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Influence of Seidel distortion on combining beams from a phased telescope array
1Naval Research Laboratory, Code 7218, Washington, DC 20375-5320, USA. lucke@poamb.nrl.navy.mil
Applied Optics
|March 8, 2008
Summary
Tilt errors in telescope arrays limit the field of view (FOV). Correcting Seidel distortion coefficients in front-end telescopes can eliminate this FOV limitation, enabling wider astronomical observations.
Area of Science:
- Optical astronomy
- Telescope array design
Background:
- Beam-combining telescopes utilize multiple focal telescopes.
- Wave front tilt errors limit the achievable field of view (FOV).
- Existing literature has not accurately described these FOV limitations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To correctly describe the limits on FOV imposed by wave front tilt errors.
- To investigate methods for overcoming FOV limitations in beam-combining telescope systems.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of wave front tilt errors in beam-combining telescope arrays.
- Investigating the role of Seidel distortion coefficients in front-end telescopes.
- Theoretical modeling of FOV limitations.
Main Results:
- Tilt errors introduce fundamental limits on the achievable field of view (FOV).
- A specific Seidel distortion coefficient in front-end telescopes eliminates tilt error as an FOV limitation.
- Small fields of view are achievable even without optimal Seidel distortion, potentially off-axis.
Conclusions:
- Accurate description of FOV limitations due to tilt errors is established.
- Optimizing Seidel distortion offers a method to overcome FOV limits in telescope arrays.
- The findings have implications for designing wider-field astronomical instruments.
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