The current generation of precision radial velocity (RV) spectrographs are seeing-limited instruments. In order to achieve high spectral resolution on 8m class telescopes, these spectrographs require large optics and in turn, large instrument volumes. Achieving milli-Kelvin thermal stability for these systems is challenging but is vital in order to obtain a single measurement RV precision of better than 1m/s. This precision is crucial to study Earth-like exoplanets within the habitable zone. iLocater is a next generation RV instrument being developed for the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT). Unlike seeinglimited RV instruments, iLocater uses adaptive optics (AO) to inject a diffraction-limited beam into single-mode fibers. These fibers illuminate the instrument spectrograph, facilitating a diffraction-limited design and a small instrument volume compared to present-day instruments. This enables intrinsic instrument stability and facilitates precision thermal control. We present the current design of the iLocater cryostat which houses the instrument spectrograph and the strategy for its thermal control. The spectrograph is situated within a pair of radiation shields mounted inside an MLI lined vacuum chamber. The outer radiation shield is actively controlled to maintain instrument stability at the sub-mK level and minimize effects of thermal changes from the external environment. An inner shield passively dampens any residual temperature fluctuations and is radiatively coupled to the optical board. To provide intrinsic stability, the optical board and optic mounts will be made from Invar and cooled to 58K to benefit from a zero coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) value at this temperature. Combined, the small footprint of the instrument spectrograph, the use of Invar, and precision thermal control will allow long-term sub-milliKelvin stability to facilitate precision RV measurements.
We are developing a stable and precise spectrograph for the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) named “iLocater.” The instrument comprises three principal components: a cross-dispersed echelle spectrograph that operates in the YJ-bands (0.97-1.30 μm), a fiber-injection acquisition camera system, and a wavelength calibration unit. iLocater will deliver high spectral resolution (R~150,000-240,000) measurements that permit novel studies of stellar and substellar objects in the solar neighborhood including extrasolar planets. Unlike previous planet-finding instruments, which are seeing-limited, iLocater operates at the diffraction limit and uses single mode fibers to eliminate the effects of modal noise entirely. By receiving starlight from two 8.4m diameter telescopes that each use “extreme” adaptive optics (AO), iLocater shows promise to overcome the limitations that prevent existing instruments from generating sub-meter-per-second radial velocity (RV) precision. Although optimized for the characterization of low-mass planets using the Doppler technique, iLocater will also advance areas of research that involve crowded fields, line-blanketing, and weak absorption lines.
We provide a background into aero-optics, which is the effect that turbulent flow over and around an aircraft has on a laser projected or received by an optical system. We also discuss the magnitude of detrimental effects which aero-optics has on optical system performance, and the need to measure these effects in flight. The Airborne Aero-Optics Laboratory (AAOL), fulfills this need by providing an airborne laboratory that can capture wavefronts imposed on a laser beam from a morphable optical turret; the aircraft has a Mach number range up to low transonic speeds. We present the AAOL concept as well as a description of its optical components and sensing capabilities and uses.
This paper gives a background into aero-optics which is the effect that turbulent flow over and around an
aircraft has on a laser projected or received by an optical system. The background also discusses the
magnitude of the detrimental effects that aero-optics has on optical system performance and the need to
measure these effects in flight. The Airborne Aero-Optics Laboratory, AAOL, fulfills this need by
providing an airborne laboratory that can capture wavefronts imposed on a laser beam from a morphable
optical turret; the aircraft has a Mach number range up to low transonic speeds. This paper presents the
AAOL concept as well as a description of its optical components and sensing capabilities and uses.
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