Forecasting the dark energy measurement with baryon acoustic oscillations: prospects for the LAMOST surveys

The Large Area Multi-Object Fibre Spectroscopic Telescope (LAMOST) is a dedicated spectroscopic survey telescope being built in China, with an effective aperture of 4 m and equipped with 4000 fibres. Using the LAMOST telescope, one could make redshift survey of the large-scale structure (LSS). The baryon acoustic oscillation features in the LSS power spectrum provide standard rulers for measuring dark energy and other cosmological parameters. In this paper, we investigate the measurement precision achievable for a few possible surveys: (1) a magnitude-limited survey of all galaxies, (2) a survey of colour-selected luminous red galaxies (LRG) and (3) a magnitude-limited, high-density survey of   z < 2  quasars. For each survey, we use the halo model to estimate the bias of the sample, and calculate the effective volume. We then use the Fisher matrix method to forecast the error on the dark energy equation of state and other cosmological parameters for different survey parameters. In a few cases, we also use the Markov Chain Monte Carlo method to make the same forecast as a comparison. The fibre time required for each of these surveys is also estimated. These results would be useful in designing the surveys for LAMOST.     

大视场长露光观测中的大气折射影响

利用给出的严格的较差大气折射计算公式,以ＬＡＭＯＳＴ为例,计算了较差大气折射对大视场长露光天文观测的影响．并与其他作者的结果进行了比较．该方法给出的是完整的较差大气折射量,与望远镜和导星方式无关．此外,还讨论了大气色散的影响,并探讨了可能的解决方法     

Active Optics in LAMOST

Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope (LAMOST) is one of the major national projects under construction in China. Active optics is one of the most important technologies for new large telescopes. It is used for correcting telescope errors generated by gravitational and thermal changes. Here, however, we use this technology to realize the configuration of LAMOST, -a task that cannot be done in the traditional way. A comprehensive and intensive research on the active optics used in LAMOST is also reported, including an open-loop control method and an auxiliary closed-loop control method. Another important development is in our pre-calibration method of open-loop control, which is with some new features: simultaneous calculation of the forces and displacements of force actuators and displacement actuators; the profile of mirror can be arbitrary; the mirror surface shape is not expressed by a fitting polynomial, but is derived from the mirror surface shape formula which is highly accurat     

The correction of atmospheric dispersion in LAMOST

Atmospheric refraction and dispersion affect the observational quality and efficiency of the Large Sky Area Multi-object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope (LAMOST). In this paper, by both ZEMAX simulation and numerical calculation, the atmospheric dispersion for LAMOST, which will be installed at the latitude 40°.4 and has a 20 m focal length and F5 focal ratio, are calculated for the 0.75 h before and after the transit time. Various types of dispersion prism to be used for correcting the atmospheric dispersion in LAMOST were calculated and analyzed, from which one was finally adopted. The secondary spectrum of the dispersion prism, the residual dispersion during tracking of the telescope and the installation errors of the dispersion prism are investigated.     

Prospects for astrometry with the Hubble Space Telescope

The Hubble Space Telescope (HST), a large optical telescope having an aperture of 2.4 meters and a length of 8.8 meters, is being developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. This telescope will be placed into earth orbit by the space shuttle. Astrometric observations with the HST are made using a Fine Guidance Sensor which is capable of measuring the position of one object relative to another with an accuracy of ±0.002 arcseconds. The astrometric user of HST will be provided with an Astrometric Data Reduction Software package (ADRS). The variety of astrometric problems to be investigated with HST is discussed.     

基于MYSQL/LINUX 的LAMOST数据库设计与实现

大天区面积多目标光纤光谱天文望远镜（LAMOST）将被建成，在投入使用之前设计开发出全自动处理光谱的软件系统是必需的。完善的数据库系统是该光谱处理软件不可缺少的一部分。本文分析了LAMOST对数据库的需求，设计并实现了基于MYSQL／LINUX的LAMOST数据库系统并对该系统进行了初步测试。     

LAMOST CCD camera-control system based on RTS2

The Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope(LAMOST) is the largest existing spectroscopic survey telescope, having 32 scientific charge-coupled-device(CCD) cameras for acquiring spectra. Stability and automation of the camera-control software are essential, but cannot be provided by the existing system. The Remote Telescope System 2 nd Version(RTS2) is an open-source and automatic observatory-control system. However, all previous RTS2 applications were developed for small telescopes. This paper focuses on implementation of an RTS2-based camera-control system for the 32 CCDs of LAMOST. A virtual camera module inherited from the RTS2 camera module is built as a device component working on the RTS2 framework. To improve the controllability and robustness, a virtualized layer is designed using the master-slave software paradigm, and the virtual camera module is mapped to the 32 real cameras of LAMOST. The new system is deployed in the actual environment and experimentally tested. Finally, multiple observations are conducted using this new RTS2-frameworkbased control system. The new camera-control system is found to satisfy the requirements for automatic camera control in LAMOST. This is the first time that RTS2 has been applied to a large telescope, and provides a referential solution for full RTS2 introduction to the LAMOST observatory control system.     

An Active Flexure Compensation Method for LAMOST spectrograph based on BP-Neural Network

The Large sky Area Multi-Object fiber Spectroscopic Telescope(LAMOST) is a Chinese national scientific research facility operated by National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences(NAOC). The LAMOST survey for the Milky Way Galaxy and extra-galactic objects has been carried out for several years. The accuracies in measuring radial velocity are expected to be 5 km s-1 for the low resolution spectroscopic survey(R = 1800), and 1 km s-1 for the medium resolution mode. The stability of spectrograph is the main factor affecting the accuracies in measuring radial velocity, so an Active Flexure Compensation Method(AFCM) based on Back Propagation Neural Network(BPNN) is proposed in this paper. It utilizes a deep BP(4-layer, 5-layer etc.) model of thermal-induced flexure to periodically predict and apply flexure corrections by commanding the corresponding tilt and tip motions to the camera. The spectrograph camera system is adjusted so that the positions of these spots match those in a reference image. The simulated calibration of this compensation method analytically illustrates its performance on LAMOST spectrograph.     

LAMOST观测控制系统用户界面设计

位于国家天文台兴隆观测基地的大天区面积多目标光纤光谱天文望远镜(LAMOST)是世界上最大的、可操控的反射施密特望远镜。为了便于控制望远镜,提高观测效率,设计了观测控制系统图形用户界面。首先分析了LAMOST望远镜的控制软件体系结构,采用基于场景的以用户为中心的设计方法,对界面进行了分析和设计。使用Qt、CORBA、多线程技术和MVC模式,实现了用户界面,并对界面进行了测试。最后,用户界面得到了用户的认可,成功应用于LAMOST观测。     

均值漂移算法在LAMOST动态选星中的应用

将均值漂移算法运用于LAMOST动态选星过程,用以寻找局部天区内观测目标密度最高的区域进行观测.通过模拟试验分析了在不同的天区覆盖方法对均值漂移算法观测效率的影响,并与使用最大密度算法得到的结果进行了比较,证实了均值漂移算法的优越性.     

LAMOST子镜镀膜研究进展

对大口径光学/红外天文望远镜而言,为保障其稳定高效运行,镜面镀膜是重要的维护环节之一.镀膜质量的好坏直接影响镜面光学反射率的高低,也严重影响到天文望远镜的成像质量、观测效率.国家重大科技基础设施—大天区面积多目标光纤光谱天文望远镜(Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope, LAMOST,又名郭守敬望远镜)自2009年6月通过国家竣工验收并逐步投入巡天观测,目前已进入第2个5 yr巡天计划阶段,取得近两千万的光谱产出和大批高显示度的科学成果. LAMOST共拥有24块施密特改正镜子镜和37块球面主镜子镜,为了确保在野外恶劣观测环境下镜面反射率维持在较高水平,每年要对大批子镜进行镀膜.主要介绍了镀膜需求、镀膜设备,并基于大量实验和多年的完善探索出一套可行的镀膜工艺流程,确保了LAMOST子镜极高的镀膜质量.镀膜后子镜平均反射率高达90%以上,满足了LAMOST光谱巡天的镜面反射率要求.     

YNST光电导行镜机械设计

YNST(云南1m太阳望远镜)光电导行系统的作用除了获取足够清晰的太阳像用作光电导行外,还参与望远镜光轴的校正.介绍了YNST光电导行镜的光学要求、机械设计结果及镜体设计所采用的被动无热化技术.校核了导行镜在阳光辐照下的热变形,计算了导行镜镜筒的最大弯沉,结果表明,所采用的无热化设计是有效的,导行镜刚度满足导行系统要求...     

Defocus spot detection of astronomical optical system

Defocusing spot size detection is especially essential for aberration analysis and correction of optical systems. In the case of far defocusing, the celestial forms a pupil image on the detector, and the size of the image is linearly changed with the defocusing distance, and can be used to correct the optical system and analyze the image quality. Based on the focal plane attitude detection of Large Sky Area MultiObject Fiber Spectroscopy Telescope(LAMOST), this paper uses a variety of methods to detect the size of the defocusing spot of LAMOST telescope. For the particularity of the spot, the average value spacing algorithm, the peak value spacing algorithm, the ellipse fitting algorithm, and the multi-peak Gaussian fitting algorithm are used to detect the spot size. This paper will introduce these four methods, in which the average value spacing algorithm is proposed by the author of this paper. The advantages and disadvantages of the four methods are compared. The experimental results show that the average value spacing algorithm can achieve better accuracy of spot size detection in the four algorithms.     

An improved astrometric calibration technique for space debris observation

An optical survey is the main technique for detecting space debris. Due to the specific characteristics of observation, the pointing errors and tracking errors of the telescope as well as image degradation may be significant, which make it difficult for astrometric calibration. Here we present an improved method that corrects the pointing and tracking errors, and measures the image position precisely. The pipeline is tested on a number of CCD images obtained from a 1-m telescope administered by Xinjiang Astronomical Observatory while observing a GPS satellite. The results show that the position measurement error of the background stars is around 0.1 pixel, while the time cost for a single frame is about 7.5 s; hence the reliability and accuracy of our method are demonstrated. In addition, our method shows a versatile and feasible way to perform space debris observation utilizing non-dedicated telescopes, which means more sensors could be involved and the ability to perform surveys could be improved.     

A new calibration model for pointing a radio telescope that considers nonlinear errors in the azimuth axis

A new calibration model of a radio telescope that includes pointing error is presented, which considers nonlinear errors in the azimuth axis. For a large radio telescope, in particular for a telescope with a turntable, it is difficult to correct pointing errors using a traditional linear calibration model, because errors produced by the wheel-on-rail or center bearing structures are generally nonlinear. Fourier expansion is made for the oblique error and parameters describing the inclination direction along the azimuth axis based on the linear calibration model, and a new calibration model for pointing is derived. The new pointing model is applied to the 40 m radio telescope administered by Yunnan Observatories, which is a telescope that uses a turntable. The results show that this model can significantly reduce the residual systematic errors due to nonlinearity in the azimuth axis compared with the linear model.     

基于光学辅助指向测量的太赫兹望远镜指向误差模型研究

针对太赫兹波段天文点源目标较少, 指向测量相对困难的特点, 研究了利用与太赫兹天线共轴的小型光学望远镜来辅助太赫兹望远镜指向测量以及建立指向误差修正模型的方法. 依托紫金山天文台1.2 m斜轴式太赫兹天线开展了光学辅助指向测量的实验研究, 利用一台安装在天线背架上的100mm口径折射式光学望远镜获得了优于2$''$的指向测量精度. 此外, 通过对斜轴天线的结构分析以及大气折射和本地恒星时(Local Sidereal Time, LST)偏差等误差来源的分析, 建立了包含23个误差项的斜轴式光学指向修正模型, 实现了约3$''$的拟合精度. 最后, 借助高精度数字摄影测量对光电轴一致性进行了标定, 并针对其对指向模型精度的影响进行了讨论. 研究成果将为南极5 m太赫兹望远镜(The 5m Dome A Terahertz Explorer, DATE5)及其他太赫兹望远镜提供指向测量和指向修正模型方面的技术参考.     

Modeling and calibration of pointing errors with alt-az telescope

This paper presents a new model for improving the pointing accuracy of a telescope. The Denavit–Hartenberg (D–H) convention was used to perform an error analysis of the telescope's kinematics. A kinematic model was used to relate pointing errors to mechanical errors and the parameters of the kinematic model were estimated with a statistical model fit using data from two large astronomical telescopes. The model illustrates the geometric errors caused by imprecision in manufacturing and assembly processes and their effects on the pointing accuracy of the telescope. A kinematic model relates pointing error to axis position when certain geometric errors are assumed to be present in a telescope. In the parameter estimation portion, the semi-parametric regression model was introduced to compensate for remaining nonlinear errors. The experimental results indicate that the proposed semi-parametric regression model eliminates both geometric and nonlinear errors, and that the telescope's pointing accuracy significantly improves after this calibration.     

LAMOST网络控制系统结构

LAMOST(大型多天体分光望远镜)建成后将成为世界上视场最大、光谱观测效率最高的4m级口径以上的光学望远镜。它将要同时高效地观测4000颗星的光谱,这对网络控制系统的设计是巨大的挑战。该文主要从LAMOST网络控制系统构建的角度介绍了系统如何在大数据量、多任务的情况下实现各子系统控制、环境监测、授时和无线远程监控等功能,叙述了在该系统中运用的实时分布式操作系统、实时数据库,全球定位系统(GPS)和全球移动通讯系统(GSM)等多项技术．     

低纬子午环的仪器误差

对低纬子午环的仪器误差作了分类，包括制造误差、安装误差、仪器重力变形和热变形的影响，还分别列出了各种误差测量设备的制造误差、安装误差、读数零点偏差及其漂移的影响。文中强调了在该仪器误差修正中，不建立和使用任何误差模型，而是采用实时测定值，并且特别注意消除系统误差的影响，在这基础上，才能通过重复采数来压缩随机误差的影响。