MCAO for the European Solar Telescope: first results

TL;DR

This paper evaluates the wavefront reconstruction efficiency of the MCAO system for the European Solar Telescope through numerical simulations, addressing unique challenges of solar observations and outlining system requirements.

Contribution

It presents the first simulation-based analysis of MCAO performance for the EST, highlighting specific challenges and requirements for solar adaptive optics systems.

Findings

Identified key requirements for the EST AO system.

Demonstrated preliminary capabilities of the MCAO system.

Addressed challenges like low contrast and extended guide features.

Abstract

We analise the efficiency of wavefront reconstruction in the MultiConjugate Adaptive Optics system for the European Solar Telescope (EST). We present preliminary results derived from numerical simulations. We study a 4 meter class telescope with multiple deformable mirrors conjugated at variable heights. Along with common issues, difficulties peculiar to the solar case have to be considered, such as the low contrast and extended nature of the natural guide features. Our findings identify basic requirements for the EST Adaptive Optics system and show some of its capabilities.