J. Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) Operational Readiness Christian Veillet Director, LBT

LBT Compliance This presentation discusses LBTO readiness Relationship to ORR Success Criteria: LBTO plans and procedures are complete and under configuration management; LBTO staffing is in place and trained; LBTO risks are documented and acceptable Concerns: None Liens: None 3. The necessary interferometer operations plans and procedures are complete, documented and in place, and under configuration management Green 5. The necessary staffing is in place and training has taken place 6. Project risks are documented and acceptable

LBT Is Ready to Support LBTI HOSTS Survey All LBT systems have been functioning during LBTI commissioning block Addressed maintenance issues with adaptive optics without impact to LBTI commissioning Worked systems-level issues with LBTI to completion Added engineering nights prior to LBTI runs to demonstrate readiness with margin for corrective action LBT has demonstrated it is ready to support LBTI HOSTS Survey

LBTO Provides (1/2) Power, data communications LBT Instruments LBTI DX SX FLAO/LUCI Power, data communications Telescope and AO command and control

LBTO Provides (2/2) Nighttime telescope operation Prerun checkouts Telescope and AO systems System maintenance Adaptive secondaries and associated AO systems Observing scheduling LBTI run to best fit LBTI HOSTS strategy Systems engineering support to LBTI for vibration suppression Accelerometer system (OVMS)

PLRA LBT Performance Expectation Performance envelope consistent with LBT specifications Adaptive optics performance Strehl ratio >60% at K-band Diffraction-limited at 2 µm wavelength

LBT Seeing Meets LBTI Requirements DIMM seeing measurements for 2014 DIMM is mounted on telescope structure Looks at bright star near target Measures dome and atmosphere seeing Small FWHM limit ~0.5 due to instrument design <r0> ~12 cm (550 nm) ALTA Program for seeing prediction in Q-mode AO operational limit Note: DIMM values blah blah…

Weather Impact on Observing Nights Weather: A-semesters (Feb–Jul) better and more predictable than B-semesters (Sep–Jan)

Adaptive Secondaries SX and DX Key to LBTO operation: Heavily used by the whole partnership with LBTI beyond the HOSTS program Needed for the LUCIs (near-IR imagers/multiobject spectrographs) in GLAO (ARGOS) and AO mode Very important for the smooth operation of the observatory once in Q-mode ARGOS on-off LUCI2-AO – S ~ 75% at K

LBTI AO Imaging Capabilities Good conditions, bright guide stars 990 Hz, DX = 400 modes, SX= 300 modes Maire et al. (2015) Maire et al 2015 present (Some of) the highest contrast L’ data obtained to date. Exceptional sensitivity at small separations is due to high Strehl ratio and PSF stability. On bright stars in good conditions, we can work at 400 spatial modes on DX and 300 on SX. At elevations below 50-60dgr (depending on the seeing) DX is limited to 300 modes. HR 8799 Exoplanet System LEECH Program

LBTI AO Stability Strehl ratio PSF stability during observation set ≥85% at L′ (4 μm) ≥98% at 10 μm PSF stability during observation set For nulling, corrected PSF stability throughout a sequence matters as much as Strehl ratio Each PSF is stable to 50–100 nm Average long-term, low-order wavefront error ≤1E-4 null stability at 10 μm Noncommon-path aberration Improves SR Currently being applied for LUCI2 Analysis in progress for LBTI “Stability” = how much does the PSF change of the course of an observation set as noncommon-path aberrations change? Causes may include flexure with elevation, long-term thermal drift in components. As we improve the non-common path mitigation, this should improve. Strehl ratio should also improve with NCPA, but absolute SR is less important for nulling than the relative stability of the PSFs *relative to each other.*

Adaptive Secondaries SX & DX adaptive secondary mirrors are required for LBTI HOSTS Survey and all other programs ASMs are used for both seeing-limited and AO-corrected observing Monitoring and maintenance The ASMs are designed to be functional when missing some voice coil actuator/magnet control LBT monitors the ASM health to establish maintenance and refurbishment requirements and schedule accordingly Current refurbishment Recoating of the spare thin-shell (the optical component of the ASM) Rebonding detached magnets onto the SX ASM thin shell and system testing

AO Systems Future Plans ASM contacts Program to upgrade the electrical contacts onto the thin shell to improve reliability and robustness of ASMs LBT operation with technical feedback from JPL Maintain a fully operational spare thin shell to be swapped in either SX or DX side when necessary SOUL upgrade All pyramid WFS (PWFS) systems will be upgraded with more sensitive detectors Expect sensitivity gain of 1–2 mags Both FLAO & LBTI systems will have the same hardware and software After upgrade is complete, the LBTI PWFS will be handed over to LBT for operation and maintenance Expected completion ~2017/2018—no impact on SVP

LBT Is Ready to HOSTS