1. Robo-AO Overview: System, capabilities, performance Christoph Baranec (PI)

2. Why Robo-AO? Robotic – high efficiency observing Laser Guide Star – high sky coverage Adaptive Optics – spatial resolution set by D Small Telescopes – lots of available time

3. Robo-AO at the P60

4. Robotic Reed Riddle (software lead) to fill in details following this presentation…

5. Laser guide star Rayleigh LGS (e.g. Starfire, Mt. Wilson, MMT, WHT, SOAR, LBT?) –Range gated – 650 m at 10 km – m V ~9 –On/off operation –More robust operation in presence of clouds/haze Waived by FAA – no human spotters required Interface with USSTRATCOM –Send them target list 3-4 days prior to lasing –Will receive list of ‘open windows’ for each target

6. AO system High order wavefront will be measured by laser and corrected by deformable mirror Stellar image motion captured by one of the science cameras and used to drive tip/tilt corrector Single atmospheric dispersion corrector for both science instruments (not UV)

7. Visible science instrument Andor iXon EM + DU-888 Electron Multiplying CCD 1024 x 1024 pixels 44” x 44” square FoV 0.043” pixels (Nyquist at λ = 620 nm) Full frame rate: 9 Hz Sub frame rate: ~200 Hz

8. Baseline NIR camera: InGaAs InGaAs – (Xenics: Xeva) –Delivery in 8 weeks from order –0.9-1.7 μm sensitivity –180 e - read noise –7000 e - /s dark current –~200k e - full well –320 x 256 pixels (0.062”/pixel Nyquist λ = 900 nm) –~20 x 16 arc sec field Xeva-1.7-320

9. Ideal (future?) NIR camera HgCdTe – (Teledyne: H2RG) + 2’ FoV, 0.062” pixels (Nyquist at λ = 900 nm) + Excellent noise + Flexible readout – integrating while T/T guiding -Cost – no $$ yet… -Development time

10. Likely initial observing modes Infrared Science: –Tip/tilt sensing with visible, integrate on IR camera Visible Science: –Fast readout of visible camera - Lucky imaging/post facto shift and add H2RG will give additional capability

11. AO capabilities – quick answer ~Diffraction-limited resolution visible 0.5+ Strehl in the NIR General imaging Range of: filters, exposure times, camera setup

12. Error budget Assuming mV=17 T/T star

13. Performance – H-Strehl mV 19 dominated T/T errors Greater than 40% Strehl with mV = 19 T/T in median conditions FWHM at H < 0.26” in even 75% worst seeing conditions *At Zenith