4th Laser Technology and Systems for Astronomy Workshop, November 9-10, 2008

Fall 2007 Workshop Fall 2009 Workshop

Announcement

Planning for a two-day workshop on Laser Technology and Systems for Astronomy is in progress. The purpose of the workshop is to continue to foster information interchange between laser users and laser developers, discuss the challenging problems or limitations in laser performance, and create potential collaborations. Topics might include

• Status of the telescope LGS AO projects. 2nd generation laser requirements.
• Modeling the laser to sodium coupling physics and return signal.
• Sodium return signal measurements.
• Key component technologies status (mixing crystals, fibers).
• Methods of beam transport, projection, and uplink correction.
• Lessons learned in field hardening for mountaintop operation.
• Strategies for making the laser technology available to the astronomical community.

I welcome your ideas and suggestions! This is a follow-up to our earlier workshops in November 2006, March 2007, and November 2007 at which we heard about some of the latest cutting edge developments.

On the Interactive web pages on Sodium Laser Guidestar research web page you will find: … table of lasers on-sky and reported characteristics … table of ongoing laser development projects … list of past and upcoming meetings … people contact list … blog area for commentary. The web pages are editable by everyone, just like “Wikipedia” pages. (To start editing or make entries to the blog, you just need to register, which is quick and easy. But you can peruse the pages without registering.)

Logistics

Venue

The workshop will be held in conjunction with the Center for Adaptive Optics Fall Retreat at the UCLA Lake Arrowhead Conference Center in Southern California. The Fall Retreat starts Thursday November 6 and lasts until Sunday November 9. The Laser Workshop will start out as a breakout session of the Retreat starting the morning of Sunday November 9 and will last through the end of the day on Monday November 10. Attendees of the workshop will be able to spend the extra night (Sunday) at the UCLA conference center and meals will be provided. The CfAO will be opening up registration in early September. Workshop attendees should register for the Retreat and check the "Attending Laser Workshop" box.

Remote Attendance

I will attempt to establish a video conference arrangement using either Skype or iChat/AIM. Details are forthcoming.

Funding Acknowledgement

The CfAO sponsors the cost of these workshops through its science and technology center grant from the National Science Foundation.

Agenda

Sunday Morning

10:15 Laser Workshop begins

• Welcome and Introduction
  • Welcoming comments - Don Gavel, CfAO
• Laser User's perspective - requirements, limitations, "ideal" properties of an Astronomy guidestar laser
  • Specifications for ideal sodium guidestars for ELTs - Don Gavel, CfAO
  • Review of the laser technical specifications for the 4LGSF lasers - D. Bonaccini Calia, Pierre-Yves Madec, ESO
  • Keck Next Generation Adaptive Optics laser requirements - Sean Adkins, Keck Observatory
  • Specifications for the TMT laser guide star facility - Corinne Boyer, TMT

• Laser system's status (on-telescope)
• Laser system's status (systems under development)
  • Status of the ESO fiber laser development program - D. Bonaccini Calia, Y. Feng, L. Taylor, W. Hackenberg, R. Holzlohner, ESO
  • Status update on LLNL 589 nm fiber laser system - Jay Dawson, LLNL
  • LMCT Progress on AODP pulsed guidestar laser - Allen Tracy, LMCT
  • Gemini South / Keck guidestar laser update - Allan Tracy, LMCT
  • Hybrid Nd:YAG / Yb:Fiber guide star laser architecture with easily varied spectrum - Tom Kane, FASORtronics/Stanford University

• Sodium / laser light interaction - experimental results and theory development
  • A cursory view of the beacon brightness - Craig Denman, FASORtronics
  • The physics of the sodium atom in the mesosphere - an overview - Ed Kibblewhite, U. Chicago
  • Monte Carlo rate equation simulations of LGS return flux - r. Holzlohner, D. Bonaccini Calia, W. Hackenberg, ESO
  • Block equation simulation of LGS return flux - R. Holzlohner, D. Bonaccini Calia, W. Hackenberg, ESO
  • Liouville space modeling of sodium guidestars - Steven Morgan, Y.-Y. Jau, and W. Happer, Princeton U.
  • Magnetometry projects and ongoing laser guide star research - Brian Patton, Simon Rochester, UC Berkeley

• Room for discussion

4:00 Adjourn

Invitees:

• Sean Adkins (a), Keck Observatory
• Antonin Bouchez (a), Caltech Optical Observatories
• Corinne Boyer (a), Thirty Meter Telescope Project
• Domenico Bonaccini Calia (a), European Southern Observatory
• Jason Chin, Keck Observatory
• Julian Christou (a), Gemini Observatory
• Jay Dawson (a), Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
• Richard Dekany (a), Caltech Optical Observatories
• Craig Denman (a), Starfire Optical Range
• Celine D'Orgeville (a-video), Gemini Observatory
• Daren Dillon (a), Lick Observatory
• Dan Eklund (a), NOAO
• Brent Ellerbroek (a), Thirty Meter Telescope Project
• Bob Fugate (a), New Mexico Tech and Starfire Optical Range
• Don Gavel (a), Lick Observatory
• Wolfgang Hackenberg, European Southern Observatory
• Alan Hankla (a), Lockheed Martin Coherent Technology
• Michael Hart (a), University of Arizona Steward Observatory
• Yutaka Hayano (a), Subaru Telescope
• Paul Hillman (a), Starfire Optical Range
• Ron Holzlohner (a), European Southern Observatory
• Meguru Ito (a), Subaru Telescope
• Joe Janni (a), AMOS
• Tom Kane (a), Stanford University
• Ed Kibblewhite (a), University of Chicago
• Ian Lee, Lockheed Martin Coherent Technology
• Steven Morgan (a), Princeton University
• Jesper Munch, U. Adelaide
• Chris Neyman (a), Keck Observatory
• Brian Patton (a), UC Berkeley
• Dee Pennington, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
• Francois Rigaut, Gemini Observatory
• Simon Rochester, UC Berkeley
• Hideki Takami, Subaru Telescope
• Alan Tracy (a), Lockheed Martin Coherent Technology
• Viswa Velur, Caltech Optical Observatories
• Peter Wizinowich, Keck Observatory

and anyone else attending the CfAO Fall Retreat and is interested in lasers for astronomy AO.

Again, my thanks to those who are participating in these workshops and I encourage you all to join in the discussions and planning for future workshops.

-- Donald Gavel