Abstract
The aberration fields of misaligned on-axis telescopes can be described by nodal aberration theory. However, traditional nodal aberration theory cannot directly apply to pupil-offset off-axis systems. In our previous work, the net aberration fields of pupil-offset off-axis two-mirror astronomical telescopes induced by lateral misalignments were investigated by extending nodal aberration theory to include pupil-offset off-axis telescopes with a system-level pupil coordinate transformation through simulation. An experimental study on the net aberration fields of pupil-offset off-axis three-mirror anastigmatic (TMA) telescopes induced by lateral misalignments is further presented. Specifically, the astigmatism and coma aberration fields as well as their inherent relations are analytically expressed, simulated, and quantitatively validated with a real pupil-offset off-axis TMA telescope. Meanwhile, the differences between the aberration fields of misaligned off-axis and on-axis TMA telescopes are revealed and explicated. Our work not only contributes to a deep understanding of the net aberration fields of pupil-offset off-axis TMA telescopes induced by lateral misalignments but also represent an important validation for the extension of nodal aberration theory to pupil-offset off-axis telescopes.
Highlights
We can consider that the astigmatism in off-axis three-mirror anastigmatic (TMA) telescopes with lateral misalignments is still field-linear and field-asymmetric, which is similar to the misalignment astigmatism in on-axis TMA telescopes.[2]
This work presents an experimental study for the extension of nodal aberration theory to pupil-offset off-axis telescopes for the first time
The net aberration field characteristics of off-axis TMA telescopes induced by lateral misalignments are still not well-known in field of optics
Summary
Nodal aberration theory has been a powerful tool in studying the aberration behavior of on-axis optical systems that contain misaligned, or intentionally tilted and/or decentered components.[1,2] This theory develops from the wave aberration theory of Hopkins,[3] based on the concept of shifted aberration field center attributed to Buchroeder[4] and the vector multiplication developed by Shack and Thompson[5] (it is later discovered that the operation had existed in the mathematical literature for about a century).[6,7] Thompson[8,9,10,11,12] developed the concept of nodal aberration theory and further extended this theory to fifth order This theory was extended to study optical systems with plane symmetry.[13] It was used to design off-axis optical systems, where the mirrors are tilted to obtain an unobscured configuration.[14,15] This theory was further extended to analytically express the effects of freeform surfaces on the net aberration fields several years ago.[16,17] Recently, the correctness of nodal aberration theory was verified through experiment with a Ritchey–Chrétien telescope.[18]. An experimental study is presented on the net aberration fields (mainly including astigmatism and coma) of pupil-offset off-axis TMA telescopes induced by lateral misalignments.
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