The Gran Telescopio Canarias laser guide star AO system: error budget and expected performance

I. Montilla; A. G. Basden; M. Reyes García-Talavera; R. Simoes; J. Sánchez-Capuchino; E. Hernández

doi:10.1117/12.2312582

18 July 2018 The Gran Telescopio Canarias laser guide star AO system: error budget and expected performance

I. Montilla, A. G. Basden, M. Reyes García-Talavera, R. Simoes, J. Sánchez-Capuchino, E. Hernández

Proceedings Volume 10703, Adaptive Optics Systems VI; 107033D (2018) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2312582
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2018, Austin, Texas, United States

Abstract

The Natural Guide Star Adaptive Optics system for the Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC) is in its integration phase, and meanwhile the Laser Guide Star update, which will follow two years later, has recently passed its Preliminary Design Phase. This LGS Facility will feature a TOPTICA Na laser, and it will open up the scientific possibilities of GTC enlarging the sky coverage of the AO system and allowing to study at high resolution more scientific targets. A trade-off study was undertaken to decide, among other details, the launching position of the laser and the feasibility of a further upgrade to an MCAO system vs technical complexity, cost and maintenance. As part of this study we have analysed the performance of the GTCAO LGS system to ensure that it will fulfil the specifications in all the different scenarios. Complete end-to-end (E2E) simulations have been performed using the versatile Durham AO Simulation Platform (DASP), including not only real atmospheric profiles from Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos but also the measured windshake spectrum of the secondary mirror of GTC, the different control loops (TT, DM, focus), the laser uplink jitter and launching telescope divergence, the segmented primary mirror and it's cophasing residual errors, the rotating pupil etc... In this contribution we present a detailed error budget of the system and the results of the E2E simulations that show the impact that such a system will have on the science done with GTC.

Citation Download Citation

I. Montilla, A. G. Basden, M. Reyes García-Talavera, R. Simoes, J. Sánchez-Capuchino, and E. Hernández "The Gran Telescopio Canarias laser guide star AO system: error budget and expected performance", Proc. SPIE 10703, Adaptive Optics Systems VI, 107033D (18 July 2018); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2312582

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KEYWORDS

Adaptive optics

Device simulation

Telescopes

Laser guide stars

Optical simulations

Mirrors

Sodium

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