The IBIS 2.0 project upgrades the Interferometric BIdimensional Spectrometer, which was operated at the Dunn Solar Telescope of the National Solar Observatory from 2003 to 2019, for installation at a new telescope at the Teide Observatory. The instrument combines two tunable Fabry-P´erot interferometers, narrowband interference filters, a polarimetric unit, fast cameras, and a suitable control for the acquisition of high-resolution spectropolarimetric data of the solar atmosphere in the 580–860 nm spectral range with short exposures at high cadence under a remote control. The project underwent several phases. We provide an update on the design progress of the instrument and the status of the project, with special emphasis on the challenges arising from the vertical setup required by the new installation. IBIS 2.0 is expected to contribute to a better knowledge of plasma properties at different heights in the solar atmosphere.
The IBIS 2.0 Interferometric BIdimensional Spectrometer 2.0 instrument combines two tunable Fabry-P´erot interferometers, narrowband interference filters, a polarimetric unit, fast cameras, and a proper Instrument Control System to perform high-resolution solar spectropolarimetric observations at high cadence with short exposures. A previous version of the instrument, named IBIS, operated at the Dunn Solar Telescope (DST) of the National Solar Observatory (NSO) from 2003 to 2019. IBIS 2.0 is planned to enter operations over the spectral range 580-860 nm at the Teide Observatory in 2023. In this paper we describe the final optical layout adopted for IBIS 2.0 along with its polarimetric unit, which is realized with two Liquid Crystals Variable Retarders and a Wollaston prism acting as a Polarizing Beam Splitter. We also present the final design of the Instrument Control System, the expected performances of the IBIS 2.0 instrument, and the planned sequence of operations.
KEYWORDS: Spectroscopy, Interferometry, Temporal resolution, Telescopes, Solar telescopes, Solar processes, Optomechanical design, Control systems design
We present the IBIS2.0 project, which aims to upgrade and to install the Interferometric BIdimensional Spectrometer at the solar Vacuum Tower Telescope (Tenerife, Spain) after its disassembling from the Dunn Solar Telescope (New Mexico, USA). The instrument is undergoing a hardware and software revision that will allow it to perform new spectropolarimetric measurements of the solar atmosphere at high spatial, spectral and temporal resolution in coordination with other ground- and space-based instruments. Here we present the new opto-mechanical layout and control system designed for the instrument, and describe future steps.
The European Solar Telescope (EST) will provide spectro-polarimetric measurements of the solar atmosphere with unprecedented sensitivity and accuracy. To this purpose, its optical scheme, as well as its MCAO system, are designed to minimize the instrumental polarization. In the framework of the EST design, we have started a series of laboratory tests to characterize the effects of using deformable mirrors on polarization measurements. In this contribution, we will show the results of these tests. These results are not only relevant to solar physics, but also to a number of other astrophysical research fields where high precision polarimetry is becoming a fundamental tool, such as for example exoplanets detection, and star formation characterization.
The European Solar Telescope (EST) will be best suited for very high accuracy polarization measurements. Indeed, its optical design is such that the telescope as a whole does not modify the polarization state of the incoming light. For this reason, a mutually compensating configuration with non-standard 45 degrees tilted deformable mirrors (DMs) is proposed for its multi-conjugated adaptive optics (MCAO) system. We studied such non-standard configuration and the impact of DMs with large incidence angles on the overall performances of the EST MCAO system. In this work we present some preliminary results derived from our study.
Advanced Astronomy for Heliophysics Plus (ADAHELI+) is a project concept for a small solar and space weather mission with a budget compatible with an European Space Agency (ESA) S-class mission, including launch, and a fast development cycle. ADAHELI+ was submitted to the European Space Agency by a European-wide consortium of solar physics research institutes in response to the “Call for a small mission opportunity for a launch in 2017,” of March 9, 2012. The ADAHELI+ project builds on the heritage of the former ADAHELI mission, which had successfully completed its phase-A study under the Italian Space Agency 2007 Small Mission Programme, thus proving the soundness and feasibility of its innovative low-budget design. ADAHELI+ is a solar space mission with two main instruments: ISODY+: an imager, based on Fabry–Pérot interferometers, whose design is optimized to the acquisition of highest cadence, long-duration, multiline spectropolarimetric images in the visible/near-infrared region of the solar spectrum. XSPO: an x-ray polarimeter for solar flares in x-rays with energies in the 15 to 35 keV range. ADAHELI+ is capable of performing observations that cannot be addressed by other currently planned solar space missions, due to their limited telemetry, or by ground-based facilities, due to the problematic effect of the terrestrial atmosphere.
KEYWORDS: Telescopes, Control systems, Optical instrument design, Solar telescopes, Space telescopes, Adaptive optics, Mirrors, Data modeling, Polarimetry, Solar processes
Aim of this paper is to present an overview of the conceptual design of the Control Software for the European Solar
Telescope (EST), as emerged after the successful Conceptual Design Review held in June 2011 which formally
concluded the EST Preliminary Design Study. After a general description of ECS (EST Control Software) architecture
end-to-end, from operation concepts and observation preparations to the control of the planned focal plane instruments,
the paper focuses on the arrangement devised to date of ECS to cope with the foreseen scientific requirements. EST
major subsystems together with the functions to be controlled are eventually detailed and discussed.
KEYWORDS: Telescopes, Data storage, Data archive systems, Data processing, Data acquisition, Optical instrument design, Databases, Data centers, Solar telescopes, Sensors
We present an overview of the conceptual design of the data handling unit of the ECS, the Control System for the
European Solar Telescope (EST). We will focus on describing the critical requirements for this unit resulting from the
overall design of the telescope, together with its architecture and the results of the feasibility analysis carried out to date.
KEYWORDS: Mirrors, Telescopes, Adaptive optics, Solar telescopes, Optical design, Polarization, Polarimetry, Space telescopes, Control systems, Solar processes
The European Solar Telescope is a project for a 4-meter class telescope to be located in the Canary Islands. EST is
promoted by the European Association for Solar Telescopes (EAST). This is a consortium formed by a number of
research organizations from fifteen European countries (Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary,
Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Slovak Republic, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and United Kingdom). EST will
specialize in high spatial and temporal resolution using diverse instruments that can efficiently produce two-dimensional
spectropolarimetric information of the thermal, dynamic and magnetic properties of the plasma over many scale heights
in the solar atmosphere. In this contribution, the status of the development of the Design Study of EST is presented,
emphasizing the most important aspects of the optical design, mechanical structure, AO and MCAO systems for
wavefront correction, instruments and polarization analysis.
KEYWORDS: Telescopes, Data storage, Control systems, Databases, Sensors, Space telescopes, Data centers, Data acquisition, Observatories, Data archive systems
We introduce the concepts for the control and data handling systems of the European Solar Telescope (EST),
the main functional and technical requirements for the definition of these systems, and the outcomes from the
trade-off analysis to date. Concerning the telescope control, EST will have performance requirements similar to
those of current medium-sized night-time telescopes. On the other hand, the science goals of EST require the
simultaneous operation of three instruments and of a large number of detectors. This leads to a projected data
flux that will be technologically challenging and exceeds that of most other astronomical projects. We give an
overview of the reference design of the control and data handling systems for the EST to date, focusing on the
more critical and innovative aspects resulting from the overall design of the telescope.
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