ORP International School - Observing with Adaptive Optics

29 Sept 2024, 16:00 → 4 Oct 2024, 16:00 UTC

The ORP International school Observing with Adaptive Optics will take place at Observatoire de Haute Provence in France  from 29th September to 4th October 2024. 

 

During the school the students will use the PAPYRUS Adaptive Optics bench installed at the T152 telescope. The students will be involved in all phases of an adaptive-optics assisted astronomical observation. Frontal lessons on the fundamental topics of the discipline are planned, as well as tutoring sessions for the development of observation preparation and data analysis tools. 

Observation of Mars with Papyrus on T152 telescope at OHP

Audience

The summer school is aimed at two audiences: 

1) young astronomers who in their careers will primarily use adaptive optics-assisted instruments and are interested in understanding the strengths and limitations of adaptive optics instruments

2) young technologists who will develop the next generation adaptive optics systems and are interested in understanding how an adaptive astronomical observation is carried out, from preparation to data analysis.   

Optical scheme of Papyrus
 

 

Topics

The tentative list of topics that will be addressed is the following:  

• Imaging and IFU spectroscopy with an AO-assisted instrument
• Geometrical and diffractive optics for ground-based telescopes
• Image formation through the atmosphere
• Fundamentals of Control Theory for astronomical AO 
• Wavefront sensing in AO for astronomy
• Wavefront reconstruction in AO for astronomy
• AO system design
• Image deconvolution in astronomy: PSF reconstruction,  PSF modeling & fitting
• Beyond general-purpose AO or how to address the specific limitations of AO: High contrast / Wide field / Laser assisted AO
• Real life examples of AO-assisted instrument development

 

Cost and accomodation

The students will be hosted at OHP. The number of students will be limited to about 25. 

Apart from travel to/from Marseille, all other expenses will be covered by the organization.  The organization provides bus from Marseille station and/or airport the day of arrival and departure

 

Important dates

• 15 Mar 2024  - Registration Open
• 1 May 2024 - Registration closed
• 15 May 2024 - Registration confirmation
• 29 Sep - 4 Oct  -  School    
   

Supported by

Sunday 29 September

16:00 → 19:00 Other: Bus from Marseille Airport to OHP and accomodation

19:00 → 19:30 Other: School presentation

19:30 → 21:00 Dinner

21:00 → 22:00 Other: the Great AO Escape Room (credits Vincent Chambouleyron)

22:00 → 22:19 Other: Lightning Round Introduction

Monday 30 September

09:00 → 10:30 Class: The ELT, how to build an adaptive telescope

09:00 The ELT, how to build an adaptive telescope

Speaker: Dr Jason Spyromilio (ESO)

10:30 → 11:00 Coffe break

11:00 → 12:30 Class: Imaging through the atmosphere

11:00 Imaging through the atmosphere

Speaker: Dr Lorenzo Busoni (Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF))

12:30 → 14:30 Lunch

14:30 → 16:00 Class: Wavefront sensors

14:30 Wavefront sensors

Speaker: Dr Charlotte Bond (STFC UKRI)

16:00 → 16:30 Coffe break

16:30 → 18:00 Tutorial: Observation Preparation / Teams 3,4,5,6

16:30 → 19:30 Tutorial: Papyrus AO bench / Teams 1,2

18:00 → 19:30 Team work

19:30 → 21:00 Dinner

21:00 → 23:59 Observation: Observing with AO / Teams 1,2

21:00 → 23:59 Team work: Stargazing and team work / Teams 3,4,5,6

Tuesday 1 October

09:00 → 10:30 Class: Fundamentals of Control Theory and Wavefront Reconstruction

09:00 Fundamentals of Control Theory and Wavefront Reconstruction

This lecture provides an introduction to wavefront reconstruction and dynamic control in adaptive optics (AO) systems. We will explore the key principles, including the application of inverse-problem theory to wavefront reconstruction and optimal/sub-optimal control to real-time DM correction, such as feedback loops, control matrix techniques, and optimization strategies to compensate for atmospheric turbulence. The focus will be on practical algorithms including examples and test cases. By the end of the lecture, participants will gain a foundational understanding of how adaptive optics systems are designed and controlled to achieve high-resolution imaging in ground-based telescopes.

Speaker: Dr Carlos Correia (Universidade do Porto)

10:30 → 11:00 Coffe break

11:00 → 12:30 Class: AO system design

11:00 AO system design

This lecture provides an introduction to the design of AO systems: how to specify wavefront sensors, wavefront correctors, AO control systems, and implementation errors based on performance requirements, such as residual wavefront error and sky coverage, and observing conditions, such as atmospheric turbulence and observatory-induced disturbances. The lecture will show how residual errors can be broken down into an error budget that can be used to optimize the design. We will focus on single-conjugate AO systems, exploring both NGS AO and LGS AO, and discussing the pros and cons and each modality.

Speaker: Dr Jean-Pierre Veran (NRC-HAA)

12:30 → 14:30 Lunch

14:30 → 16:00 Class: Image deconvolution in astronomy

14:30 Image deconvolution in astronomy: PSF reconstruction, PSF modeling & fitting

Speaker: Dr Romain Fetick (LAM)

16:00 → 16:30 Coffe break

16:30 → 18:00 Tutorial: Data analysis / Teams 1,2,5,6

16:30 → 19:30 Tutorial: Papyrus AO bench / Teams 3,4

18:00 → 19:30 Team work

19:30 → 21:00 Dinner

21:00 → 23:59 Observation: Observing with AO / Teams 3,4

21:00 → 23:59 Team work: Stargazing and team work / Teams 1,2,5,6

Wednesday 2 October

09:00 → 10:30 Class: Beyond SCAO: Wide Field AO

09:00 Beyond SCAO: Wide Field AO

Speaker: Dr Benoit Neichel (LAM)

10:30 → 11:00 Coffe break

11:00 → 12:30 Class: Photometry and astrometry with AO assisted observations

11:00 Photometry and astrometry with AO assisted observations

Speaker: Dr Giuliana Fiorentino (Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF))

12:30 → 14:30 Lunch

14:30 → 16:00 Class: Search for Habitable Exoplanets with the ELT and the role of Adaptive Optics

14:30 Search for Habitable Exoplanets with the ELT and the role of Adaptive Optics

The lecture will present the current understanding of habitable exoplanets and discuss how high-contrast direct imaging using the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) can enhance this knowledge. To achieve this, a specialized instrument must meet certain requirements. I will introduce a potential design for such an instrument, referred to as the Planetary Camera and Spectrograph (PCS). A key feature of PCS is an optimized eXtreme Adaptive Optics (XAO) system, integrated with coronagraphy and speckle suppression techniques, aimed at delivering high contrast on the order of 1e-8 at angular separations of a few tens of milliarcseconds. I will detail these subsystems, explain the necessary specifications, and outline our research and development efforts to demonstrate how these requirements can be achieved.

Speaker: Dr Markus Kasper (ESO)

16:00 → 16:30 Coffe break

16:30 → 18:00 Team work: Teams 3,4

16:30 → 18:00 Tutorial: Observation Preparation / Teams 1,2

16:30 → 19:30 Tutorial: Papyrus AO bench / Teams 5,6

18:00 → 19:30 Team work: Teams 1,2

18:00 → 19:30 Tutorial: Data analysis / Teams 3,4

19:30 → 21:00 Dinner

21:00 → 23:59 Observation: Observing with AO / Teams 5,6

21:00 → 23:59 Team work: Stargazing and team work / Teams 1,2,3,4

Thursday 3 October

09:00 → 10:30 Class: IFU spectroscopy with AO assisted observations

09:00 IFU spectroscopy with AO assisted observations

Speaker: Dr Giovanni Cresci (Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF))

10:30 → 11:00 Coffe break

11:00 → 12:30 Class: The development of an AO system for a VLT instrument: from science cases to commissioning

11:00 The development of an AO system for a VLT instrument: from science cases to commissioning

This lecture outlines the process of designing an AO system for VLT, beginning with top-level requirements and covering the steps up to commissioning. The development experience of the UT4 instrument ERIS will be used as an example, highlighting challenges, solutions, and lessons learned.

Speaker: Dr Armando Riccardi (Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF))

12:30 → 14:30 Lunch

14:30 → 16:00 Class: Imaging Extended Objects with AO

14:30 Imaging Extended Objects / Asteroids with AO/SPHERE

Speaker: Dr Pierre Vernazza (LAM)

16:00 → 16:30 Coffe break

16:30 → 18:00 Tutorial: AO Simulations / Teams 1,2,3,4,5,6

18:00 → 19:30 Team work

19:30 → 21:00 Dinner

21:00 → 23:00 Team work

Friday 4 October

09:00 → 10:00 Team work: Presentation of results: Teams 1, 2, 3

10:00 → 10:30 Coffe break

10:30 → 11:30 Team work: Presentation of results: Teams 4,5,6

11:30 → 12:00 Other: Goodbye

12:00 → 12:30 Quick Lunch

12:30 → 14:30 Other: Bus to Marseille Airport