J. Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) Operational Readiness

Christian VeilletDirector, 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

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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 placeGreen

6. Project risks are documented and acceptableGreen

LBT Is Ready to SupportLBTI 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

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LBTO Provides (1/2)

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Power, data communicationsTelescope and AO command and control

LBT Instruments

SXDXLBTI

FLAO/LUCI

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)

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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

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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 inQ-mode

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AO operational limit

Weather Impact on Observing Nights

• Weather: A-semesters (Feb–Jul) better and more predictable than B-semesters (Sep–Jan)

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Semester A BAverage 33.2 36.6σ 3.6 9.9

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

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LUCI2-AO – S ~ 75% at KARGOS on-off

LBTI AO Imaging Capabilities

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Good conditions, bright guide stars 990 Hz, DX = 400 modes, SX= 300 modes

Maire et al. (2015)

HR 8799 Exoplanet System

LEECH Program

LBTI AO Stability

• Strehl ratio– ≥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

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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

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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

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LBT Is Ready to HOSTS

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