Strehl ratio and modulation transfer function for segmented mirror telescopes as functions of segment phase error

We derive the Strehl ratio for a segmented mirror telescope as a function of the rms segment phase error and the observing wavelength, with and without the effects of the atmosphere. A simple analytical expression is given for the atmosphere-free case. Although our specific results are in the contex...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Applied optics (2004) 1999-11, Vol.38 (31), p.6642-6647
Main Authors: Chanan, G, Troy, M
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:We derive the Strehl ratio for a segmented mirror telescope as a function of the rms segment phase error and the observing wavelength, with and without the effects of the atmosphere. A simple analytical expression is given for the atmosphere-free case. Although our specific results are in the context of the Keck telescope, they are presented in a way that should be readily adaptable to other segmented geometries. We also derive the corresponding modulation transfer functions. These results are useful in determining how accurately a segmented mirror telescope needs to be phased for a variety of observing applications.
ISSN:1559-128X
DOI:10.1364/ao.38.006642