A telescope with a larger primary mirror can collect much more light and resolve objects much better than one with a smaller mirror, and so the larger version is always pursued by astronomers and astronomical technici...A telescope with a larger primary mirror can collect much more light and resolve objects much better than one with a smaller mirror, and so the larger version is always pursued by astronomers and astronomical technicians. Instead of using a monolithic primary mirror, more and more large telescopes, which are currently being planned or in construction, have adopted a segmented primary mirror design. Therefore, how to sense and phase such a primary mirror is a key issue for the future of extremely large optical/infrared telescopes. The Dispersed Fringe Sensor （DFS）, or Dispersed Hartmann Sensor （DHS）, is a non-contact method using broadband point light sources and it can estimate the piston by the two-directional spectrum formed by the transmissive grating＇s dispersion and lenslet array. Thus it can implement the combination of co-focusing by Shack-Hartmann technology and phasing by dispersed fringe sensing technologies such as the template-mapping method and the Hartmann method. We introduce the successful design, construction and alignment of our dis- persed Hartmann sensor together with its design principles and simulations. We also conduct many successful real phasing tests and phasing corrections in the visible waveband using our existing indoor segmented mirror optics platform. Finally, some conclusions are reached based on the test and correction of experimental results.展开更多
Telescopes with large aspherical primary mirrors collect more light and are therefore sought after by astronomers. Instead of using a single large one-piece mirror, smaller segments can be assembled into a useable tel...Telescopes with large aspherical primary mirrors collect more light and are therefore sought after by astronomers. Instead of using a single large one-piece mirror, smaller segments can be assembled into a useable telescopic primary. Because the segments must fit together to create the effect of a single mirror, segmented optics present unique challenges to the fabrication and testing that are absent in monolithic optics. A dispersed fringe sensor （DFS） using a broadband point source is an efficient method for cophasing and is also highly automated and robust. Unlike the widely adopted Shack- Hartmann Wavefront sensor and curvature wavefront sensor with edge sensors for calibration of relative pistons, DFS can estimate the piston between segments by only using the spectrum formed by the transmissive grating＇s dispersion, and therefore can replace the edge sensors, which are difficult to calibrate. We introduce the theory of the DFS and Dispersed Hartmann Sensor （DHS） for further utilization of the coarse phasing method of DFS. According to the theory, we bring out the preliminary system design of the cophasing experimental system based on DFS and DHS which is now established in our institute. Finally, a summary is reached.展开更多
We propose a high-contrast coronagraph for direct imaging of young Jupiter-like planets orbiting nearby bright stars. The coronagraph employs a step- transmission filter in which the intensity is apodized with a finit...We propose a high-contrast coronagraph for direct imaging of young Jupiter-like planets orbiting nearby bright stars. The coronagraph employs a step- transmission filter in which the intensity is apodized with a finite number of steps with identical transmission in each step. It should be installed on a large ground-based telescope equipped with a state-of-the-art adaptive optics system. In this case, contrast ratios around 10-6 should be accessible within 0.1 arcsec of the central star. In recent progress, a coronagraph with a circular apodizing filter has been developed, which can be used for a ground-based telescope with a central obstruction and spider structure. It is shown that ground-based direct imaging of Jupiter-like planets is promising with current technology.展开更多
A 30-m TeraHertz（THz） radio telescope is proposed to operate at 200 μm with an active primary surface.This paper presents sensitivity analysis of active surface panel positioning errors with optical performance in ...A 30-m TeraHertz（THz） radio telescope is proposed to operate at 200 μm with an active primary surface.This paper presents sensitivity analysis of active surface panel positioning errors with optical performance in terms of the Strehl ratio.Based on Ruze＇s surface error theory and using a Monte Carlo simulation,the effects of six rigid panel positioning errors,such as piston,tip,tilt,radial,azimuthal and twist displacements,were directly derived.The optical performance of the telescope was then evaluated using the standard Strehl ratio.We graphically illustrated the various panel error effects by presenting simulations of complete ensembles of full reflector surface errors for the six different rigid panel positioning errors.Study of the panel error sensitivity analysis revealed that the piston error and tilt/tip errors are dominant while the other rigid errors are much less important.Furthermore,as indicated by the results,we conceived of an alternative Master-Slave Concept-based（MSC-based） active surface by implementating a special Series-Parallel Concept-based（SPC-based） hexapod as the active panel support mechanism.A new 30-m active reflector based on the two concepts was demonstrated to achieve correction for all the six rigid panel positioning errors in an economically feasible way.展开更多
An atmospheric turbulence phase screen generated using a fractal method is introduced. It is etched onto fused silica and tested in the laboratory. The etched screen has relatively low cost, high resolution, and can b...An atmospheric turbulence phase screen generated using a fractal method is introduced. It is etched onto fused silica and tested in the laboratory. The etched screen has relatively low cost, high resolution, and can be used in the broad waveband under severe temperature conditions. Our results are shown to agree well with the theory.展开更多
An active reflector is one of the key technologies for constructing large telescopes, especially for millimeter/sub-millimeter radio telescopes. This article in- troduces a new efficient laser angle metrology system f...An active reflector is one of the key technologies for constructing large telescopes, especially for millimeter/sub-millimeter radio telescopes. This article in- troduces a new efficient laser angle metrology system for an active reflector antenna on large radio telescopes. Our experiments concentrate on developing an active reflec- tor for improving the detection precisions and the maintenance of the surface shape in real time on the 65-meter prototype radio telescope constructed by Nanjing Institute of Astronomical Optics and Technology （NIAOT; http：//65rn.shao.cas.cn/）. The test results indicate that the accuracy of the surface shape segmentation and maintenance has the dimensions of microns, and the time-response can be on the order of minutes. Our efforts proved to be workable for sub-millimeter radio telescopes.展开更多
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos. 10703008 and 11073035)also partly supported by the Knowledge Innovation Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. KJCX2-YW-T17)
文摘A telescope with a larger primary mirror can collect much more light and resolve objects much better than one with a smaller mirror, and so the larger version is always pursued by astronomers and astronomical technicians. Instead of using a monolithic primary mirror, more and more large telescopes, which are currently being planned or in construction, have adopted a segmented primary mirror design. Therefore, how to sense and phase such a primary mirror is a key issue for the future of extremely large optical/infrared telescopes. The Dispersed Fringe Sensor （DFS）, or Dispersed Hartmann Sensor （DHS）, is a non-contact method using broadband point light sources and it can estimate the piston by the two-directional spectrum formed by the transmissive grating＇s dispersion and lenslet array. Thus it can implement the combination of co-focusing by Shack-Hartmann technology and phasing by dispersed fringe sensing technologies such as the template-mapping method and the Hartmann method. We introduce the successful design, construction and alignment of our dis- persed Hartmann sensor together with its design principles and simulations. We also conduct many successful real phasing tests and phasing corrections in the visible waveband using our existing indoor segmented mirror optics platform. Finally, some conclusions are reached based on the test and correction of experimental results.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No. 10703008)
文摘Telescopes with large aspherical primary mirrors collect more light and are therefore sought after by astronomers. Instead of using a single large one-piece mirror, smaller segments can be assembled into a useable telescopic primary. Because the segments must fit together to create the effect of a single mirror, segmented optics present unique challenges to the fabrication and testing that are absent in monolithic optics. A dispersed fringe sensor （DFS） using a broadband point source is an efficient method for cophasing and is also highly automated and robust. Unlike the widely adopted Shack- Hartmann Wavefront sensor and curvature wavefront sensor with edge sensors for calibration of relative pistons, DFS can estimate the piston between segments by only using the spectrum formed by the transmissive grating＇s dispersion, and therefore can replace the edge sensors, which are difficult to calibrate. We introduce the theory of the DFS and Dispersed Hartmann Sensor （DHS） for further utilization of the coarse phasing method of DFS. According to the theory, we bring out the preliminary system design of the cophasing experimental system based on DFS and DHS which is now established in our institute. Finally, a summary is reached.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (Grant No. 10873024)
文摘We propose a high-contrast coronagraph for direct imaging of young Jupiter-like planets orbiting nearby bright stars. The coronagraph employs a step- transmission filter in which the intensity is apodized with a finite number of steps with identical transmission in each step. It should be installed on a large ground-based telescope equipped with a state-of-the-art adaptive optics system. In this case, contrast ratios around 10-6 should be accessible within 0.1 arcsec of the central star. In recent progress, a coronagraph with a circular apodizing filter has been developed, which can be used for a ground-based telescope with a central obstruction and spider structure. It is shown that ground-based direct imaging of Jupiter-like planets is promising with current technology.
基金the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 10973025 and 10833004)
文摘A 30-m TeraHertz（THz） radio telescope is proposed to operate at 200 μm with an active primary surface.This paper presents sensitivity analysis of active surface panel positioning errors with optical performance in terms of the Strehl ratio.Based on Ruze＇s surface error theory and using a Monte Carlo simulation,the effects of six rigid panel positioning errors,such as piston,tip,tilt,radial,azimuthal and twist displacements,were directly derived.The optical performance of the telescope was then evaluated using the standard Strehl ratio.We graphically illustrated the various panel error effects by presenting simulations of complete ensembles of full reflector surface errors for the six different rigid panel positioning errors.Study of the panel error sensitivity analysis revealed that the piston error and tilt/tip errors are dominant while the other rigid errors are much less important.Furthermore,as indicated by the results,we conceived of an alternative Master-Slave Concept-based（MSC-based） active surface by implementating a special Series-Parallel Concept-based（SPC-based） hexapod as the active panel support mechanism.A new 30-m active reflector based on the two concepts was demonstrated to achieve correction for all the six rigid panel positioning errors in an economically feasible way.
基金supported by the dedicated operation funding forastronomical observation stations and facilities from the Chinese Academy of Sciences
文摘An atmospheric turbulence phase screen generated using a fractal method is introduced. It is etched onto fused silica and tested in the laboratory. The etched screen has relatively low cost, high resolution, and can be used in the broad waveband under severe temperature conditions. Our results are shown to agree well with the theory.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos. 10703008,11073035 and 10833004)the Knowledge Innovation Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. KJCX2-YW-T17)
文摘An active reflector is one of the key technologies for constructing large telescopes, especially for millimeter/sub-millimeter radio telescopes. This article in- troduces a new efficient laser angle metrology system for an active reflector antenna on large radio telescopes. Our experiments concentrate on developing an active reflec- tor for improving the detection precisions and the maintenance of the surface shape in real time on the 65-meter prototype radio telescope constructed by Nanjing Institute of Astronomical Optics and Technology （NIAOT; http：//65rn.shao.cas.cn/）. The test results indicate that the accuracy of the surface shape segmentation and maintenance has the dimensions of microns, and the time-response can be on the order of minutes. Our efforts proved to be workable for sub-millimeter radio telescopes.
