Abstract
The aim of this paper is twofold: (i) to deduce the most representative
$C_N^2$
profile(s) for Dome C (DC), Antarctica, from the latest measurements, and (ii) to evaluate the performance of ...a wide-field adaptive optics (AO) system equipping a 2–3 m telescope. Two models of the
$C_N^2$
profile, corresponding to the bimodal distribution of seeing (a poor seeing mode and a good seeing mode), are composed from both Single Star Scidar data and balloon radio soundings. The anisoplanatic error is first evaluated for a standard AO system from Monte Carlo simulations. DC is shown to outperform Mauna Kea for both seeing modes. A simple ground-layer AO (GLAO) system is then considered. This provides an anisoplanatic error of less than 150 nm over a field of 30 arcmin for the good seeing mode, corresponding to a basic performance Strehl ratio (considering also the fitting and the servo-lag errors) of more than ∼80 per cent in K and ∼50 per cent in J. The poor seeing model shows performance comparable to the Mauna Kea model. We also studied the influence of telescope elevation, showing that a telescope at 40 m would perform, in the poor seeing mode, like a telescope observing 8 m above the ground in the good seeing mode. Finally, we show that while tip-tilt-only correction permits high levels of correction in the good seeing mode at 40 m, it is not as efficient as the GLAO system, even at an altitude of 8 m, and it is not sufficient for high levels of correction for poor seeing, even at a height of 40 m.
ABSTRACT
To reach a high performance with an adaptive optics system, we need a calibration using a reference source. This latter should be located in the same isoplanatic domain as the science ...source. Different techniques and methods have been developed leading to estimations of the isoplanatic patch but all are model-dependent. We developed a new technique for the estimation of the isoplanatic angle based on an extended object. This technique is now part of our new turbulence profile monitor PML (Profiler of Moon Limb) based on the observation of the Moon limb or Sun edge. The first statistics of the isoplanatic angle with this new technique are presented and compared to the exiting techniques based on scintillation measurements or other turbulence parameters such as Fried parameter and/or $C_n^2$ profile.
ABSTRACT
The forecast for atmospheric and turbulence conditions above astronomical observatories is of interest to the astronomical community because it allows observations to be planned with maximum ...efficiency, a process called flexible scheduling. It can also be used to simulate long-term site testing to provide local information useful for the conception of focal and post-focal instrumentation. We have presented our forecasting tool in previous publications, but in this paper we focus on the importance of using local measurements to improve the predictive turbulence model and to better consider the local specificities of a given site, a process we call site learning. For this study, we use a local data base provided by the Calern Atmospheric Turbulence Station, which has been operational since 2015 at Calern Observatory. In addition, we use a set of several months of predictions to feed the turbulence model, taking into account daytime and nighttime conditions. This upgrade improves the quality of our forecasting by reducing the absolute bias between measurements and predictions from 25 to 50 per cent for each layer of the $C_n^2$, by 25 per cent for the seeing, and by 70 per cent for the isoplanatic angle.
Abstract
We present a generalized differential image motion monitor (GDIMM). It is a compact instrument dedicated to the measurement of four parameters of optical turbulence: seeing, isoplanatic ...angle, coherence time and wavefront coherence outer scale. The GDIMM is based on a small telescope (28 cm diameter) equipped with a three-hole mask at its entrance pupil. The instrument is fully automatic, and performs continuous monitoring of turbulence parameters at the Calern Observatory (France). This paper gives a description of the instrument, data processing and error budget. We also present statistics of three and a half years of monitoring of turbulence parameters above the Calern Observatory.
ABSTRACT
We present a reanalysis of several years of DIMM data at the site of Dome C, Antarctica, to provide measurements of the coherence time τ0. Statistics and seasonal behaviour of τ0 are given ...at two heights above the ground, 3 and 8 m, for the wavelength λ = 500 nm. We found an annual median value of 2.9 ms at the height of 8 m. A few measurements could also be obtained at the height of 20 m and give a median value of 6 ms during the period June–September. For the first time, we provide measurements of τ0 in daytime during the summer, which appears to show the same time dependence as the seeing with a sharp maximum at 5 pm local time. Exceptional values of τ0 above 10 ms are met at this particular moment. The continuous slow variations of turbulence conditions during the day offers a natural test bed for a solar adaptive optics system.
ABSTRACT
We present new speckle measurements of the position of Linus, the satellite of the asteroid (22) Kalliope, obtained at the 1 m Centre Pédagogique Planètes et Univers-Epsilon telescope on the ...Plateau de Calern, France. Observations were made in the visible domain with the speckle camera Pupil Interferometry Speckle camera and COronagraph. We obtained 122 measurements in February–March 2022 and April 2023, with a mean uncertainty close to 10 milliarcsec on the angular separation.
ASTEP 400, the main instrument of the ASTEP (Antarctica Search for Transiting ExoPlanets) programme, is a 40 cm telescope, designed to withstand the harsh conditions in Antarctica, achieving a ...photometric accuracy of a fraction of millimagnitude on hourly time-scales for planet-hosting southern bright (R ∼ 12 mag) stars. We review the performances of this instrument, describe its operating conditions, and present results from the analysis of observations obtained during its first three years (2010–2012) of operation, before its repatriation in 2014. During this time, we observed a total of 22 stellar fields (1° × 1° field of view). Each field, in which we measured stars up to magnitude R = 18 mag, was observed continuously during ∼7 to ∼30 d. More than 200 000 frames were recorded and 310 000 stars processed, using an implementation of the optimal image subtraction photometry algorithm. We found 43 planetary transit candidates. 20 of these candidates were observed using spectroscopic follow-ups including four targets classified as good planet candidates. Our results demonstrate that accurate near-continuous photometric observations are achievable from the Concordia station at Dome C in Antarctica, even if we were not able to reach the nominal photometric precision of the instrument. We conducted a correlation analysis between the rms noise and a large number of external parameters and found that source of the ∼1 mmag correlated noise is not obvious and does not depend on a single parameter. However, our analysis provided some hints and guidance to increase the photometric accuracy of the instrument. These improvements should equip any future telescope operating in Antarctica.
Abstract
We present relative astrometric and photometric measurements of visual double stars made in 2013–2015, with PISCO2 installed at the 76‐cm refractor of Côte d'Azur Observatory in Nice ...(France). Our observing list contains orbital couples as well as double stars whose motion is still uncertain. Most of the observations were done in 2015, but some other observations of wide couples were done in 2013–2014 (0.3% of the total of the observations). Three different techniques were used for obtaining measurements: lucky imaging, speckle interferometry and the direct vector autocorrelation method. From our observations of 2837 multiple stars, we obtained 5182 new measurements with angular separations in the range of 0.1–32 and an average accuracy of . The mean error on the position angles is 0°.8. Most of the position angles were determined without the usual 180° ambiguity with the application of the direct vector autocorrelation technique and/or by inspection of the Lucky images or the long integration files. We managed to routinely monitor faint systems () with large magnitude difference (up to ). We have thus been able to measure 21 systems containing red dwarf stars that had been poorly monitored since their discovery, from which we estimated the stellar masses thanks to Gaia measurements. We also measured the magnitude difference of the two components of 1079 double stars with an estimated error of 0.2 mag. Except for a few objects that are discussed, our measurements are in good agreement with the ephemerides computed with published orbital elements, even for the double stars whose separation is smaller than the diffraction limit. Thanks to good seeing images and with the use of high‐contrast numerical filters, we have also been able to obtain 196 measurements with an angular separation smaller than the diffraction limit of our instrumentation, and consistent with those obtained with larger telescopes. We also report measurements of the 164 new double stars that we found in the files obtained during the observations. Finally, from a study of the DR3 Gaia release, it is shown that all the objects of the Tycho Double Star Catalog that we did not resolve in 2015 are probably false detections by Tycho.
We present the first detection of multi-shocks propagating through the atmosphere of the Blazhko star S Arae using uninterrupted, accurate optical photometric data collected during one polar night, ...150 days from Antarctica at Dome C, with the Photometer AntarctIca eXtinction (PAIX). We acquired 89,736 CCD frames during 323 pulsation cycles and 3 Blazhko cycles. We detected two new light curve properties in the PAIX light curve, jump and rump, which we associated with two new post-maximum shock waves Sh sub(PM1) and Sh sub(PM2). jump, lump, rump, bump, and hump are induced by five shock waves, with different amplitudes and origins, Sh sub(PM1), Sh sub(PM2), Sh sub(PM3), Sh sub(PM3), and the main shock Sh sub(H+He). Correlations between the length of rise time and light amplitude and Sh sub(PM3) are monotonous during three Blazhko cycles, but the pulsation curve is double peaked. We discuss the physical mechanisms driving the modulation of these quantities. Finally, we hypothesize that the origin of the Blazhko effect is a dynamical interaction between a multi-shock structure and an outflowing wind in a coronal structure.
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