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Context. Extremely large telescopes are overwhelmingly equipped with pyramid wavefront sensors (PyWFS) over the more widely used Shack–Hartmann wavefront sensor to perform their single-conjugate adaptive optics (SCAO) mode. The PyWFS, a sensor based on Fourier filtering, has proven to be highly successful in many astronomy applications. However, this sensor exhibits non-linear behaviours that lead to a reduction of the sensitivity of the instrument when working with non-zero residual wavefronts. This so-called optical gains (OG) effect, degrades the closed-loop performance of SCAO systems and prevents accurate correction of non-common path aberrations (NCPA). Aims. In this paper, we aim to compute the OG using a fast and agile strategy to control PyWFS measurements in adaptive optics closed-loop systems. Methods. Using a novel theoretical description of PyWFS, which is based on a convolutional model, we are able to analytically predict the behaviour of the PyWFS in closed-loop operation. This model enables us to explore the impact of residual wavefront errors on particular aspects such as sensitivity and associated OG. The proposed method relies on the knowledge of the residual wavefront statistics and enables automatic estimation of the current OG. End-to-end numerical simulations are used to validate our predictions and test the relevance of our approach. Results. We demonstrate, using on non-invasive strategy, that our method provides an accurate estimation of the OG. The model itself only requires adaptive optics telemetry data to derive statistical information on atmospheric turbulence. Furthermore, we show that by only using an estimation of the current Fried parameter r0 and the basic system-level characteristics, OGs can be estimated with an accuracy of less than 10%. Finally, we highlight the importance of OG estimation in the case of NCPA compensation. The proposed method is applied to the PyWFS. However, it remains valid for any wavefront sensor based on Fourier filtering subject from OG variations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Point-spread function (PSF) reconstruction (PSF-R) is a well-established technique to determine the PSF reliably and accurately from adaptive optics (AO) control-loop data. We have successfully applied this technique to improve the precision of photometry and astrometry for observations of NGC 6121 obtained with the Spectro Polarimetric High-contrast Exoplanet REsearch (SPHERE)/Zurich IMaging POLarimeter (ZIMPOL), which will be presented in a forthcoming Letter. First, we present the methodology we followed to reconstruct the PSF by combining pupil-plane and focal-plane measurements using our PSF-R method PRIME (PSF Reconstruction and Identification for Multiple-source characterization Enhancement), with upgrades of both the model and best-fitting steps compared with previous articles. Secondly, we highlight that PRIME allows us to maintain the PSF fitting residual below 0.2 per cent over 2 hours of observation and using only 30 s of AO telemetry, which may have important consequences for telemetry storage for PSF-R purposes on future 30–40 m class telescopes. Finally, we deploy PRIME in a more realistic regime using faint stars, so as to identify the precision needed on the initial-guess parameters to ensure convergence towards the optimal solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For extremely large telescopes, adaptive optics will be required to correct the Earth's turbulent atmosphere. The performance of tomographic adaptive optics is strongly dependent on the vertical distribution (profile) of this turbulence. An important way in which this manifests is the tomographic error, arising from imperfect measurement and reconstruction of the turbulent phase at altitude. Conventionally, a small number of reference profiles are used to obtain this error in simulation; however these profiles are not constructed to be representative in terms of tomographic error. It is therefore unknown whether these simulations are providing realistic performance estimates. Here, we employ analytical adaptive optics simulation that drastically reduces computation times to compute tomographic error for 10 691 measurements of the turbulence profile gathered by the Stereo-SCIDAR instrument at ESO Paranal. We assess for the first time the impact of the profile on tomographic error in a statistical manner. We find, in agreement with previous work, that the tomographic error is most directly linked with the distribution of turbulence into discrete, stratified layers. Reference profiles are found to provide mostly higher tomographic error than expected, which we attribute to the fact that these profiles are primarily composed of averages of many measurements resulting in unrealistic, continuous distributions of turbulence. We propose that a representative profile should be defined with respect to a particular system, and that as such simulations with a large statistical sample of profiles must be an important step in the design process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to enhance the scientific exploitation of adaptive optics (AO)-assisted observations, we investigate a novel hybrid concept to improve the parametric estimation of point spread function (PSF) called PSF Reconstruction and Identification for Multiple-source characterization Enhancement (PRIME). PRIME uses both focal and pupil-plane measurements to estimate jointly the model parameters related to the atmosphere [ |$C_n^2(h)$|⁠ , seeing] and the AO system (e.g. optical gains and residual low-order errors). Photometry and astrometry are provided as by-products. The parametric model in use is flexible enough to be scaled with field location and wavelength, making it a proper choice for optimized on-axis and off-axis data-reduction across the spectrum. Here, we present the methodology and validate PRIME on engineering and binary Keck II telescope NIRC2 images. We also present applications of PSF model parameters retrieval using PRIME: (i) calibrate the PSF model for observations void of stars on the acquired images, i.e. optimize the PSF reconstruction process, (ii) update the AO error breakdown mutually constrained by the telemetry and the images in order to speculate on the origin of the missing error terms and evaluate their magnitude, and (iii) measure photometry and astrometry with an application to the triple system Gl569 images. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowledge of the atmospheric turbulence in the telescope line-of-sight is crucial for wide-field observations assisted by adaptive optics (AO), particularly tomodel how the point spread function (PSF) elongates across the field of view (FOV) owing to the anisoplanatism effect. The extraction of key astronomical parameters accounts on an accurate representation of the PSF, which call for an accurate anisoplanatism characterisation. This one is, however, a function of the |$C_n^2(h)$| profile, which is not directly accessible from single-conjugate AO telemetry. It is possible to rely on external profilers, but recent studies have highlighted discrepancies of more than 10 per cent with AO internal measurements, while we aim at better than 1 per cent accuracy for PSF modelling. In order to tackle this limitation, we present focal-plane profiling (FPP) as a |$C_n^2(h)$| profiling method that relies on post-AO focal-plane images. We demonstrate that such an approach complies with a 1 per cent level of accuracy on the |$C_n^2(h)$| estimation and establish how this accuracy varies regarding the calibration star magnitudes and their positions in the field. We highlight the fact that photometry and astrometry errors caused by PSF mis-modelling reach respectively 1 per cent and 50 μas using FPP on a Keck baseline, with a preliminary calibration using a star of magnitude H = 14 at 20 arcsec. We validate this concept using Canada's NRC–Herzberg HeNOS testbed images by comparing FPP retrieval with alternative |$C_n^2(h)$| measurements on HeNOS. The FPP approach allows the |$C_n^2(h)$| to be profiled using the SCAO systems and significantly improves the PSF characterization. Such a methodology is also ELT-size-compliant and will be extrapolated to tomographic systems in the near future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wide Field Adaptive Optics (WFAO) systems are among the most sophisticated adaptive optics (AO) systems available today on large telescopes. Knowledge of the vertical spatio-temporal distribution of wind speed (WS) and direction (WD) is fundamental to optimize the performance of such systems. Previous studies already proved that the Gemini Multi-Conjugated AO system (GeMS) is able to retrieve measurements of the WS and WD stratification using the SLOpe Detection And Ranging (SLODAR) technique and to store measurements in the telemetry data. In order to assess the reliability of these estimates and of the SLODAR technique applied to such complex AO systems, in this study we compared WS and WD values retrieved from GeMS with those obtained with the atmospheric model Meso-NH on a rich statistical sample of nights. It has previously been proved that the latter technique provided excellent agreement with a large sample of radiosoundings, both in statistical terms and on individual flights. It can be considered, therefore, as an independent reference. The excellent agreement between GeMS measurements and the model that we find in this study proves the robustness of the SLODAR approach. To bypass the complex procedures necessary to achieve automatic measurements of the wind with GeMS, we propose a simple automatic method to monitor nightly WS and WD using Meso-NH model estimates. Such a method can be applied to whatever present or new-generation facilities are supported byWFAO systems. The interest of this study is, therefore, well beyond the optimization of GeMS performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe an onlinemethod to estimate thewavefront outer scale profile, L0(h), for very large and future extremely large telescopes. The stratified information on this parameter impacts the estimation of the main turbulence parameters [turbulence strength, Cn²(h); Fried's parameter, r0; isoplanatic angle, τ0; and coherence time, t0) and determines the performance of widefield adaptive optics (AO) systems. This technique estimates L0(h) using data from the AO loop available at the facility instruments by constructing the cross-correlation functions of the slopes between two or more wavefront sensors, which are later fitted to a linear combination of the simulated theoretical layers having different altitudes and outer scale values. We analyse some limitations found in the estimation process: (i) its insensitivity to large values of L0(h) as the telescope becomes blind to outer scales larger than its diameter; (ii) the maximum number of observable layers given the limited number of independent inputs that the cross-correlation functions provide and (iii) the minimum length of data required for a satisfactory convergence of the turbulence parameters without breaking the assumption of statistical stationarity of the turbulence. The method is applied to the Gemini South multiconjugate AO system that comprises five wavefront sensors and two deformable mirrors. Statistics of L0(h) at Cerro Pach'on from data acquired during 3 yr of campaigns show interesting resemblance to other independent results in the literature. A final analysis suggests that the impact of error sources will be substantially reduced in instruments of the next generation of giant telescopes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Adaptive Optics Facility (AOF) project envisages transforming one of theVLT units into an adaptive telescope and providing its ESO (European Southern Observatory) second generation instruments with turbulence-corrected wavefronts. For MUSE and HAWK-I this correction will be achieved through the GALACSI and GRAALAOmodulesworking in conjunction with a 1170 actuators deformable secondary mirror (DSM) and the new Laser Guide Star Facility (4LGSF). Multiple wavefront sensors will enable GLAO (ground layer adaptive optics) and LTAO (laser tomography adaptive optics) capabilities, whose performance can greatly benefit from a knowledge about the stratification of the turbulence in the atmosphere. This work, totally based on end-to-end simulations, describes the validation tests conducted on a C²n profiler adapted for the AOF specifications. Because an absolute profile calibration is strongly dependent on a reliable knowledge of turbulence parameters r0 and L0, the tests presented here refer only to normalized output profiles. Uncertainties in the input parameters inherent to the code are tested as well as the profiler response to different turbulence distributions. It adopts a correction for the unseen turbulence, critical for the GRAAL mode, and highlights the effects of masking out parts of the corrected wavefront on the results. Simulations of data with typical turbulence profiles from Paranal were input to the profiler, showing that it is possible to identify reliably the input features for all the AOF modes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Detailed knowledge of the mesospheric sodium layer characteristics is crucial to estimate and optimize the performance of laser guide star (LGS) assisted adaptive optics (AO) systems. In this paper, we present an analysis of two sets of data on the mesospheric sodium layer. The first set comes from a laser experiment that was carried out at Cerro Tololo to monitor the abundance and altitude of the mesospheric sodium in 2001, during six runs covering a period of one year. These data are used to derive the mesospheric sodium column density, the sodium layer thickness and the temporal behaviour of the sodium layer mean altitude. The second set of data was gathered during the first year of the Gemini Multi-Conjugate Adaptive Optics (MCAO) System (GeMS) commissioning and operations. GeMS uses five LGSs to measure and compensate for atmospheric distortions. Analysis of the LGS wavefront sensor (WFS) data provides information about the sodium photon return and the spot elongation seen by the WFS. All these parameters show large variations on a yearly, nightly and hourly basis, affecting the LGS brightness, shape and mean altitude. The sodium photon return varies by a factor of 3–4 over a year, and can change by a factor of 2 over a night. In addition, the comparison of the photon returns obtained in 2001 with those measured a decade later using GeMS shows a significant difference in laser format efficiencies. We find that the temporal power spectrum of the sodium mean altitude follows a linear trend, in good agreement with the results reported by Pfrommer & Hickson. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]