Imaging performance of telescope mirrors for far-ultraviolet astronomy

We describe image testing, surface metrology, and modeling of telescope mirrors (0.5 m in diameter, f/4.3) for the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) satellite. Laboratory image testing of wavelengths in the visible, vacuum, and midultraviolet validated a theoretical analysis by use of the Optical Surface Analysis Code (OSAC). Our modeling is based on surface metrology, including measurements of figure, midfrequency error, and microroughness. This combination of metrology, out-of-band performance testing, and modeling verified that the mirrors would meet mission requirements. We use OSAC to predict the FUSE telescope's far-ultraviolet (90-120-nm) point-spread function and assess its effect on instrument efficiency. The mirrors have a 90% encircled energy diameter of 1.5 arc sec at lambda = 100 nm. Including the effects of spacecraft pointing error, the mirrors have a predicted average slit transmission at lambda = 100 nm of approximately 87% and 96% for the 1.25- and 4-arc sec-wide spectrograph slits, respectively, where the required transmissions are 50% and 95%.     

The background counting rates in a balloon borne hard X-ray telescope

A detailed Monte Carlo model of a hard (20–300 keV) X-ray astronomical telescope has been developed in order to calculate the energy loss distribution of the unwanted background noise events in the prime detection elements. The spectral distributions of the background rates measured at balloon altitudes over Palestine, Texas are compared to the predictions of the theoretical model. Good agreement has been found in terms of both the overall intensity level as well as the spectral distribution.     

Low-temperature detectors in X-ray astronomy

The most compelling nature of X-ray astronomy is its richness and scale. Almost every observable object in the sky either naturally emits X-ray radiation or can be observed through X-ray absorption. Current X-ray observatories such as Chandra and XMM-Newton have considerably advanced our understanding of many of these systems by using imaging X-ray cameras and dispersed X-ray spectrometers. However, it is the combination of these two techniques to provide a true broadband, high spectral-resolution, imaging spectrometer that will drive the next revolution in X-ray astronomy. This is where Low-temperature detectors (LTDs) can play a key role but also where the science will continuously challenge the technology. In this brief overview we will explore the constraints that both the science goals and the space environment place on the implementation of LTDs, how current missions such as XQC and Astro-E2 have met these challenges, and where future missions such as Constellation-X, XEUS, and NeXT will drive LTD instruments to a much larger scale. Finally, we will address scaling issues in current LTD detectors and where the LTD community needs to proceed to address both the science goals and expectations of the astrophysics community.     

Aplanatic corrector designs for the extremely large telescope

The next century is knocking on our door, bringing with it the possibility of telescopes even bigger than the 8-10-m-class instruments that have proliferated over the past decade. The fixed spherical reflector is the most economical and pragmatic way to construct an extremely large primary mirror (30-50 m in diameter). Although spherical mirrors have virtues such as manufacturability and identically figured segments, they also create great amounts of spherical aberration and coma. Here we show that there are several catoptric (all-reflecting) corrector designs that enable a fast telescope based on a spherical primary mirror.     

Calibration of Si(Li) detectors for X-ray astronomy

The characterization of a high performance, energy dispersive Si(Li) solid-state detector is presented. The response of the detector to K and L lines in the energy range 0.7–9.0 keV is obtained by using a Van de Graaff accelerator to bombard selected targets having 12 ⩽ Z ⩽ 50 with a high energy proton beam. In addition to the channel-to-energy calibration and resolution vs energy plot, an empirical relation is presented for line yield as a function of energy for the K lines. Further, spectral data are used to estimate the silicon dead layer thickness. Finally, a detailed characterization of the detector's response function, including deviations from a simple Gaussian form due to effects such as incomplete charge collection, is given. From these results, a procedure is indicated by which X-ray spectrometers used in X-ray astrophysics applications may be calibrated.     

Thermal expansion uniformity of materials for large telescope mirrors

Uniformity of thermal expansion has been measured for fused quartz (Heraeus-Amersil TO8E) and borosilicate glass (Schott Duran and Ohara E6). The variation of expansion coefficient for three melts of TO8E was 5 x 10(-9)/K over a temperature range of 300 to 100 K and was found to vary linearly with position in the melt. This spatial gradient averaged 3.5 x 10(-11)/K cm. The room-temperature thermal expansivity variation of Duran (Tempax) glass was approximately 27 x 10(-9)/K, while that of E6 glass was approximately 52 x 10(-9)/K.     

Optical phased array configuration for an extremely large telescope

Extremely large telescopes are currently under consideration by several groups in several countries. Extrapolation of current technology up to 30 m indicates a cost of over dollars 1 billion. Innovative concepts are being explored to find significant cost reductions. We explore the concept of an Optical Phased Array (OPA) telescope. Each element of the OPA is a separate Cassegrain telescope. Collimated beams from the array are sent via an associated set of delay lines to a central beam combiner. This array of small telescope elements offers the possibility of starting with a low-cost array of a few rings of elements, adding structure and additional Cass elements until the desired diameter telescope is attained. We address the salient features of such an extremely large telescope and cost elements relative to more conventional options.     

A diffusive light collection system for hard X-ray astronomical scintillation detectors

A novel design of a detector system for hard X-ray astronomy is described which permits large sensitive areas to be constructed on a modular basis. The system also incorporates high quality active shielding without the use of the phoswich system. The development and performance of the diffusive light collection optics are discussed.     

Small pixel CZT detector for hard X-ray spectroscopy

A new small pixel cadmium zinc telluride (CZT) detector has been developed for hard X-ray spectroscopy. The X-ray performance of four detectors is presented and the detectors are analysed in terms of the energy resolution of each pixel. The detectors were made from CZT crystals grown by the travelling heater method (THM) bonded to a 20×20 application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) and data acquisition (DAQ) system. The detectors had an array of 20×20 pixels on a 250 μm pitch, with each pixel gold-stud bonded to an energy resolving circuit in the ASIC. The DAQ system digitised the ASIC output with 14 bit resolution, performing offset corrections and data storage to disc in real time at up to 40,000 frames per second. The detector geometry and ASIC design was optimised for X-ray spectroscopy up to 150 keV and made use of the small pixel effect to preferentially measure the electron signal. A ²⁴¹Am source was used to measure the spectroscopic performance and uniformity of the detectors. The average energy resolution (FWHM at 59.54 keV) of each pixel ranged from 1.09±0.46 to 1.50±0.57 keV across the four detectors. The detectors showed good spectral performance and uniform response over almost all pixels in the 20×20 array. A large area 80×80 pixel detector will be built that will utilise the scalable design of the ASIC and the large areas of monolithic spectroscopic grade THM grown CZT that are now available. The large area detector will have the same performance as that demonstrated here.     

Medium-precision null-screen testing of off-axis parabolic mirrors for segmented primary telescope optics: the large millimeter telescope

The feasibility of using null screens for testing the segments of a parabolic segmented telescope mirror for the Large Millimeter Telescope (LMT) is analyzed. An algorithm for designing the null screen for testing the off-axis segments of conic surfaces is described. Actual screen designs for the different classes of segments of the LMT are presented. The sensitivity of the test and the required accuracies for the fabrication and positioning of the screen are analyzed. A measuring accuracy of approximately 12 microm in surface sagitta is within the reach of the technique.     

X-ray astronomy in the new millennium: a summary

Recent X-ray observations have had a major impact on topics ranging from proto-stars to cosmology. They have also drawn attention to important and general physical processes that currently limit our understanding of thermal and non-thermal X-ray sources. These include unmeasured atomic astrophysics data (wavelengths, oscillator strengths, etc.), basic hydromagnetic processes (e.g. shock structure, reconnection), plasma processes (such as electron-ion equipartition and heat conduction) and radiative transfer (in discs and accretion columns). Progress on these problems will probably come from integrative studies that draw upon observations, throughout the electromagnetic spectrum, of different classes of source. X-ray observations are also giving a new perspective on astronomical subjects, like the nature of galactic nuclei and the evolution of stellar populations. In addition, they are helping us to address central cosmological questions, including the measurement of the matter content of the Universe, understanding its overall luminosity density, describing its chemical evolution and locating the first luminous objects. X-ray astronomy has a healthy future with several international space missions under construction and in development.     

A high data rate recorder for astronomy

A magnetic tape recorder developed for the special requirements of radio astronomy and geodesy is described. These requirements include a high bit packing density and long record times. The current version of this longitudinal recorder used by the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) records 5.5 Terabits on a 14-in diameter reel of inch-wide tape. A maximum record rate of 256 Mb/s is achieved in the VLBA configuration with one recorder operating at 4 ms and utilizing 32 of the heads in a single stack. The VLBA recorders have been tested using a longitudinal density of 2.25 fr/μm (57.15 kfrpi); 448 data +56 system tracks are recorded in 14 passes, each lasting 50 min, for a total record time (at 128 Mb/s) of 12 h on 14-in diameter reel of inch-wide 13-μ-thick D1-equivalent tape     

Durham extremely large telescope adaptive optics simulation platform

Adaptive optics systems are essential on all large telescopes for which image quality is important. These are complex systems with many design parameters requiring optimization before good performance can be achieved. The simulation of adaptive optics systems is therefore necessary to categorize the expected performance. We describe an adaptive optics simulation platform, developed at Durham University, which can be used to simulate adaptive optics systems on the largest proposed future extremely large telescopes as well as on current systems. This platform is modular, object oriented, and has the benefit of hardware application acceleration that can be used to improve the simulation performance, essential for ensuring that the run time of a given simulation is acceptable. The simulation platform described here can be highly parallelized using parallelization techniques suited for adaptive optics simulation, while still offering the user complete control while the simulation is running. The results from the simulation of a ground layer adaptive optics system are provided as an example to demonstrate the flexibility of this simulation platform.     

A large area substrate heater for ultra high vacuum

The experimental difficulties of heating a relatively large area of a highly reactive material like silicon in ultra high vacuum to temperatures near its melting point have been considered. Various methods of heating are investigated and a design with multiple substrate heating facility is described. The substrates are heated by flat resistively heated tungsten radiator inside a water-cooled enclosure. The performance of the substrate heater, its calibration, and the relationship between the substrate temperature and the radiator temperature are discussed.     

A high-speed digital correlator for radio astronomy

Design details for a high-speed digital cross correlator for the Owens Valley Millimeter Array are presented. The correlator uses ECL gate arrays operating at a 256-MHz clock rate to compute the real cross-correlation function for up to four independent frequency bands with bandwidths in the range of 2-128 MHz. For each baseline in the array the correlator provides 512 lags, giving a spectral resolution of 2 MHz at the maximum bandwidth. Two-bit digitization is used, and this results in a sensitivity of 0.88 relative to a perfect analog correlator     

大射电望远镜馈源指向系统轨迹跟踪免疫PID控制

新一代大射电望远镜（LT）馈源指向跟踪系统具有变结构、非线性、慢时变、大滞后、强耦合、多输入多输出的特点,根据生物免疫系统反馈机理,在分析了常规PID控制和模糊控制算法的基础上,提出了用模糊控制器自动调整免疫系统反馈规律的免疫PID控制器来实现馈源轨迹跟踪的策略。对LT馈源指向跟踪系统的数值仿真实验结果表明,当存在外界随机扰动时该控制算法不仅能满足对馈源轨迹跟踪精度的要求,而且控制系统具有较强的鲁棒性。     

Optimal aperture configuration for a segmented and partially diluted extremely large telescope

Abstract

We analyse the feasibility of replacing hexagonal mirror segments with circular segments in very large telescopes, requiring approximately the same performance in the spatial frequency domain. The potential advantages of circular segments are that they are easier to fabricate and there is a decreased amount of stray light contribution from the edges.     

Tomographic alignment algorithm for an extremely large three-mirror telescope: invisible modes

We analyze the optical effects due to distortions of a three-mirror telescope that is sufficiently large that all three mirrors must be actively controlled. Numerical experiments on telescopes with both monolithic and segmented primary mirrors reveal the existence of telescope misalignment configurations (modes) that are invisible to a fixed focal station wavefront sensor, even for highly redundant multidirectional tomographic measurement schemes. We describe these modes and give a theoretical explanation for them.