Maria Bergomi

The NIR arm of SHARK: System for coronagraphy with High-order Adaptive optics from R to K bands

SHARK is a proposal aimed at investigating the technical feasibility and the scientific capabilities of high-contrast cameras to be implemented at the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT). SHARK foresees two separated channels: near-infrared (NIR) channel and visible, both providing imaging and coronagraphic modes. We describe here the SHARK instrument concept, with particular emphasis on the NIR channel at the level of a conceptual study, performed in the framework of the call for proposals for new LBT instruments. The search for giant extra-Solar planets is the main science case, as we will outline in the paper.

LINC-NIRVANA Pathfinder: testing the next generation of wave front sensors at LBT

LINC-NIRVANA will employ four wave front sensors to realize multi-conjugate correction on both arms of a Fizeau interferometer for LBT. Of these, one of the two ground-layer wave front sensors, together with its infrared test camera, comprise a stand-alone test platform for LINC-NIRVANA. Pathfinder is a testbed for full LINC-NIRVANA intended to identify potential interface problems early in the game, thus reducing both technical, and schedule, risk. Pathfinder will combine light from multiple guide stars, with a pyramid sensor dedicated to each star, to achieve ground-layer AO correction via an adaptive secondary: the 672-actuator thin shell at the LBT. The ability to achieve sky coverage by optically coadding light from multiple stars has been previously demonstrated; and the ability to achieve correction with an adaptive secondary has also been previously demonstrated. Pathfinder will be the first system at LBT to combine both of these capabilities. Since reporting our progress at A04ELT2, we have advanced the project in three key areas: definition of specific goals for Pathfinder tests at LBT, more detail in the software design and planning, and calibration. We report on our progress and future plans in these three areas, and on the project overall.

Commissioning multi-conjugate adaptive optics with LINC-NIRVANA on LBT

This paper reports on early commissioning of LINC-NIRVANA (LN), an innovative Multi-Conjugate Adaptive Optics (MCAO) system for the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT). LN uses two, parallel MCAO systems, each of which corrects turbulence at two atmospheric layers, to deliver near diffraction-limited imagery over a two-arcminute field of view. We summarize LN’s approach to MCAO and give an update on commissioning, including the achievement of First Light in April 2018. This is followed by a discussion of challenges that arise from our particular type of MCAO and the solutions implemented. We conclude with a brief look forward to the remainder of commissioning and future upgrades.

PLATO: a multiple telescope spacecraft for exo-planets hunting

PLATO stands for PLAnetary Transits and Oscillation of stars and is a Medium sized mission selected as M3 by the European Space Agency as part of the Cosmic Vision program. The strategy behind is to scrutinize a large fraction of the sky collecting lightcurves of a large number of stars and detecting transits of exo-planets whose apparent orbit allow for the transit to be visible from the Earth. Furthermore, as the transit is basically able to provide the ratio of the size of the transiting planet to the host star, the latter is being characterized by asteroseismology, allowing to provide accurate masses, radii and hence density of a large sample of extra solar bodies. In order to be able to then follow up from the ground via spectroscopy radial velocity measurements these candidates the search must be confined to rather bright stars. To comply with the statistical rate of the occurrence of such transits around these kind of stars one needs a telescope with a moderate aperture of the order of one meter but with a Field of View that is of the order of 50 degrees in diameter. This is achieved by splitting the optical aperture into a few dozens identical telescopes with partially overlapping Field of View to build up a mixed ensemble of differently covered area of the sky to comply with various classes of magnitude stars. The single telescopes are refractive optical systems with an internally located pupil defined by a CaF2 lens, and comprising an aspheric front lens and a strong field flattener optical element close to the detectors mosaic. In order to continuously monitor for a few years with the aim to detect planetary transits similar to an hypothetical twin of the Earth, with the same revolution period, the spacecraft is going to be operated while orbiting around the L2 Lagrangian point of the Earth-Sun system so that the Earth disk is no longer a constraints potentially interfering with such a wide field continuous uninterrupted survey.

Expected gain in the pyramid wavefront sensor with limited Strehl ratio

Context. One of the main properties of the pyramid wavefront sensor is that, once the loop is closed, and as the reference star image shrinks on the pyramid pin, the wavefront estimation signal-to-noise ratio can considerably improve. This has been shown to translate into a gain in limiting magnitude when compared with the Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor, in which the sampling on the wavefront is performed before the light is split into four quadrants, which does not allow the quality of the focused spot to increase. Since this property is strictly related to the size of the re-imaged spot on the pyramid pin, the better the wavefront correction, the higher the gain. Aims. The goal of this paper is to extend the descriptive and analytical computation of this gain that was given in a previous paper, to partial wavefront correction conditions, which are representative for most of the wide field correction adaptive optics systems. Methods. After focusing on the low Strehl ratio regime, we analyze the minimum spatial sampling required for the wavefront sensor correction to still experience a considerable gain in sensitivity between the pyramid and the Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensors. Results. We find that the gain can be described as a function of the sampling in terms of the Fried parameter.

Ground layer correction: the heart of LINC-NIRVANA

The delivered image quality of ground-based telescopes depends greatly on atmospheric turbulence. At every observatory, the majority of the turbulence (up to 60-80% of the total) occurs in the ground layer of the atmosphere, that is, the first few hundred meters above the telescope pupil. Correction of these perturbations can, therefore, greatly increase the quality of the image. We use Ground-layer Wavefront Sensors (GWSs) to sense the ground layer turbulence for the LINC-NIRVANA (LN) instrument, which is in its final integration phase before shipment to the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) on Mt. Graham in Arizona.19 LN is an infrared Fizeau interferometer, equipped with an advanced Multi-Conjugate Adaptive Optics (MCAO) module, capable of delivering images with a spatial resolution equivalent to that of a ~23m diameter telescope. It exploits the Layer-Oriented, Multiple Field of View, MCAO approach3 and uses only natural guide stars for the correction. The GWS has more than 100 degrees of freedom. There are opto-mechanical complexities at the level of sub- systems, the GWS as a whole, and at the interface with the telescope. Also, there is a very stringent requirement on the superposition of the pupils on the detector. All these conditions make the alignment of the GWS very demanding and crucial. In this paper, we discuss the alignment and integration of the left-eye GWS of LN and detail the various tests done in the lab at INAF-Padova to verify proper system operation and performance.

Installation and commissioning of the LINC-NIRVANA near-infrared MCAO imager on LBT

This paper reports on the installation and initial commissioning of LINC-NIRVANA (LN), an innovative high resolution, near-infrared imager for the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT). We present the delicate and difficult installation procedure, the culmination of a re-integration campaign that was in full swing at the last SPIE meeting. We also provide an update on the ongoing commissioning campaigns, including our recent achievement of First Light. Finally, we discuss lessons learned from the shipment and installation of a large complex instrument.

An extensive coronagraphic simulation applied to LBT

In this article we report the results of a comprehensive simulation program aimed at investigating coronagraphic capabilities of SHARK-NIR, a camera selected to proceed to the final design phase at Large Binocular Telescope. For the purpose, we developed a dedicated simulation tool based on physical optics propagation. The code propagates wavefronts through SHARK optical train in an end-to-end fashion and can implement any kind of coronagraph. Detection limits can be finally computed, exploring a wide range of Strehl values and observing conditions.

High order dark wavefront sensing simulations

Dark wavefront sensing takes shape following quantum mechanics concepts in which one is able to “see” an object in one path of a two-arm interferometer using an as low as desired amount of light actually “hitting” the occulting object. A theoretical way to achieve such a goal, but in the realm of wavefront sensing, is represented by a combination of two unequal beams interferometer sharing the same incoming light, and whose difference in path length is continuously adjusted in order to show different signals for different signs of the incoming perturbation. Furthermore, in order to obtain this in white light, the path difference should be properly adjusted vs the wavelength used. While we incidentally describe how this could be achieved in a true optomechanical setup, we focus our attention to the simulation of a hypothetical “perfect” dark wavefront sensor of this kind in which white light compensation is accomplished in a perfect manner and the gain is selectable in a numerical fashion. Although this would represent a sort of idealized dark wavefront sensor that would probably be hard to match in the real glass and metal, it would also give a firm indication of the maximum achievable gain or, in other words, of the prize for achieving such device. Details of how the simulation code works and first numerical results are outlined along with the perspective for an in-depth analysis of the performances and its extension to more realistic situations, including various sources of additional noise.

Dark tip-tilt sensing

Dark wavefront sensing in its simplest and more crude form is a quad-cell with a round spot of dark ink acting as occulting disk at the center. This sensor exhibits fainter limiting magnitude than a conventional quad-cell, providing that the size of the occulting disk is slightly smaller than the size of the spot and smaller than the residual jitter movement in closed loop. We present simulations focusing a generic Adaptive Optics system using Natural Guide Stars to provide the tip-tilt signal. We consider a jitter spectrum of the residual correction including amplitudes exceeding the dark disk size.