Laser Guide Star Adaptive Optics System Research Articles

Analyzing long-term performance of the Keck-II adaptive optics system

We present an analysis of the long-term performance of the W. M. Keck observatory laser guide star adaptive optics (LGS-AO) system and explore factors that influence the overall AO performance most strongly. Astronomical surveys can take years or decades to finish, so it is worthwhile to characterize the AO performance on such timescales in order to better understand future results. The Keck telescopes have two of the longest-running LGS-AO systems in use today, and as such they represent an excellent test-bed for processing large amounts of AO data. We use a Keck-II near infrared camera 2 (NIRC2) LGSAO surve of the Galactic Center (GC) from 2005 to 2019 for our analysis, combining image metrics with AO telemetry files, multiaperture scintillation sense/differential imaging motion monitor turbulence profiles, seeing information, weather data, and temperature readings in a compiled dataset to highlight areas of potential performance improvement. We find that image quality trends downward over time, despite multiple improvements made to Keck-II and its AO system, resulting in a 9 mas increase in the average full width at half maximum (FWHM) and a 3% decrease in the average Strehl ratio over the course of the survey. Image quality also trends upward with ambient temperature, possibly indicating the presence of uncorrected turbulence in the beam path. Using nine basic features from our dataset, we train a simple machine learning (ML) algorithm to predict the delivered image quality of NIRC2 given current atmospheric conditions, which could eventually be used for real-time observation planning and exposure time adjustments. A random forest algorithm trained on this data can predict the Strehl ratio of an image to within 18% and the FWHM to within 7%, which is a solid baseline for future applications involving more advanced ML techniques. The assembled dataset and coding tools are released to the public as a resource for testing new predictive control and point spread function-reconstruction algorithms.

A Hybrid Pulsed Rayleigh-sodium Laser Guide Star Adaptive Optics System for Strong Turbulence Observations

Sodium laser guide star (LGS) adaptive optics (AO) systems have become highly productive tools for all-sky astronomical observations with large telescopes. However, the performance of these systems is limited by the brightness of the sodium LGS and the number of wavefront sensor subapertures used during strong atmospheric turbulence. We propose a hybrid pulsed Rayleigh-sodium LGS AO system that exhibits an improved Strehl ratio of 55% to eliminate the effects of partial wavefront sampling for limited sodium LGS brightness in K-band. This technique uses the Rayleigh scattering signal, a byproduct of pulsed sodium LGS, with temporal-gating approach. This system comprises a Rayleigh LGS to direct light toward the wavefront sensor under a wide variety of atmospheric conditions. The Rayleigh beacon provides high-order corrections to the low-altitude layers. Any remaining distortions from higher layers typically exist on a much larger scale, which can be sampled with comparatively larger subapertures. This approach could improve the performance of large optics-infrared telescopes equipped with hybrid Rayleigh-sodium LGS AO systems during strong turbulence events.

First light for the sodium laser guide star adaptive optics system on the Lijiang 1.8m telescope

A first generation sodium Laser Guide Star Adaptive Optics System (LGS-AOS) was developed and integrated into the Lijiang 1.8m telescope in 2013. The LGS-AOS has three sub-systems: (1) a 20 W long pulsed sodium laser, (2) a 300-millimeter-diameter laser launch telescope, and (3) a 37-element compact adaptive optics system. On 2014 January 25, we obtained high resolution images of an mV 8.18 star, HIP 43963, during the first light of the LGS-AOS. In this paper, the sodium laser, the laser launch telescope, the compact adaptive optics system and the first light results will be presented.

PROVIDING STRINGENT STAR FORMATION RATE LIMITS OF z ∼ 2 QSO HOST GALAXIES AT HIGH ANGULAR RESOLUTION

ABSTRACT We present integral field spectrograph (IFS) with laser guide star adaptive optics (LGS-AO) observations of z ∼ 2 quasi-stellar objects (QSOs) designed to resolve extended nebular line emission from the host galaxy. Our data was obtained with W. M. Keck and Gemini North Observatories, using OSIRIS and NIFS coupled with the LGS-AO systems, respectively. We have conducted a pilot survey of five QSOs, three observed with NIFS+AO and two observed with OSIRIS+AO at an average redshift of z = 2.2. We demonstrate that the combination of AO and IFSs provides the necessary spatial and spectral resolutions required to separate QSO emission from its host. We present our technique for generating a point-spread function (PSF) from the broad-line region of the QSO and performing PSF subtraction of the QSO emission to detect the host galaxy emission at a separation of ∼0.″2 (∼1.4 kpc). We detect Hα narrow-line emission for two sources, SDSS J1029+6510 (z Hα = 2.182) and SDSS J0925+0655 (z Hα = 2.197), that have evidence for both star formation and extended narrow-line emission. Assuming that the majority of narrow-line Hα emission is from star formation, we infer a star formation rate (SFR) for SDSS J1029+6510 of 78.4 M ⊙ yr−1 originating from a compact region that is kinematically offset by 290–350 km s−1. For SDSS J0925+0655 we infer a SFR of 29 M ⊙ yr−1 distributed over three clumps that are spatially offset by ∼7 kpc. The null detections on three of the QSOs are used to infer surface brightness limits and we find that at 1.4 kpc from the QSO the un-reddened star formation limit is ≲0.3 M ⊙ yr−1 kpc−2. If we assume typical extinction values for z = 2 type-1 QSOs, the dereddened SFR for our null detections would be ≲0.6 M ⊙ yr−1 kpc−2. These IFS observations indicate that while the central black hole is accreting mass at 10%–40% of the Eddington rate, if star formation is present in the host (1.4–20 kpc) it would have to occur diffusely with significant extinction and not in compact, clumpy regions.

Astronomical Science with Adaptive Optics at the W. M. Keck Observatory

ABSTRACTThe first refereed science papers based on data with the Keck II natural guide star (NGS) and laser guide star (LGS) adaptive optics (AO) system were published in 2000 January and 2005 May, respectively. As of the end of 2012 a total of 260 refereed science papers have been published based on Keck NGS AO data and 152 with the Keck LGS AO system. This paper provides an overview of the first dozen years of scientific productivity with Keck AO and the lessons that can be drawn from this experience. The performance and limitations of the existing Keck AO systems are also discussed along with the technical developments currently underway to improve the scientific reach of these systems. The Keck AO capabilities are in high demand by a broad science community, a community that has expanded as new capabilities, especially LGS AO, have been added.

AN ADAPTIVE OPTICS SURVEY FOR CLOSE PROTOSTELLAR BINARIES

In order to test the hypothesis that Class I protostellar binary stars are a product of ejections during the dynamical decay of non-hierarchical multiple systems, we combined the results of new adaptive optics (AO) observations of Class I protostars with our previously published AO data to investigate whether Class I protostars with a widely separated companion (r>200 AU) are more likely to also have a close companion (r<200 AU). In total, we observed 47 embedded young stellar objects (YSOs) with either the Subaru natural guide star AO system or the Keck laser guide star AO system. We found that targets with a widely separated companion within 5,000 AU are not more likely to have a close companion. However, targets with another YSO within a projected separation of 25,000 AU are much more likely to have a close companion. Most importantly, every target with a close companion has another YSO within a projected separation of 25,000 AU. We came to the same conclusions after considering a restricted sample of targets within 500 pc and close companions wider than 50 AU to minimize incompleteness effects. The Orion star forming region was found to have an excess of both close binaries and YSOs within 25,000 AU compared to other star forming regions. We interpret these observations as strong evidence that many close Class I binary stars form via ejections and that many of the ejected stars become unbound during the Class I phase.

High-Power Laser Beam Transfer through Optical Relay Fibers for a Laser Guide Adaptive Optics System

Abstract We are developing a laser guide star adaptive optics (LGSAO) system for the Subaru Telescope on Mauna Kea, Hawaii. The AO188 system will dramatically increase the observable sky area. This system differs from systems used at other large telescopes in that it utilizes the combination of an all-solid-state mode-locked sum-frequency generation (SFG) laser as a light source and single-mode optical fiber for beam transference. Optical fibers transfer laser light from the source, located at the Nasmyth platform, to the laser launching telescope more flexibly and more easily than do mirror relay optics. However, optical fibers induce nonlinear scattering effects, such as stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) and stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS), beyond certain threshold levels in high-power lasers. We measured the laser transmission characteristics of a photonic crystal fiber (PCF) whose mode field diameter (MFD) was 11$\mu$m, and a step index fiber (SIF) cable whose MFD was 4.2$\mu$m to evaluate the threshold levels for non-linear effects. We observed SRS in the 200-m-long SIF when we input 1.3 W. However, SRS and SBS were not induced in the 200-m-long PCF, even for an input power of 5.3 W. As a result, we estimated the threshold of SRS to be 33 W for the 35-m-long PCF designed for the Subaru LGSAO system. Given that the fiber will carry a laser beam of about 30 W with a pulse width of less than 1 ns, we conclude that nonlinear scattering will pose no problems for this application.

Study of optimal wavefront sensing with elongated laser guide stars

Over the past decade, adaptive optics (AO) has become an established method for overcoming the effects of atmospheric turbulence on both astronomical imaging and spectroscopic observations. These systems are now beginning to make extensive use of laser guide star (LGS) techniques to improve performance and provide increased sky coverage. Sodium LGS AO employs one or more lasers at 589-nm wavelength to produce an artificial guide star through excitation of sodium atoms in the mesosphere (90 km altitude). Because of its dependence on the abundance and distribution of sodium atoms in the mesosphere, this approach has its own unique set of difficulties not seen with natural stars. The sodium layer exhibits time-dependent variations in density and altitude, and since it is at a finite range, the LGS images become elongated due to the thickness of the layer and the offset between the laser projection point and the subapertures of a Shack‐Hartmann wavefront sensor (SHWFS). Elongation causes the LGS image to be spread out resulting in a decrease in the signal-to-noise ratio which, in turn, leads to an increase in SHWFS measurement error and therefore an increased error in wavefront phase reconstruction. To address the problem of elongation, and also to provide a higher level of readout performance and reduced readout noise, a new type of charge-coupled device (CCD) is now under development for Shack‐Hartmann wavefront sensing called the polar coordinate CCD. In this device, discrete imaging arrays are provided in each SHWFS subaperture and the size, shape and orientation of each discrete imaging array are adjusted to optimally sample the LGS image. The device is referred to as the polar coordinate CCD because the location of each imager is defined by a polar coordinate system centred on the laser guide star projection point. This concept is especially suited to Extremely Large Telescopes (ELTs) where the effect of perspective elongation is a significant factor. In this paper, we evaluate the performance of centroiders based on this CCD geometry by evaluating the centroid error variance and also the linearity issues associated with LGS image sampling and truncation. We also describe how we will extend this work to address the problems presented by the time variability of the sodium layer and how this will impact SHWFS performance in LGS AO systems.

Modeling low order aberrations in laser guide star adaptive optics systems

When using a laser guide star (LGS) adaptive optics (AO) system, quasi-static aberrations are observed between the measured wavefronts from the LGS wavefront sensor (WFS) and the natural guide star (NGS) WFS. These LGS aberrations, which can be as much as 1200 nm RMS on the Keck II LGS AO system, arise due to the finite height and structure of the sodium layer. The LGS aberrations vary significantly between nights due to the difference in sodium structure. In this paper, we successfully model these LGS aberrations for the Keck II LGS AO system. We use this model to characterize the LGS aberrations as a function of pupil angle, elevation, sodium structure, uplink tip/tilt error, detector field of view, the number of detector pixels, and seeing. We also employ the model to estimate the LGS aberrations for the Palomar LGS AO system, the planned Keck I and the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) LGS AO systems. The LGS aberrations increase with increasing telescope diameter, but are reduced by central projection of the laser compared to side projection.

To Be or Not to Be: Very Young Globular Clusters in M31

We present observations made with the newly commissioned Keck laser-guide star adaptive optics system of 6 objects in M31 that are alleged in multiple recent studies to be young globular clusters (GCs); all are supposed to have ages less than 5 Gyr. The resulting FWHM of the PSF core in our images is ~70 mas. The four youngest of these objects are asterisms; they are with certainty not young GCs in M31. Based on their morphology, the two oldest are GCs in M31. While the M31 GCs with ages 5 -- 8 Gyr appear to be mostly genuine, it appears that many of the alleged very young GCs in M31 are spurious identifications. This problem will be even more severe in studies of the GC systems of more distant spiral galaxies now underway, for which imaging at the spatial resolution of our observations in M31 may not be adequate to detect sample contamination by asterisms.

Real-time modal control implementation for adaptive optics

The electronics, computing hardware, and computing used to provide real-time modal control for a laser guide-star adaptive optics system are presented. This approach offers advantages in the control of unobserved modes, the elimination of unwanted modes (e.g., tip and tilt), and automatic handling of the case of low-resolution lens arrays. In our two-step modal implementation, the input vector of gradients is first decomposed into a Zernike polynomial mode by a least-squares estimate. The number of modes is assumed to be less than or equal to the number of actuators. The mode coefficients are then available for collection and analysis or for the application of modal weights. Thus the modal weights may be changed quickly without recalculating the full matrix. The control-loop integrators are at this point in the algorithm. To calculate the deformable-mirror drive signals, the mode coefficients are converted to the zonal signals by a matrix multiply. When the number of gradients measured is less than the number of actuators, the integration in the control loop will be done on the lower-resolution grid to avoid growth of unobserved modes. These low-resolution data will then be effectively interpolated to yield the deformable-mirror drive signals.

Adaptive Optics Sky Coverage Calculations for the Gemini‐North Telescope

ABSTRACTSky coverage results are presented for several natural guide star (NGS) and laser guide star (LGS) adaptive optics (AO) configurations using scenario, telescope, and AO design parameters derived from the Gemini‐North 8 m telescope. “Sky coverage” is defined as that fraction of the sky over which the AO system provides a useful level of performance, in this case a high Strehl ratio in the J, H, or K band. Some of the factors considered in this study include optimization of the AO wavefront reconstruction algorithm and control bandwidth, the effect of windshake‐induced tip/tilt jitter, and the conjugation of the AO system's deformable mirror (DM) and wavefront sensor (WFS) to the dominant seeing layer at the Gemini‐North site. The degree of compensation of the tip/tilt guide star image by the higher order adaptive optics is also considered. LGS AO using a single beacon in the mesospheric sodium layer typically improves sky coverage by about an order of magnitude relative to NGS AO, principally because a very dim natural guide star is sufficient for tip/tilt sensing when its image is sharpened by LGS higher order compensation. The values assumed for windshake, seeing, zenith angle, and the conjugate range of the DM and WFS also have a highly significant effect upon the estimated sky coverage for both the NGS and the LGS AO systems. The first three of these factors will need to be considered by scheduling algorithms for queue‐based observing.