altitude of the instrument and the statistical uncertainty of the measured profiles are discussed. We examine the measurement of the total integrated turbulence strength (the seeing) from the WFS data and, by subtraction, the fractional contribution from all turbulence above the maximum altitude for direct sensing of the instrument. We take into account the effects of noise in the measurement of wavefront slopes from centroids and the form of the spatial structure function of the atmospheric optical aberrations.     

The Durham/ESO SLODAR optical turbulence profiler

An instrument for monitoring of the vertical profile of atmospheric optical turbulence strength, employing the Slope Detection and Ranging (SLODAR) double star technique applied to a small telescope, has been developed by Durham University and the European South Observatory. The system has been deployed at the Cerro Paranal observatory in Chile for statistical characterization of the site. The instrument is configured to sample the turbulence at altitudes below 1.5 km with a vertical resolution of approximately 170 m. The system also functions as a general-purpose seeing monitor, measuring the integrated optical turbulence strength for the whole atmosphere, and hence the seeing width. We give technical details of the prototype and present data to characterize its performance. Comparisons with contemporaneous measurements from a differential image motion monitor (DIMM) and a multi-aperture scintillation sensor (MASS) are discussed. Statistical results for the optical turbulence profile at the Paranal site are presented. We find that, in the median case, 49 per cent of the total optical turbulence strength is associated with the surface layer (below 100 m), 35 per cent with the 'free atmosphere' (above 1500 m) and 16 per cent with the intermediate altitudes (100–1500 m).     

European Solar Telescope: Progress status

In this paper, the present status of the development of the design of the European Solar Telescope is described. The telescope is devised to have the best possible angular resolution and polarimetric performance, maximizing the throughput of the whole system. To that aim, adaptive optics and multi‐conjugate adaptive optics are integrated in the optical path. The system will have the possibility to correct for the diurnal variation of the distance to the turbulence layers, by using several deformable mirrors, conjugated at different heights. The present optical design of the telescope distributes the optical elements along the optical path in such a way that the instrumental polarization induced by the telescope is minimized and independent of the solar elevation and azimuth. This property represents a large advantage for polarimetric measurements. The ensemble of instruments that are planned is also presented (© 2010 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

On the design of the PEPSI spectropolarimeter for the LBT

We present the design concept of the spectropolarimeter for the high‐resolution echelle spectrograph PEPSI tobe installed at the 2 × 8.4 m Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) in Arizona. We discuss the optical key elements, the principles of operations of the instrument and its instrumental polarization effects (© 2011 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Field optimization and CCD data simulation for the antarctic International Concordia Explorer Telescope (ICE‐T)

We performed extensive data simulations for the planned ultra‐wide‐field, high‐precision photometric telescope ICE‐T (International Concordia Explorer Telescope). ICE‐T consists of two 60 cm‐aperture Schmidt telescopes with a joint field of view simultaneously in two photometric bandpasses. Two CCD cameras, each with a single 10.3k × 10.3k thinned back‐illuminated device, would image a sky field of 65 square degrees. Given a location of the telescope at Dome C on the East Antarctic Plateau, we searched for the star fields that best exploit the technical capabilities of the instrument and the site. We considered the effects of diurnal air mass and refraction variations, solar and lunar interference, interstellar absorption, overexposing of bright stars and ghosts, crowding by background stars, and the ratio of dwarf to giant stars in the field. Using NOMAD, SSA, Tycho‐2 and 2MASS‐based stellar positions and BVIJH magnitudes for these fields, we simulated the effects of the telescope's point‐spread‐function, the integration, and the co‐addition times. Simulations of transit light curves are presented for the selected star fields and convolved with the expected instrumental characteristics. For the brightest stars, we showed that ICE‐T should be capable of detecting a 2 R_Earth Super Earth around a G2 solar‐type star, as well as an Earth around an M0‐star – if these targets were as abundant as hot Jupiters. Simultaneously, the telescope would monitor the host star's surface activity in an astrophysically interpretable manner (© 2009 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

An Optical,Dual-Beam,Automated Medium Resolution Spectropolarimeter for the Vainu Bappu Telescope

Fabrication of an optical dual-beam spectropolarimeter as an add-on facility to an existing astronomical spectrograph at the Vainu Bappu Telescope is described. The polarimetric optics consists of a superachromatic Pancharatnam design half-wave plate and a modified Glan-Taylor polarizing beam splitter. Instrumental response, calibration and characterization of the system are presented. Performance of the spectropolarimeter has been assessed based on the results of observations of polarized and unpolarized standard stars. The attainable accuracy of the instrument is found to be dependent on the S/N of the data. The present data set yields an accuracy of ±0.5% at 4000 Å and ±0.3% at 7500 Å, at a spectral resolution of 7.2 Å. Analysis of spectropolarimetric data is systematically covered for removal of instrumental errors. The spectropolarimetric reduction software (SPRS), extremely versatile, user friendly and compatible with the IRAF image processing package, was developed for reducing spectropolarimetric data. The empirical relation by Serkowski (IAU Symposium 52, Interstellar Dust and Related Topics, J. M. Greenberg and H. C. van de Hulst (eds.), Dordrecht, Reidel, 1975, p. 145) for wavelength dependence of polarization due to interstellar medium has been fitted to the data for the star HD 43384 (9 Gem). Our result shows a polarization larger by 0.49% from Hsu and Berger (ApJ 262, 1982, 732). We attribute this difference to the long term variation in P for this star.     

ULTRACAM: an ultrafast, triple-beam CCD camera for high-speed astrophysics

ULTRACAM is a portable, high-speed imaging photometer designed to study faint astronomical objects at high temporal resolutions. ULTRACAM employs two dichroic beamsplitters and three frame-transfer CCD cameras to provide three-colour optical imaging at frame rates of up to 500 Hz. The instrument has been mounted on both the 4.2-m William Herschel Telescope on La Palma and the 8.2-m Very Large Telescope in Chile, and has been used to study white dwarfs, brown dwarfs, pulsars, black hole/neutron star X-ray binaries, gamma-ray bursts, cataclysmic variables, eclipsing binary stars, extrasolar planets, flare stars, ultracompact binaries, active galactic nuclei, asteroseismology and occultations by Solar System objects (Titan, Pluto and Kuiper Belt objects). In this paper we describe the scientific motivation behind ULTRACAM, present an outline of its design and report on its measured performance.     

New consideration of atmospheric refraction in laser ranging data

In this paper we reconsider the formulae of tropospheric refraction correction for the Satellite Laser Range technique. From the expansion of the complementary error function, a new continued fraction form of the mapping function at optical frequencies is derived. The correction terms related to the operation frequency of the laser beam are considered in both the zenith delay and the mapping function. The correction for low-elevation satellites is briefly reviewed. The theoretical accuracy of the new mapping function has been analysed via the ray tracing integrals under the standard atmospheric profile. With respect to the radiosonde data, the deviations of the new mapping function are investigated in an elevation range down to near 1°, which is comparable with the results of the Marini–Murray formulae .     

SLODAR: measuring optical turbulence altitude with a Shack–Hartmann wavefront sensor

This paper discusses the use of Shack–Hartmann wavefront sensors to determine the vertical distribution of atmospheric optical turbulence above large telescopes. It is demonstrated that the turbulence altitude profile can be recovered reliably from time-averaged spatial cross-correlations of the local wavefront slopes for Shack–Hartmann observations of binary stars. The method, which is referred to as SLODAR, is analogous to the well known SCIDAR scintillation profiling technique, and a calibration against contemporaneous SCIDAR observations is shown. Hardware requirements are simplified relative to the scintillation method, and the number of suitable target objects is larger. The implementation of a Shack–Hartmann based turbulence monitor for use at the William Herschel Telescope is described. The system will be used to optimize adaptive optical observations at the telescope and to characterize anisoplanatic variations of the corrected point spread function.     

LOLAS: an optical turbulence profiler in the atmospheric boundary layer with extreme altitude resolution

We report the development and first results of an instrument called Low Layer SCIDAR (Scintillation Detection and Ranging) (LOLAS) which is aimed at the measurement of optical-turbulence profiles in the atmospheric boundary layer with high altitude resolution. The method is based on the Generalized SCIDAR (GS) concept, but unlike the GS instruments which need a 1-m or larger telescope, LOLAS is implemented on a dedicated 40-cm telescope, making it an independent instrument. The system is designed for widely separated double-star targets, which enables the high altitude resolution. Using a 200-arcsec-separation double star, we have obtained turbulence profiles with unprecedented 12-m resolution. The system incorporates necessary novel algorithms for autoguiding, autofocus and image stabilization. The results presented here were obtained at Mauna Kea Observatory. They show LOLAS capabilities but cannot be considered as representative of the site. A forthcoming paper will be devoted to the site characterization. The instrument was built as part of the Ground Layer Turbulence Monitoring Campaign on Mauna Kea for Gemini Observatory.     

Wide-field tracking with zenith-pointing telescopes

Equipped with a suitable optical relay system, telescopes employing low-cost fixed primary mirrors could point and track while delivering high-quality images to a fixed location. Such an optical tracking system would enable liquid-mirror telescopes to access a large area of sky and employ infrared detectors and adaptive optics. Such telescopes could also form the elements of an array in which light is combined either incoherently or interferometrically. Tracking of an extended field requires correction of all aberrations including distortion, field curvature and tilt. A specific design is developed that allows a 10-m liquid-mirror telescope to track objects for as long as 30 min and to point as far as 4° from the zenith, delivering a distortion-free diffraction-limited image to a stationary detector, spectrograph or interferometric beam combiner.     

A guide to TAURUS-2 Fabry–Perot data reduction

The data reduction process for optical emission-line observations of galaxies using the TAURUS-2 Fabry–Perot interferometer mounted on the 3.9-m Anglo-Australian Telescope is described in detail. The initial steps (bias subtraction, flat-fielding, etc.) are the same as for calibration of CCD images, and the wavelength calibration is similar to that in optical spectroscopy. The final steps are specific to Fabry–Perot instruments, and include the fitting of several instrumental parameters and a phase correction to convert the raw ( x ,  y ,  z ) data cube into a useful position–velocity ( α ,  δ ,  v ) cube. Software has been written to assist with the latter steps of the data reduction. H α observations of NGC 1808, NGC 2442 and Circinus are used to demonstrate the reduction process.     

Rugate filters for OH-suppressed imaging at near-infrared wavelengths

Ground-based observations at near-infrared wavelengths are severely affected by atmospheric OH bands. Many authors have recognized the potential gains in sensitivity from suppressing these features. Dispersive instruments show some promise but are both expensive and complicated to build. OH suppression filters using single or periodic notches have the advantage of simplicity but significant gains have not yet been realized.   Rugate filters (with graded index inhomogeneous coatings) offer key advantages for astronomical imaging. It is possible to produce a transmission profile comprising a series of irregular and sharply defined bandpasses. We demonstrate through numerical simulation of rugate filters that it should be possible to achieve 95 per cent suppression of the OH features in the J photometric band, while retaining roughly half of the spectral coverage. This would lead to extraordinary gains in sensitivity even for observations of continuum sources. In addition, these filters allow longer exposures before the detector saturates on the sky background. I - and z -band filters can also be envisaged.   In 1-arcsec seeing, a J -band rugate filter used in conjunction with a 4-m telescope would detect a J  = 23 continuum source at 5.0σ in a single 10-min exposure. In comparison, a conventional J filter requires multiple exposures for a 10-min integration time and achieves only a 2.5σ detection. For emission-line sources, the rugate filter has an even bigger advantage over conventional filters, with a fourfold increase in signal-to-noise ratio possible in certain instances.   Astrophysical studies that could benefit from rugate filters are searches for very low-mass stars and galaxy evolution out to z  = 3.     

吉林天文观测基地光学观测环境及相关研究进展

地基光学天文望远镜是人类探索与研究宇宙的重要手段, 对已有地基光学台址的光学观测环境进行监测分析, 可以为后期设备针对性改造以及观测者调整观测策略提供参考依据, 对提升地基光学设备的观测效能具有重要的意义. 吉林天文观测基地(简称``基地'')隶属于中国科学院国家天文台长春人造卫星观测站, 位于吉林省吉林市大绥河镇小绥河村南沟约5 km处(东经126.3^\circ, 北纬43.8^\circ, 海拔高度313m). 基地大气视宁度均值范围约为1.3$''$--1.4$''$、天顶附近V波段的天光背景亮度为20.64magcdotarcsec^-2、年晴夜数最高可达270余天, 具有良好的天文观测条件. 吉林天文观测基地于2016年投入运行, 现有1.2m光电望远镜、迷你光电阵列望远镜、大视场光电望远镜阵列、新型多功能阵列结构光电探测平台等多台(套)光电望远镜设备. 利用上述设备, 主要围绕空间目标探测与识别、精密轨道确定、光电探测新方法以及变源天体的多色测光等开展相关研究工作, 与多家国内高校及科研院所保持着良好的合作关系.     

The radial velocity of the companion star in the low-mass X-ray binary 2S 0921–630: limits on the mass of the compact object

In this paper we report on optical spectroscopic observations of the low-mass X-ray binary 2S 0921–630 obtained with the Very Large Telescope. We found sinusoidal radial velocity variations of the companion star with a semi-amplitude of  99.1 ± 3.1 km s⁻¹  modulated on a period of 9.006 ± 0.007 d, consistent with the orbital period found previously for this source, and a systemic velocity of  44.4 ± 2.4 km s⁻¹  . Owing to X-ray irradiation, the centre of light measured by the absorption lines from the companion star is probably shifted with respect to the centre of mass. We try to correct for this using the so-called K -correction. Conservatively applying the maximum correction possible and using the previously measured rotational velocity of the companion star, we find a lower limit to the mass of the compact object in 2S 0921–630 of   M_X sin³ i > 1.90 ± 0.25 M_⊙  (1σ errors). The inclination in this system is well constrained since partial eclipses have been observed in X-ray and optical bands. For inclinations in the range  60° < i < 90°  we find  1.90 ± 0.25 < M_X < 2.9 ± 0.4 M_⊙  . However, using this maximum K -correction we find that the ratio between the mass of the companion star and that of the compact object, q , is 1.32 ± 0.37, implying super-Eddington mass-transfer rates; however, evidence for that has not been found in 2S 0921–630. We conclude that the compact object in 2S 0921–630 is either a (massive) neutron star or a low-mass black hole.     

Offline, multidetector intensity interferometers – II. Implications and applications

Intensity interferometry removes the stringent requirements on mechanical precision and atmospheric corrections that plague all amplitude interferometry techniques at the cost of severely limited sensitivity. A new idea we recently introduced, very high redundancy, alleviates this problem. It enables the relatively simple construction (∼1 cm mechanical precision) of a ground-based astronomical facility able to transform a two-dimensional field of point-like sources to a three-dimensional distribution of microarcsec resolved systems, each imaged in several optical bands. Each system will also have its high-resolution residual timing, high-quality (inside each band) spectra and light curve, emergent flux, effective temperature, polarization effects and perhaps some thermodynamic properties, all directly measured. All the above attributes can be measured in a single observation run of such a dedicated facility. We conclude that after three decades of abandonment, optical intensity interferometry deserves another review, also as a ground-based alternative to the science goals of space interferometers.     

A Road Map for the Generation of a Near-Infrared Guide Star Catalog for Thirty Meter Telescope Observations

The near-infrared instruments in the upcoming Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) will be assisted by a multi conjugate Adaptive Optics (AO) system. For the efficient operation of the AO system, during observations, a near-infrared guide star catalog which goes as faint as 22 mag in J_Vega band is essential and such a catalog does not exist. A methodology, based on stellar atmospheric models, to compute the expected near-infrared magnitudes of stellar sources from their optical magnitudes is developed. The method is applied and validated in JHKs bands for a magnitude range of J_Vega 16–22 mag. The methodology is also applied and validated using the reference catalog of PAN STARRS. We verified that the properties of the final PAN STARRS optical catalog will satisfy the requirements of TMT IRGSC and will be one of the potential sources for the generation of the final catalog. In a broader context, this methodology is applicable for the generation of a guide star catalog for any existing/upcoming near-infrared telescopes.