arXiv subjects

Silvia Scheithauer

Publications and source records attributed to Silvia Scheithauer.

22 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2020

Infrared wavefront sensing for adaptive optics assisted Galactic Center observations with the VLT interferometer and GRAVITY: operation and results

This article describes the operation of the near-infrared wavefront sensing based Adaptive Optics (AO) system CIAO. The Coudé Infrared Adaptive Optics (CIAO) system is a central auxiliary component of the Very Large Telescope (VLT) interferometer (VLTI). It enables in particular the observations of the Galactic Center (GC) using the GRAVITY instrument. GRAVITY is a highly specialized beam combiner, a device that coherently combines the light of the four 8-m telescopes and finally records interferometric measurements in the K-band on 6 baselines simultaneously. CIAO compensates for phase disturbances caused by atmospheric turbulence, which all four 8 m Unit Telescopes (UT) experience during observation. Each of the four CIAO units generates an almost diffraction-limited image quality at its UT, which ensures that maximum flux of the observed stellar object enters the fibers of the GRAVITY beam combiner. We present CIAO performance data obtained in the first 3 years of operation as a function of weather conditions. We describe how CIAO is configured and used for observations with GRAVITY. In addition, we focus on the outstanding features of the near-infrared sensitive Saphira detector, which is used for the first time on Paranal, and show how it works as a wavefront sensor detector.

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arXiv2019

High contrast imaging with ELT/METIS: The wind driven halo, from SPHERE to METIS

METIS is one of the three first-light instruments planned for the ELT, mainly dedicated to high contrast imaging in the mid-infrared. On the SPHERE high-contrast instrument currently installed at the VLT, we observe that one of the main contrast limitations is the wind driven halo, due to the limited AO running speed with respect to the atmospheric turbulence temporal evolution. From this observation, we extrapolate this signature to the ELT/METIS instrument, which is equipped with a single conjugated adaptive optics system and with several coronagraphic devices. By making use of an analytic AO simulator, we compare the amount of wind driven halo observed with SPHERE and with METIS, under the same turbulence conditions.

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arXiv2015

The Mid-Infrared Instrument for JWST, II: Design and Build

The Mid-InfraRed Instrument (MIRI) on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) provides measurements over the wavelength range 5 to 28.5 microns. MIRI has, within a single 'package', four key scientific functions: photometric imaging, coronagraphy, single-source low-spectral resolving power (R ~ 100) spectroscopy, and medium-resolving power (R ~ 1500 to 3500) integral field spectroscopy. An associated cooler system maintains MIRI at its operating temperature of < 6.7 K. This paper describes the driving principles behind the design of MIRI, the primary design parameters, and their realization in terms of the 'as-built' instrument. It also describes the test program that led to delivery of the tested and calibrated Flight Model to NASA in 2012, and the confirmation after delivery of the key interface requirements.

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arXiv2015

The Mid-Infrared Instrument for the James Webb Space Telescope, X. Operations and Data Reduction

We describe the operations concept and data reduction plan for the Mid- Infrared Instrument (MIRI) for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). The overall JWST operations concept is to use Observation Templates (OTs) to provide a straightforward and intuitive way for users to specify observations. MIRI has four OTs that correspond to the four observing modes: 1.) Imaging, 2.) Coronagraphy, 3.) Low Resolution Spectroscopy, and 4.) Medium Resolution Spectroscopy. We outline the user choices and expansion of these choices into detailed instrument operations. The data reduction plans for MIRI are split into three stages, where the specificity of the reduction steps to the observation type increases with stage. The reduction starts with integration ramps: stage 1 yields uncalibrated slope images; stage 2 calibrates the slope images; and then stage 3 combines multiple calibrated slope images into high level data products (e.g. mosaics, spectral cubes, and extracted source information). Finally, we give examples of the data and data products that will be derived from each of the four different OTs.

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