Mikhail Vorontsov (US Army Research Laboratory), Jim F. Riker (US Army Research Laboratory) , G. Carhart (US Army Research Laboratory), V. S. Rao Gudimetla (US Army Research Laboratory), L. Beresnev (US Army Research Laboratory) and T. Weyrauch (University of Maryland)
Keywords: Adaptive Optics
Abstract:
Stochastic Parallel Gradient Descent Technique-based Adaptive Optics (SPGD-AO) system described in this presentation doesn’t use conventional wave front sensor. It uses a metric signal collected by a single pixel detector placed behind a pinhole in the image plane to drive three deformable mirrors (DMs). The system is designed to compensate the image for turbulence effects. The theory behind this method is described in detail in J. Opt. Soc. Ame. A, 15,2745-2758,1998. However, this technique, while widely simulated and tested, was not verified so far in astronomical field site experiments. During the month of May 2007, a series of experiments using SPGD-AO compensation on stars at several elevation angles and turbulence levels, were conducted successfully at US Air Force Maui Optical and Supercomputing Site (AMOS) using 3.6 m telescope. Some of the results of these experiments will be described. This is the first time SPGD-AO systems have been tested and verified in astronomical field site experiments.
Date of Conference: September 12-15, 2007
Track: Adaptive Optics