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arXiv · 1608.05593

SOAR Adaptive Module (SAM): seeing improvement with a UV laser

Andrei Tokovinin·Rolando Cantarutti·Roberto Tighe·Patricio Schurter·Manuel Martinez·Sandrine Thomas·Nicole van der Bliek
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Abstract

The adaptive module of the 4.1-m SOAR telescope, SAM, corrects ground-layer turbulence using a UV laser guide star. It has been commissioned in 2013 and it is in regular science operation since 2014. SAM works with the CCD imager covering a 3' field or with the speckle camera. It operates routinely and stably, delivering resolution in the I band equal to the free-atmosphere seeing. This paper describes the SAM system as a whole, providing essential reference for its users and technical information of interest to instrumentalists. Operation of the instrument, its performance, and science projects done with SAM so far are reviewed.

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Andrei Tokovinin, Rolando Cantarutti, Roberto Tighe, Patricio Schurter, Manuel Martinez, Sandrine Thomas, Nicole van der Bliek. 2016-08-19. SOAR Adaptive Module (SAM): seeing improvement with a UV laser. https://doi.org/10.1088/1538-3873%2F128%2F970%2F125003

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