arXiv subjects

Maxwell Service

Publications and source records attributed to Maxwell Service.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

On-sky capabilities and performance of the Keck All Sky Precision Adaptive Optics system

The Keck All Sky Precision Adaptive optics (KAPA) project upgrades the Keck I adaptive optics system to enable laser tomography using a four laser guide star (LGS) asterism. KAPA is now in operation in both narrow field and wide field modes to optimize correction on-axis or over the science field of view of the camera. The use of four LGSs, in conjunction with a tomographic reconstructor and pseudo open-loop control, leads to a significant reduction in wavefront error. We describe the overall architecture, development of the tomographic algorithm, real-time implementation and preliminary on-sky results here. By comparing the on-sky image quality with that obtained using a single LGS (sLGS) we clearly demonstrate the benefits of laser tomography, a technology which is crucial to the success of the next generation of extremely large telescopes.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2023

Smartphone screens as astrometric calibrators

Geometric optical distortion is a significant contributor to the astrometric error budget in large telescopes using adaptive optics. To increase astrometric precision, optical distortion calibration is necessary. We investigate using smartphone OLED screens as astrometric calibrators. Smartphones are low cost, have stable illumination, and can be quickly reconfigured to probe different spatial frequencies of an optical system's geometric distortion. In this work, we characterize the astrometric accuracy of a Samsung S20 smartphone, with a view towards providing large format, flexible astrometric calibrators for the next generation of astronomical instruments. We find the placement error of the pixels to be 189 nm +/- 15 nm RMS. At this level of error, milliarcsecond astrometric accuracy can be obtained on modern astronomical instruments.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2019

Geometric Distortion Calibration with Photo-lithographic Pinhole Masks for High-Precision Astrometry

Adaptive optics (AO) systems deliver high-resolution images that may be ideal for precisely measuring positions of stars (i.e. astrometry) if the system has stable and well-calibrated geometric optical distortions. A calibration unit, equipped with back-illuminated pinhole mask, can be utilized to measure instrumental optical distortions. AO systems on the largest ground-based telescopes, such as the W. M. Keck Observatory and the Thirty Meter Telescope require pinhole positions known to 20 nm to achieve an astrometric precision of 0.001 of a resolution element. We characterize a photo-lithographic pinhole mask and explore the systematic errors that result from different experimental setups. We characterized the nonlinear geometric distortion of a simple imaging system using the mask; and we measured 857 nm RMS of optical distortion with a final residual of 39 nm (equivalent to 20 {\mu}as for TMT). We use a sixth order bivariate Legendre polynomial to model the optical distortion and allow the reference positions of the individual pinholes to vary. The nonlinear deviations in the pinhole pattern with respect to the manufacturing design of a square pattern are 47.2 nm +/- 4.5 nm (random) +/- 10.8 nm (systematic) over an area of 1788 mm$^2$. These deviations reflect the additional error induced when assuming the pinhole mask is manufactured perfectly square. We also find that ordered mask distortions are significantly more difficult to characterize than random mask distortions as the ordered distortions can alias into optical camera distortion. Future design simulations for astrometric calibration units should include ordered mask distortions. We conclude that photo-lithographic pinhole masks are >10 times better than the pinhole masks deployed in first generation AO systems and are sufficient to meet the distortion calibration requirements for the upcoming thirty meter class telescopes.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2017

Individual, Model-Independent Masses of the Closest Known Brown Dwarf Binary to the Sun

At a distance of 2~pc, our nearest brown dwarf neighbor, Luhman 16 AB, has been extensively studied since its discovery 3 years ago, yet its most fundamental parameter -- the masses of the individual dwarfs -- has not been constrained with precision. In this work we present the full astrometric orbit and barycentric motion of Luhman 16 AB and the first precision measurements of the individual component masses. We draw upon archival observations spanning 31 years from the European Southern Observatory (ESO) Schmidt Telescope, the Deep Near-Infrared Survey of the Southern Sky (DENIS), public FORS2 data on the Very Large Telescope (VLT), and new astrometry from the Gemini South Multiconjugate Adaptive Optics System (GeMS). Finally, we include three radial velocity measurements of the two components from VLT/CRIRES, spanning one year. With this new data sampling a full period of the orbit, we use a Markov Chain Monte Carlo algorithm to fit a 16-parameter model incorporating mutual orbit and barycentric motion parameters and constrain the individual masses to be~$27.9^{+1.1}_{-1.0}$~$M_{J}$ for the T dwarf and~$34.2^{+1.3}_{-1.1}$~$M_{J}$ for the L dwarf. Our measurements of Luhman 16 AB's mass ratio and barycentric motion parameters are consistent with previous estimates in the literature utilizing recent astrometry only. The GeMS-derived measurements of the Luhman 16 AB separation in 2014-2015 agree closely with Hubble Space Telescope (HST) measurements made during the same epoch Bedin et al. 2017, and the derived mutual orbit agrees with those measurements to within the HST uncertainties of $0.3 - 0.4$ milliarcseconds.

astro-ph.SR↗