KalAO the swift adaptive optics imager on 1.2m Euler Swiss telescope in La Silla, Chile

TL;DR

KalAO is a newly designed adaptive optics imager for the 1.2m Euler Swiss telescope, optimized for natural guide star mode to detect close companions around planet-hosting stars in the visible spectrum.

Contribution

This paper introduces KalAO, a novel adaptive optics system tailored for the Euler telescope, featuring a unique wavefront control setup and real-time GPU processing for high-speed correction.

Findings

Designed for wavefront control down to I=11 stars

Optimized for 450-900 nm wavelength range

Capable of detecting companions at 150 mas separation

Abstract

KalAO is a natural guide star adaptive optics (AO) imager to be installed on the second Nasmyth focus of the 1.2m Euler Swiss telescope in La Silla, Chile. The initial design of the system is inspired on RoboAO with modifications in order to operate in natural guide star (NGS) mode. KalAO was built to search for binarity in planet hosting stars by following-up candidates primarily from the TESS satellite survey. The optical design is optimised for the 450-900 nm wavelength range and is fitted with SDSS \emph{g,r,i,z} filters. The system is designed for wavefront control down to $I$-magnitude 11 stars in order to probe the same parameter space as radial velocity instruments such as HARPS and NIRPS. The principal components of the system are an 11x11 10.9 cm sub-apertures Electron Multiplying CCD (EMCCD) Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor, a 140 actuators Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) deformable mirror, a fast tip/tilt mirror, and a graphics processing unit (GPU) powered glycol cooled real-time computer. It is designed to run at up to 1.8kHz in order to detect companions as close as the 150mas visible-light diffraction limit. The real-time adaptive optics control is using the CACAO software running on GPUs. The instrument is planned for commissioning early 2021 in Chile if the covid restrictions are lifted.