GRAVITY is a second generation near-infrared VLTI instrument that will combine the light of the four unit or four auxiliary telescopes of the ESO Paranal observatory in Chile. The major science goals are the observation of objects in close orbit around, or spiraling into the black hole in the Galactic center with unrivaled sensitivity and angular resolution as well as studies of young stellar objects and evolved stars. In order to cancel out the effect of atmospheric turbulence and to be able to see beyond dusty layers, it needs infrared wave-front sensors when operating with the unit telescopes. Therefore GRAVITY consists of the Beam Combiner Instrument (BCI) located in the VLTI laboratory and a wave-front sensor in each unit telescope Coudé room, thus aptly named Coudé Infrared Adaptive Optics (CIAO). This paper describes the CIAO design, assembly, integration and verification at the Paranal observatory.
GRAVITY is a near-infrared interferometric instrument that allows astronomers to combine the light of the four unit or four auxiliary telescopes of the ESO Very Large Telescope in Paranal, Chile. GRAVITY will deliver extremely precise relative astrometry and spatially resolved spectra. In order to study objects in regions of high extinction (e.g. the Galactic Center, or star forming regions), GRAVITY will use infrared wavefront sensors. The suite of four wavefront sensors located in the Coudé room of each of the unit telescopes are known as the Coudé Integrated Adaptive Optics (CIAO). The CIAO wavefront sensors are being constructed by the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (MPIA) and are being installed and commissioned at Paranal between February and September of 2016. This presentation will focus on system tests performed in the MPIA adaptive optics laboratory in Heidelberg, Germany in preparation for shipment to Paranal, as well as on-sky data from the commissioning of the first instrument. We will discuss the CIAO instruments, control strategy, optimizations, and performance at the telescope.
We use a numerical model of the birefringence in the VLT Interferometer (VLTI) and the Gravity instrument to study the astrometric phase errors that arise when two conditions are simultaneously present: differential birefringence between two VLTI arms, and different polarizations of the science and fringe tracker sources. We present measurements of the VLTI birefringence, that are used to validate our model. We show how a suitable alignment of the eigenvectors of the optical train eliminates the phase error.
The New Adaptive Optics Module for Interferometry (NAOMI)<sup>1</sup> is the future low order adaptive optics system to be developed for and installed at the ESO 1.8 m Auxiliary Telescopes (ATs). The four ATs<sup>2</sup> are designed for interferometry which they are essentially dedicated for. Currently the AT's are equipped with a fast, visible tip-tilt sensor called STRAP<sup>3</sup> (System for Tip/tilt Removal with Avalanche Photodiodes), and the corrections are applied through a tip-tilt mirror. The goal is to equip all four ATs with a low-order Shack-Hartmann system operating in the visible for the VLTI dual feed light beams in place of the current tip-tilt correction. Because of the limited size of the ATs (1.8m diameter), a low-order system will be sufficient. The goal is to concentrate the energy into a coherent core and to make the encircled energy (into the single mode fibers) stable and less dependent on the atmospheric conditions in order to increase the sensitivity of the interferometric instruments. The system will use the ESO real time computer platform Sparta-light as the baseline. This paper presents the preliminary design concept and outlines the benefits to current and future VLTI instruments.
The New Adaptive Optics Module for Interferometry (NAOMI) is the future low order Adaptive optics system to be developed for and installed at the ESO 1.8 m Auxiliary Telescopes (ATs). The four ATs are designed for interferometry which they are essentially dedicated for. The project goal is to equip the telescopes with a low-order Shack-Hartmann system operating in the visible in place of the current tip-tilt correction. The deformable mirror (DM) for NAOMI is rotating with the AT azimuth axis whereas the wavefront sensor (WFS), which signals are used to control the DM, has a fixed position in the telescope basement. It is not co-rotating with the DM. The result is that the projection of the actuator pattern is rotating with respect to the WFS when the telescope is tracking an object on sky. In order to avoid the use of an optical de-rotator we developed an algorithm to de-rotate the commands to the DM in software. This paper outlines the concept of the software de-rotation as well as the performance obtained from end-to-end simulations.
The quality of data obtained by VLTI instruments may be refined by analyzing the continuous data supplied by the Reflective Memory Network (RMN). Based on 5 years experience providing VLTI instruments (PACMAN, AMBER, MIDI) with RMN data, the procedure has been generalized to make the synchronization with observation trouble-free. The present software interface saves not only months of efforts for each instrument but also provides the benefits of software frameworks. Recent applications (GRAVITY, MATISSE) supply feedback for the software to evolve. The paper highlights the way common features been identified to be able to offer reusable code in due course.
We report recent success to stabilize the VLTI/MIDI-10um beam-combiner with K-band fringe tracking, provided by PRIMA (FSU). After encouraging commissioning results, presented during the last SPIE, we accomplished in November 2011 a successful run of science demonstration. A broad range of targets were observed, from planet-hosting stars over YSO disks to AGN. We will present first results, focussing on the improvements on sensitivity and precision with respect to classical MIDI stand-alone observations. MIDI broad-band dispersion and group-delay can be reliably predicted by the fringe tracker to enable coherent integration beyond coherence time at the lambda/10 precision level.
The Extrasolar Planet Search with PRIMA project (ESPRI) aims at characterising and detecting extrasolar planets by measuring the host star's reflex motion using the narrow-angle astrometry capability of the PRIMA facility at the Very Large Telescope Interferometer. A first functional demonstration of the astrometric mode was achieved in early 2011. This marked the start of the astrometric commissioning phase with the purpose of characterising the instrument's performance, which ultimately has to be sufficient for exoplanet detection. We show results obtained from the observation of bright visual binary stars, which serve as test objects to determine the instrument's astrometric precision, its accuracy, and the plate scale. Finally, we report on the current status of the ESPRI project, in view of starting its scientific programme.
The quality of the tracking performed by the fringe sensor units (FSUs) of PRIMA, the ESO's dual feed facility for the VLTI, is affected by the angular separation between the two objects being observed simultaneously, the detector integration time (DIT) and the atmospheric observational conditions. We describe the algorithm we developed to compute visibilities from the FSU data and discuss their validity for the study on the angular anisoplanatism measured through the dependence of the visibility amplitudes on the angular separation.
The fringe sensor unit (FSU) is the central element of the phase referenced imaging and micro-arcsecond astrometry (PRIMA) dual-feed facility for the Very Large Telescope interferometer (VLTI). It has been installed at the Paranal observatory in August 2008 and is undergoing commissioning and preparation for science operation. Commissioning observations began shortly after installation and first results include the demonstration of spatially encoded fringe sensing and the increase in VLTI limiting magnitude for fringe tracking. However, difficulties have been encountered because the FSU does not incorporate real-time photometric correction and its fringe encoding depends on polarisation. These factors affect the control signals, especially their linearity, and can disturb the tracking control loop. To account for this, additional calibration and characterisation efforts are required. We outline the instrument concept and give an overview of the commissioning results obtained so far. We describe the effects of photometric variations and beam-train polarisation on the instrument operation and propose possible solutions. Finally, we update on the current status in view of the start of astrometric science operation with PRIMA.
We report first results obtained from observations using a PRIMA FSU (Fringe Sensor Unit) as a fringe tracker for MIDI on the VLTI when operating with the 1.8-m ATs. Interferometric observations require the correction of the disturbance in the optical path induced by atmospheric turbulence ("piston"). The PRIMA FSU is able to compensate for such disturbances in real-time which makes it a suitable facility to stabilize the fringe signal for other VLTI instruments, like AMBER, MIDI or later MATISSE. Currently, the atmospheric coherence time in the N band (8 to 13 &mu;m) observed by MIDI, as well as the thermal background in this band, require a minimum target flux of 20 Jy and a correlated flux of 10 Jy (in PRISM/HIGH SENSE mode and using the ATs under standard conditions) to allow self-fringe-tracking and data reduction. However, we show that if the fringes are stabilized by the FSU, coherent integration allows a reliable data reduction even for the observation of faint targets (F<sub>corr</sub> &lt;10 Jy) with MIDI at standard detector exposure times. We were able to measure the correlated flux of a 0.5 Jy source, which pushes the current limits of MIDI down to regions where numerous new targets become accessible on ATs. For faint object observations we will discuss the usage of VISIR photometry for calibration purposes. The observational tests done so far and the obtained results represent a first step towards Phase Referenced Imaging with the VLTI in the mid-infrared.
MAMMUT (Mirror vibrAtion Metrolology systeM for the Unit Telescope) is an ESO funded feasibility project for the development of a fiber interferometer prototype designed for optical path laser-metrology along the optical train of the Unit Telescopes (UT) of the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI). Fast mechanical vibrations originating in the VLTI cause fast variations of the optical path difference between two arms of the stellar interferometer, thus reducing the contrast of measured interference fringes. MAMMUT aims at monitoring in real time the optical path variations inside the Coudé train of the UT, for active control purposes. MAMMUT features a 250-meter-long optical fiber which can be used to deliver and inject a laser beam at 1353 nm into the UT. The injected beam can be dropped from the telescope in the Coudé room and interfered with a phase reference, provided by the second 250-meter-long arm of the fiber interferometer. The optical path variations are measured by means of an active homodyne scheme. Coherence between the beam at the injection point and the phase reference is provided by active fiber stabilization, made possible by the implementation of an internal metrology channel in MAMMUT. Here we present the initial laboratory performance results of the MAMMUT prototype, which will be able to sense optical path variations of +/- 5 &mu;m with sub-10 nm precision within a bandwidth of at least 100 Hz.
PRIMA/PACMAN is scheduled for commissioning on Paranal in late 2008 as part of the VLTI. In this paper, we discuss the important aspects of its astrometric data-reduction software. For example, the top-level requirements, interfaces to existing ESO software, data types, data levels, and data flow among the recipes dictate the overall design of any software package. In addition, the complexity of the PACMAN instrument, the long-term nature of astrometric observations, and the need to improve algorithms as the understanding of the hardware improves, impose additional requirements on the astrometric data-reduction software.
The Phase-Referenced Imaging and Micro-arcsecond Astrometry (PRIMA) facility is scheduled for installation in the Very Large Telescope Interferometer observatory in Paranal, Chile, in the second half of 2008. Its goal is to provide an astrometric accuracy in the micro-arcsecond range. High precision astrometry can be applied to explore the dynamics of the dense stellar cluster. Especially models for the formation of stars near super massive black holes or the fast transfer of short-lived massive stars into the innermost parsec of our galaxy can be tested. By measuring the orbits of stars close the the massive black hole one can probe deviations from a Keplerian motion. Such deviations could be due to a swarm of dark, stellar mass objects that perturb the point mass solution. At the same time the orbits are affected by relativistic corrections which thus can be tested. The ultimate goal is to test the effects of general relativity in the strong gravitational field. The latter can be probed with the near infrared flares of SgrA* which are most likely due to accretion phenomena onto the black hole. We study the expected performance of PRIMA for astrometric measurements in the Galactic Center based on laboratory measurements and discuss possible observing strategies.
The VLTI's PRIMA (Phase-Referenced Imaging and Microarcsecond Astrometry) instrument is designed to provide tens of microarcseond astrometry and faint-object imaging for the interferometer facility. Astrometry is to be enabled by PRIMA between object pairs that are separated on the sky by one isoplanatic patch (roughly 60 seconds of arc at Cerro Paranal in the <i>K</i> band), with at least one of the two objects being bright (<i>K</i> <10), and a second fainter object (&Delta;<i>K</i> < 7) that is nominally a 'stable' astrometric reference. The original expectation was for star-star pairs to be observed by PRIMA in its astrometric mode; however, we are exploring the possibility of also utilizing background galaxies in this role. Advantages of such source selection is eliminating the need to solve for dim object parallax and proper motion before obtaining similar values for the bright foreground star. Additionally, data from the galaxy may be of scientific interest as well, potentially leading to characterizations of object morphology at milliarcsecond scales. Towards that end, we have begun observations with ESO's NTT to explore the suitability of qualifying star-galaxy asterisms as potential PRIMA targets. Commissioning observations for PRIMA are slated to begin in Fall of 2008.
The Fringe Sensor Unit (FSU) is the central element of the dual-feed facility PRIMA at the VLT Interferometer (VLTI). Two identical FSU fringe detectors deliver real-time estimates of phase delay, group delay and signal-to-noise ratio for the two observed targets. They serve both as the scientific instrument for astrometry with PRIMA and as sensor for the fringe tracking system of the interferometer. Prior to its installation at the VLTI scheduled for mid-2008, the FSU is going through an extensive laboratory test phase. It is therefore embedded in a semi-realistic environment, involving a VLTI-like control system and a laser metrology. This allows us to probe the system response to atmospheric piston jitter, tip-tilt disturbances and higher order aberrations, as they are expected at the observatory. We report on the system test results, outline the optimisation of the calibration procedure and we evaluate the FSU fringe tracking performance under realistic conditions. Finally, we compare the obtained performances to the scientific and technical requirements.
One of the key components of the planned VLTI dual feed facility PRIMA is the Fringe Sensor Unit (FSU). Its basic function is the instantaneous measurement of the Optical Path Difference (OPD) between two beams. The FSU acts as the sensor for a complex control system involving optical delay lines and laser metrology with the aim of removing any OPD introduced by the atmosphere and the beam relay. We have initiated a cooperation between ESO and MPE with the purpose of systematically testing this Fringe Tracking Control System in a laboratory environment. This testbed facility is being built at MPE laboratories with the aim to simulate the VLTI and includes FSUs, OPD controller, metrology and in-house built delay lines. In this article we describe this testbed in detail, including the environmental conditions in the laboratory, and present the results of the testbed subsystem characterisation.
We report on observations with MACAO-VLTI to feed the VLT Interferometer in November 2003. The purpose of this observing run was to optimize the feed to the VLTI by varying certain parameters of the curvature AO system and of the interferometer instrument VINCI. All along the main concern about this instrument combination was the differential piston introduced by 2 independent AO systems. A special so-called "piston removal algorithm" has been developed especially for this purpose. Each DM Influence Function is carefully characterized and a pure piston mode is defined to compensate piston over the pupil produced by a given voltage set. Piston is reduced by ~20 using this algorithm. It was found that decreasing the system main gain, while reducing strehl ratio, also reduces high frequency vibrations on the DM and therefore OPD variations. A control frequency of 420 Hz instead of the nominal 350 Hz was found to improve substantially the coupling by reducing the excitation of the DM resonance (~700Hz). On bright stars, an improvement of a factor of 30 in the flux injection into the VINCI fibers was measured. Following these tests a successful observation of the active nucleus of NGC 1068 was performed leading to a visibility of 40.4±5.4% on an average baseline of 45.84 m. The K magnitude in the 60 mas central source is 9.2±0.4. The results already put some interesting constraints on the inner torus and central engine of the nucleus of NGC 1068 but mostly show that the combination MACAO-VLTI and VINCI opens the realm of extragalactic astronomy to interferometry.
With ESO's Phase Referenced Imaging and Micro-arcsecond Astrometry (PRIMA) facility well into its procurement phase expectations are made about the astrometric performance. It appears that in almost all respects the instrumentally induced errors are expected to have Power Spectral densities well below those due to the atmosphere. However for the target performance to be achieved, some effects must reduce by averaging by some 4 orders of magnitude. The most serious worry foreseen is lack of thermal stability in the air-filled Delay Line tunnel, and it is recommended that outside wind influence be impeded.
The European Southern Observatory (ESO) is presently developing the PRIMA facility (Phase Referenced Imaging and Microarcsecond Astronomy). PRIMA will enable the observation of very faint celestial objects. A key element in this facility is the Star Separator that has been designed and is being built by TNO TPD in the Netherlands. This Star Separator makes it possible in principle to simultaneously observe two objects, the guide star and the faint object, with one telescope. The separation of the faint object and the guide star is case dependent i.e. the separation between the two objects depends on the observation direction. This necessitates the use of a very accurate and stable pointing mechanism. The required repeatability of such mechanism is < 0.5 arcsec while its resolution should be < 0.1 arcsec. By using a statically determined fully elastic guiding and actuation mechanism in combination with closed loop driven piezos the realization of such mechanism was successful. A unique feature of the mechanism is that only the guiding/actuating mechanism needed to be designed. The rest is readily available from piezo suppliers. This makes this pointing mechanism a true low budget solution with excellent performance.
MACAO stands for Multi Application Curvature Adaptive Optics. A similar concept is applied to fulfill the need for wavefront correction for several VLT instruments. MACAO-VLTI is one of these built in 4 copies in order to equip the Coude focii of the ESO VLT's. The optical beams will then be corrected before interferometric recombination in the VLTI (Very Large Telescope Interferometer) laboratory. MACAO-VLTI uses a 60 elements bimorph mirror and curvature wavefront sensor. A custom made board processes the signals provided by the wavefront detectors, 60 Avalanche Photo-diodes, and transfer them to a commercial Power PC CPU board for Real Time Calculation. Mirrors Commands are sent to a High Voltage amplifier unit through an optical fiber link. The tip-tilt correction is done by a dedicated Tip-tilt mount holding the deformable mirror. The whole wavefront is located at the Coude focus. Software is developed in house and is ESO compatible. Expected performance is a Strehl ratio sligthly under 60% at 2.2 micron for bright reference sources (star V<10) and a limiting magnitude of 17.5 (Strehl ~0.1). The four systems will be installed in Paranal successively, the first one being planned for June 2003 and the last one for June 2004.
This paper summarizes three years of observations of the resonant optical backscatter of laser, used to produce a mesospheric sodium-layer laser guide star for an adaptive optics system. Observations were obtained from a neighboring telescope. The aim of this work was two-fold: to study the Na plume (altitude and profile variations) and to study the Rayleigh cone in order to achieve scattering measurements relevant to the light pollution created by a sodium laser guide star. We report on the short-term characteristics of the sodium layer and stress the consequences of these variations for Laser Guide Star Adaptive Optics System operations. From the measurements of the background intensity measured while observing the laser guide star and the top of the Rayleigh cone, we can derive information on the light pollution produced by the laser as well as the resulting implications for an observatory laser management policy. Information on the laser intensity, size and shape along the Rayleigh cone are also presented.
An update of the current status and schedule of PRIMA (Phase-Referenced Imaging and Micro-arcsecond Astrometry) developed for the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) is given, with emphasis on the astrometric objectives, performances and technological challenges. PRIMA will allow to observe simultaneously two fields separated by 2 to 60 arcsec, to detect and track the fringes on the brightest object, to detect the fringes on the faintest, and to measure the phase of the secondary set of fringes relative to the primary one, with an accuracy of (lambda) /1000 at 2 micrometers .
The optical backscatter of the 4W CW laser used to produce a mesospheric sodium-layer laser guide star for the MPE adaptive optics system (ALFA) has been observed from a neighboring 2.2 m telescope. The observations, taken at the Max Planck Observatory in Calar-Alto (Spain), in August 1998, had two aims: study the Na plume (altitude and profile variations) and the Rayleigh cone to achieve Rayleigh scattering measurements. In the framework of the network, `Laser Guide Star for 8 m class telescopes', a program of the European Commission, ESO, MPE and NUI, Galway are collaborating on studying the light pollution due to the MPE ALFA laser.
This paper describes the effects of Laser Guide Star spot elongation and Rayleigh scattering on wavefront sensing performances. An analytical model of Rayleigh scattering and a numerical model of laser plume generation at the altitude of the atmospheric sodium layer were developed. These models, integrated into a general Adaptive Optics (AO) simulation, provide information about the non-uniform centroid measurement accuracy on the sensor sub-apertures. The effects of laser power, laser type, laser launching position, sensor sampling and sensor field of view on the AO loop performances are analyzed and discussed.
In the framework of the European Training and Mobility of Researchers program, a network named 'Laser Guide Star for 8-m Class Telescopes' has been funded. One task of this network consists in developing a numerical simulator devoted to laser guide star adaptive optics systems for astronomy. The principal aim of this simulator is to support investigations about laser guide star problems like cone effect and tip-tilt indetermination. In order to allow all kinds of solutions to these problems, the simulator structure was built as versatile as possible. This software package includes several modules that allow atmospheric perturbations simulation, geometrical wavefront sensing and reconstruction, points-spread function calculation, time filtering, etc. The paper describes the version 1.0 of this simulator called LA<SUP>3</SUP>OS<SUP>2</SUP>, together with an example of application.
We describe in this paper the development of a simulation tool for modeling any kind of adaptive optic system with laser guide star within the framework of the European network Laser Guide Star for 8-m Class Telescopes. This is intended to support investigations about laser guide stars problems line cone effect and tip-tilt determination. The different kinds of software modules to be developed are listed and the libraries already distributed among the network are described: phase screen generation, downward propagation, wavefront sensing and reconstruction. The future studies for solving the cone effect are also presented.
The characteristics and performances of a new Mueller-matrix scatterometer will be described. Applications and results on industrial samples will be presented. The device measures the angular distribution of the 16 Mueller-matrix elements, characterizing completely the light polarization modifications induced by any sample, transparent or scattering, in reflexion or in transmission. The measurement is made in less than 1 s., with an accuracy higher than 95 %, for any angle of incidence and any scattering angle in the range ofO° (forward scattering) to 175° (near backscattering). The instrument is using electro-optical polarization modulation techniques for polarization generation, a 4-detector photopolarimeter for polarization detection, and Fast Fourier Transform (FF1') for the analyzis of the 4 signals. The interest of Mueller-matrix analyzis is that, compared to simple scatterometric measurements, this method can give information about the non-ideality of the analyzed samples : shape of the particles in suspensions, multiple reflexions, presence of contaminants, roughness shape of surfaces, porosity, presence of thin surface films. This information is very valuable for complex industrial samples. The applicxations include testing of transparent, non-scattering elements (liquid crystal devices), characterization of scattering translucent samples (suspensions in chemical industries), and inspection of rough surfaces covered or not by thin films (e.g. steel or aluminum sheets on production lines, electrochemical deposits). A future developement of the methjod for imaging Mueller-matrix polanmetry-scatterometry will also be described.
Suspensions of polystyrene latex beads in chiral solutions were investigated. The rotatory power, induced by solubilized sucrose, in near-forward scattering was measured via a method using polarization modulation by photo-elastic modulator. The sensitivity of the measurement was enhanced and optimized in order to measure sucrose concentrations as low as 5 mg/ml in a cell 5 mm thick only. Different concentrations and diameters of latex particles were used in combination with different sucrose concentrations going from 1 mg/ml up to saturation. The experiments showed that the apparent rotatory power is enhanced by multiple scattering, that depolarization effects are less important with highly concentrated sucrose solutions and that attention has to be paid to cell border effects in order to avoid important artifacts, in case of highly scattering suspensions. Qualitative and theoretical explanations of those observations are presented. One possible application of this method is to measure the sugar content in human blood, in vivo, non-invasively, through the skin. The concentration to be evaluated is at the sensitivity limit. So any artifact has to be removed carefully, e.g. skin cell birefringence or chirality.