Martin Fisher

EELT-HIRES the high-resolution spectrograph for the E-ELT

The first generation of E-ELT instruments will include an optic-infrared High Resolution Spectrograph, conventionally indicated as EELT-HIRES, which will be capable of providing unique breakthroughs in the fields of exoplanets, star and planet formation, physics and evolution of stars and galaxies, cosmology and fundamental physics. A 2-year long phase A study for EELT-HIRES has just started and will be performed by a consortium composed of institutes and organisations from Brazil, Chile, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom. In this paper we describe the science goals and the preliminary technical concept for EELT-HIRES which will be developed during the phase A, as well as its planned development and consortium organisation during the study.

Software and control for the Magdalena Ridge Observatory interferometer delay lines

The delay lines for the Magdalena Ridge Observatory Interferometer (MROI) will provide remote control of optical delays of up to 380m with sub-wavelength precision in vacuum. The delay-line prototype is now fully functional, all features having been demonstrated in a 20m long evacuated test rig. We describe the architecture, design and performance of the delay line software: this features distributed real-time control and flexible remote logging of diagnostic data from the delay line hardware components at up to 5 kHz.

Mechanical design of the Magdalena Ridge Observatory Interferometer

We report on the mechanical design currently performed at the Magdalena Ridge Observatory Interferometer (MROI) and how the construction, assembly, integration and verification are planned towards commissioning. Novel features were added to the mechanical design, and high level of automation and reliability are being devised, which allows the number of reflections to be kept down to a minimum possible. This includes unit telescope and associated enclosure and transporter, fast tip-tilt system, beam relay system, delay line system, beam compressor, automated alignment system, beam turning mirror, switchyard, fringe tracker and vacuum system.

The long-stroke MROI vacuum delay lines: from concept to production

We report on test results on the delay line system for the MRO Interferometer, currently under construction in Cambridge, UK. The delay lines are designed to provide 380 metres of vacuum path delay in a single stage, offering rapid star-to-star slews, high throughput and high transmitted wavefront quality. Details of the final design adopted for these delay lines are presented, together with lessons learnt from successful performance tests of the full-scale prototype trolley in a 20-metre long vacuum test rig. Delivery of the first production trolley is expected in New Mexico in early 2009.

The MROI fast tip-tilt correction and target acquisition system

The fast tip-tilt correction system for the Magdalena Ridge Observatory Interferometer (MROI) is being designed and fabricated by the University of Cambridge. The design of the system is currently at an advanced stage and the performance of its critical subsystems has been verified in the laboratory. The system has been designed to meet a demanding set of specifications including satisfying all performance requirements in ambient temperatures down to -5 °C, maintaining the stability of the tip-tilt fiducial over a 5 °C temperature change without recourse to an optical reference, and a target acquisition mode with a 60” field-of-view. We describe the important technical features of the system, which uses an Andor electron-multiplying CCD camera protected by a thermal enclosure, a transmissive optical system with mounts incorporating passive thermal compensation, and custom control software running under Xenomai real-time Linux. We also report results from laboratory tests that demonstrate (a) the high stability of the custom optic mounts and (b) the low readout and compute latencies that will allow us to achieve a 40 Hz closed-loop bandwidth on bright targets.

Final mechanical and opto-mechanical design of the Magdalena Ridge Observatory interferometer

Most subsystems of the Magdalena Ridge Observatory Interferometer (MROI) have progressed towards final mechanical design, construction and testing since the last SPIE meeting in San Diego - CA. The first 1.4-meter telescope has successfully passed factory acceptance test, and construction of telescopes #2 and #3 has started. The beam relay system has been prototyped on site, and full construction is awaiting funding. A complete 100-meter length delay line system, which includes its laser metrology unit, has been installed and tested on site, and the first delay line trolley has successfully passed factory acceptance testing. A fully operational fringe tracker is integrated with a prototyped version of the automated alignment system for a closed looping fringe tracking experiment. In this paper, we present details of the final mechanical and opto-mechanical design for these MROI subsystems and report their status on fabrication, assembly, integration and testing.

Updated optical design and trade-off study for MOONS, the Multi-Object Optical and Near Infrared spectrometer for the VLT

This paper presents the latest optical design for the MOONS triple-arm spectrographs. MOONS will be a Multi-Object Optical and Near-infrared Spectrograph and will be installed on one of the European Southern Observatory (ESO) Very Large Telescopes (VLT). Included in this paper is a trade-off analysis of different types of collimators, cameras, dichroics and filters.

GRACE: a controlled environment for adaptive optics at the William Herschel Telescope

The William Herschel Telescope (WHT) has an adaptive optics (AO) suite consisting of the AO system NAOMI, near IR imager INGRID, optical field spectrograph OASIS and coronagraph OSCA. GRACE (GRound based Adaptive optics Controlled Environment) is a dedicated structure at a Nasmyth focus designed to facilitate routine AO use by providing a controlled environment for the instrument system. However, GRACE is not just a building; it is all of the systems associated with providing the controlled environment, especially the control of air quality, temperature and flow. A key concern was that adding the GRACE building to the Nasmyth platform would not adversely change the telescope performance. This paper gives the background to GRACE, its specification and design, the building construction and installation, the environmental controls installed and their performance, the services provided, the effect of the new structure on telescope performance, the results of the project, including the effect having a controlled environment on AO performance and its planned use for a Rayleigh laser guide star system.

[Carboxyl-11C]Labelling of Four High-Affinity cPLA2α Inhibitors and Their Evaluation as Radioligands in Mice by Positron Emission Tomography

Cytosolic phospholipase A2α (cPLA2α) may play a critical role in neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders associated with oxidative stress and neuroinflammation. An effective PET radioligand for imaging cPLA2α in living brain might prove useful for biomedical research, especially on neuroinflammation. We selected four high‐affinity (IC50 2.1–12 nm) indole‐5‐carboxylic acid‐based inhibitors of cPLA2α, namely 3‐isobutyryl‐1‐(2‐oxo‐3‐(4‐phenoxyphenoxy)propyl)‐1H‐indole‐5‐carboxylic acid (1); 3‐acetyl‐1‐(2‐oxo‐3‐(4‐(4‐(trifluoromethyl)phenoxy)phenoxy)propyl)‐1H‐indole‐5‐carboxylic acid (2); 3‐(3‐methyl‐1,2,4‐oxadiazol‐5‐yl)‐1‐(2‐oxo‐3‐(4‐phenoxyphenoxy)propyl)‐1H‐indole‐5‐carboxylic acid (3); and 3‐(3‐methyl‐1,2,4‐oxadiazol‐5‐yl)‐1‐(3‐(4‐octylphenoxy)‐2‐oxopropyl)‐1H‐indole‐5‐carboxylic acid (4), for labelling in carboxyl position with carbon‐11 (t1/2=20.4 min) to provide candidate PET radioligands for imaging brain cPLA2α. Compounds [11C]1–4 were obtained for intravenous injection in adequate overall yields (1.1–5.5 %) from cyclotron‐produced [11C]carbon dioxide and with moderate molar activities (70–141 GBq μmol−1) through the use of Pd0‐mediated [11C]carbon monoxide insertion on iodo precursors. Measured logD7.4 values were within a narrow moderate range (1.9–2.4). After intravenous injection of [11C]1–4 in mice, radioactivity uptakes in brain peaked at low values (≤0.8 SUV) and decreased by about 90 % over 15 min. Pretreatments of the mice with high doses of the corresponding non‐radioactive ligands did not alter brain time–activity curves. Brain uptakes of radioactivity after administration of [11C]1 to wild‐type and P‐gp/BCRP dual knock‐out mice were similar (peak 0.4 vs. 0.5 SUV), indicating that [11C]1 and others in this structural class, are not substrates for efflux transporters.

The performance of the MROI fast tip-tilt correction system

The fast tip-tilt (FTT) correction system for the Magdalena Ridge Observatory Interferometer (MROI) is being developed by the University of Cambridge. The design incorporates an EMCCD camera protected by a thermal enclosure, optical mounts with passive thermal compensation, and control software running under Xenomai real-time Linux. The complete FTT system is now undergoing laboratory testing prior to being installed on the first MROI unit telescope in the fall of 2014. We are following a twin-track approach to testing the closed-loop performance: tracking tip-tilt perturbations introduced by an actuated flat mirror in the laboratory, and undertaking end-to-end simulations that incorporate realistic higher-order atmospheric perturbations. We report test results that demonstrate (a) the high stability of the entire opto-mechanical system, realized with a completely passive design; and (b) the fast tip-tilt correction performance and limiting sensitivity. Our preliminary results in both areas are close to those needed to realise the ambitious stability and sensitivity goals of the MROI which aims to match the performance of current natural guide star adaptive optics systems.