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Main Authors: Hyde, Milo, Spencer, Mark, Kalensky, Matt
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.12970
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author Hyde, Milo
Spencer, Mark
Kalensky, Matt
author_facet Hyde, Milo
Spencer, Mark
Kalensky, Matt
contents Two-wavelength adaptive optics (AO) systems sense wavefront errors using a beacon at one wavelength, while correcting for subsequent imaging or beam projection at another. Although most AO systems operate in this manner, the relevant AO literature is generally concerned with quantifying system performance at a single wavelength, effectively ignoring the two-wavelength nature of the problem. In this paper, we study the effects of anisoplanatism, or the physical separation of the beacon and transmit light, on two-wavelength AO systems for imaging and beam projection applications. We derive the piston-removed (PR) and piston-and-tilt-removed (PTR) optical-path-difference (OPD) variances including anisoplanatism, which are key metrics of AO system performance. We compare our closed-form PR and PTR OPD variances to numerical results and discuss their physical significance. In addition, we introduce the two-wavelength isoplanatic angle and show how it can be used to quickly assess two-wavelength AO system performance. At large, the analysis contained in this paper will inform the design and implementation of two-wavelength AO systems for multiple imaging and beam projection applications.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2509_12970
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Anisoplanatic errors in two-wavelength adaptive optics
Hyde, Milo
Spencer, Mark
Kalensky, Matt
Optics
Two-wavelength adaptive optics (AO) systems sense wavefront errors using a beacon at one wavelength, while correcting for subsequent imaging or beam projection at another. Although most AO systems operate in this manner, the relevant AO literature is generally concerned with quantifying system performance at a single wavelength, effectively ignoring the two-wavelength nature of the problem. In this paper, we study the effects of anisoplanatism, or the physical separation of the beacon and transmit light, on two-wavelength AO systems for imaging and beam projection applications. We derive the piston-removed (PR) and piston-and-tilt-removed (PTR) optical-path-difference (OPD) variances including anisoplanatism, which are key metrics of AO system performance. We compare our closed-form PR and PTR OPD variances to numerical results and discuss their physical significance. In addition, we introduce the two-wavelength isoplanatic angle and show how it can be used to quickly assess two-wavelength AO system performance. At large, the analysis contained in this paper will inform the design and implementation of two-wavelength AO systems for multiple imaging and beam projection applications.
title Anisoplanatic errors in two-wavelength adaptive optics
topic Optics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.12970