The Optical System for the Large Size Telescope of the Cherenkov Telescope Array

TL;DR

This paper describes the design, construction, and active alignment system of the optical mirrors for the Large Size Telescope of the Cherenkov Telescope Array, emphasizing its innovative segmented mirror structure and active control for optimal performance.

Contribution

It introduces a novel segmented mirror design with active alignment system for the CTA's LST, improving optical precision and efficiency.

Findings

Mirror reflectivity reaches ~94% at peak.

Active mirror control system maintains alignment during operations.

Mirror facets are lightweight and durable with sandwich structure.

Abstract

The Large Size Telescope (LST) of the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) is designed to achieve a threshold energy of 20 GeV. The LST optics is composed of one parabolic primary mirror 23 m in diameter and 28 m focal length. The reflector dish is segmented in 198 hexagonal, 1.51 m flat to flat mirrors. The total effective reflective area, taking into account the shadow of the mechanical structure, is about 368 m$^2$. The mirrors have a sandwich structure consisting of a glass sheet of 2.7 mm thickness, aluminum honeycomb of 60 mm thickness, and another glass sheet on the rear, and have a total weight about 47 kg. The mirror surface is produced using a sputtering deposition technique to apply a 5-layer coating, and the mirrors reach a reflectivity of $\sim$94% at peak. The mirror facets are actively aligned during operations by an active mirror control system, using actuators, CMOS cameras and a reference laser. Each mirror facet carries a CMOS camera, which measures the position of the light spot of the optical axis reference laser on the target of the telescope camera. The two actuators and the universal joint of each mirror facet are respectively fixed to three neighboring joints of the dish space frame, via specially designed interface plate.