Extended state observer-based control with an adjustable parameter for a large ground-based telescope

The high-precision requirements will always be constrained due to the complicated operating conditions of the ground-based telescope. Owing to various internal and external disturbances, it is necessary to study a control method, which should have a good ability on disturbance rejection and a good adaptability on system parameter variation. The traditional proportional-integral(PI) controller has the advantage of simple and easy adjustment, but it cannot deal with the disturbances well in different situations. This paper proposes a simplified active disturbance rejection control law, whose debugging is as simple as the PI controller, and with better disturbance rejection ability and parameter adaptability. It adopts a simplified second-order extended state observer(ESO) with an adjustable parameter to accommodate the significant variation of the inertia during the different design stages of the telescope. The gain parameter of the ESO can be adjusted online with a recursive least square estimating method once the system parameter has changed significantly. Thus, the ESO can estimate the total disturbances timely and the controller will compensate them accordingly. With the adjustable parameter of the ESO, the controller can always achieve better performance in different applications of the telescope. The simulation and experimental verification of the control law was conducted on a 1.2-meter ground based telescope. The results verify the necessity of adjusting the parameter of the ESO, and demonstrate better disturbance rejection ability in a large range of speed variations during the design stages of the telescope.

Pose Estimation of Space Targets Based on Model Matching for Large-Aperture Ground-Based Telescopes

With the development of adaptive optics and post restore processing techniques,large aperture ground-based telescopes can obtain high-resolution images(HRIs)of targets.The pose of the space target can be estimated from HRIs by several methods.As the target features obtained from the image are unstable,it is difficult to use existing methods for pose estimation.In this paper a method based on real-time target model matching to estimate the pose of space targets is proposed.First,the physicallyconstrained iterative deconvolution algorithm is used to obtain HRIs of the space target.Second,according to the 3D model,the ephemeris data,the observation time of the target,and the optical parameters of the telescope,the simulated observation image of the target in orbit is rendered by a scene simulation program.Finally,the target model searches through yaw,pitch,and roll until the correlation between the simulated observation image and the actual observation image shows an optimal match.The simulation results show that the proposed pose estimation method can converge to the local optimal value with an estimation error of about 1.6349°.

A Variable Parameter Linear Tracking Differentiator and Its Application in Large Ground-based Telescopes

This paper is concerned with the characteristics of a tracking differentiator(TD)in arranging transition process for the physical system.In order to overcome disadvantages of linear TD(LTD)in practice,a novel variable parameter linear tracking differentiator(VLTD)is proposed.By designing the speediness factor as a function of the tracking error,the VLTD can track a large range of set values with reasonable speed and acceleration.Analysis shows that VLTD can converge to its set value under certain conditions.Meanwhile,the speed and acceleration bounds are added to the VLTD,which guarantees that the proposed transition signal really plays a transitional role.The numerical simulation results emphasize necessity for adding speed and acceleration bounds to the VLTD.By comparing VLTD with the nonlinear TD(NLTD)in the simulations and experiments,VLTD can achieve almost the same performance as the NLTD while it is easier to be implemented.

Design and Cryogenic Performance of a Hexapod Platform for a Large Ground-based Wide Field Survey Telescope

The thermal gradient is an important factor that causes degradation to the image quality of telescopes. In order to ensure the accurate alignment of the primary focus unit and the primary mirror, the hexapod platform(as a corrector) is investigated in this paper. First, a ground-based telescope with 2.5 m aperture and 3.5 deg field of view is described. The telescope is under construction, and it is expected to be finished in 2023. Second, the hexapod platform with flexure hinges utilized to adjust the primary focus unit is proposed, which is applied as a corrector.Then, the inverse kinematics of the platform is established and an open-loop control system is built based on it.Finally, the cryogenic performance test for the hexapod platform is performed. The experimental results show that the resolution and repeatability of the translation for the hexapod platform can be achieved at the micrometer level.The resolution and repeatability of the rotation can be achieved at the arc-second level. Therefore, the cryogenic performance of the hexapod platform can meet the optical imaging requirements of the wide-field ground-based telescope. The kinematic analysis and cryogenic performance tests in the paper provide a technical reference for the precise alignment of the primary focus unit and the primary mirror, which can improve the imaging quality of the telescope.

Ground-based and additional science support for SMILE

The joint European Space Agency and Chinese Academy of Sciences Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer(SMILE)mission will explore global dynamics of the magnetosphere under varying solar wind and interplanetary magnetic field conditions,and simultaneously monitor the auroral response of the Northern Hemisphere ionosphere.Combining these large-scale responses with medium and fine-scale measurements at a variety of cadences by additional ground-based and space-based instruments will enable a much greater scientific impact beyond the original goals of the SMILE mission.Here,we describe current community efforts to prepare for SMILE,and the benefits and context various experiments that have explicitly expressed support for SMILE can offer.A dedicated group of international scientists representing many different experiment types and geographical locations,the Ground-based and Additional Science Working Group,is facilitating these efforts.Preparations include constructing an online SMILE Data Fusion Facility,the discussion of particular or special modes for experiments such as coherent and incoherent scatter radar,and the consideration of particular observing strategies and spacecraft conjunctions.We anticipate growing interest and community engagement with the SMILE mission,and we welcome novel ideas and insights from the solar-terrestrial community.

The Jiao Tong University Spectroscopic Telescope Project

The Jiao Tong University Spectroscopic Telescope(JUST)is a 4.4-meter f/6.0 segmented-mirror telescope dedicated to spectroscopic observations.The JUST primary mirror is composed of 18 hexagonal segments,each with a diameter of 1.1 m.JUST provides two Nasmyth platforms for placing science instruments.One Nasmyth focus fits a field of view of 10′and the other has an extended field of view of 1.2°with correction optics.A tertiary mirror is used to switch between the two Nasmyth foci.JUST will be installed at a site at Lenghu in Qinghai Province,China,and will conduct spectroscopic observations with three types of instruments to explore the dark universe,trace the dynamic universe,and search for exoplanets:(1)a multi-fiber(2000 fibers)medium-resolution spectrometer(R=4000-5000)to spectroscopically map galaxies and large-scale structure;(2)an integral field unit(IFU)array of 500 optical fibers and/or a long-slit spectrograph dedicated to fast follow-ups of transient sources for multi-messenger astronomy;(3)a high-resolution spectrometer(R~100000)designed to identify Jupiter analogs and Earth-like planets,with the capability to characterize the atmospheres of hot exoplanets.

Design and application of an autonomous Master Control System for a multi-layer magnetic and helioseismic telescope

With the growing significance of space weather forecasting,multi-layer magnetic and helioseismic telescopes are emerging as a key area of research.However,owing to the diverse operational processes and sophisticated hardware configurations of these devices,there is an urgent need for efficient autonomous observation capabilities.An autonomous Master Control System(MCS)can ensure efficient performance,data consistency,and stability,and the prototype presented here adopts a microservices architecture,breaking down the hardware into multiple subsystems and converting their functions into individual services.A central decision-making system leads the operations,supported by three auxiliary systems and three device control systems.Through inter-subsystem service calls,it achieves rapid imaging and spectroscopic monitoring.To verify system stability and observation efficiency,the system was tested on the Solar Full-disk Multi-layer Magnetograph.Experimental results verify this system can operate automatically for 4 consecutive months,acquire photospheric vector magnetic and Doppler velocity fields within a 15-minute interval,and measure chromospheric longitudinal magnetic and Doppler velocity fields in under 180 s.This ensures consistent and stable solar monitoring and serves as a practical methodological benchmark for the development of similar devices.

Basic Survey Scheduling for the Wide Field Survey Telescope(WFST)

Aiming at improving the survey efficiency of the Wide Field Survey Telescope, we have developed a basic scheduling strategy that takes into account the telescope characteristics, observing conditions, and weather conditions at the Lenghu site. The sky area is divided into rectangular regions, referred to as “tiles,” with a size of2°. 577 × 2°. 634 slightly smaller than the focal area of the mosaic CCDs. These tiles are continuously filled in annulars parallel to the equator. The brightness of the sky background, which varies with the moon phase and distance from the moon, plays a significant role in determining the accessible survey fields. Approximately 50connected tiles are grouped into one block for observation. To optimize the survey schedule, we perform simulations by taking into account the length of exposures, data readout, telescope slewing, and all relevant observing conditions. We utilize the Greedy Algorithm for scheduling optimization. Additionally, we propose a dedicated dithering pattern to cover the gaps between CCDs and the four corners of the mosaic CCD array, which are located outside of the 3° field of view. This dithering pattern helps to achieve relatively uniform exposure maps for the final survey outputs.

Design and assembly of a nested imaging X-ray telescope for the Hot Universe Baryon Surveyor mission

The Hot Universe Baryon Surveyor (HUBS) mission will carry a nested X-ray telescope capable of observing an energy range from 0.5 keV to 2 keV to study hot baryon evolution. In this paper, we report the latest progress in the design and construction of nested X-ray telescopes which were designed to use a three-stage conic-approximation type assembly to simplify the manufacturing process. The mirror substrate is made using the thermal glass slumping method, with mirrors characterized by a root-mean-square roughness of 0.3 nm, with expected high reflectivity and good thermal stability. We also discuss methods of telescope construction and conduct a deformation analysis of the manufactured mirror. The in situ measurement system program is developed to guide the telescope assembly process.

Design and construction of charged-particle telescope array for study of exotic nuclear clustering structure

The exploration of exotic shapes and properties of atomic nuclei,e.g.,αcluster and toroidal shape,is a fascinating field in nuclear physics.To study the decay of these nuclei,a novel detector aimed at detecting multipleα-particle events was designed and constructed.The detector comprises two layers of double-sided silicon strip detectors(DSSD)and a cesium iodide scintillator array coupled with silicon photomultipliers array as light sensors,which has the advantages of their small size,fast response,and large dynamic range.DSSDs coupled with cesium iodide crystal arrays are used to distinguish multipleαhits.The detector array has a compact and integrated design that can be adapted to different experimental conditions.The detector array was simulated using Geant4,and the excitation energy spectra of someα-clustering nuclei were reconstructed to demonstrate the performance.The simulation results show that the detector array has excellent angular and energy resolutions,enabling effective reconstruction of the nuclear excited state by multipleαparticle events.This detector offers a new and powerful tool for nuclear physics experiments and has the potential to discover interesting physical phenomena related to exotic nuclear structures and their decay mechanisms.

Disturbance Observer-based Pointing Control of Leighton Chajnantor Telescope

Leighton Chajnantor Telescope(LCT), i.e., the former Caltech Submillimeter Observatory telescope, will be refurbished at the new site in Chajnantor Plateau, Chile in 2023. The environment of LCT will change significantly after its relocation, and the telescope will be exposed to large wind disturbances directly because its enclosure will be completely open during observation. The wind disturbance is expected to be a challenge for LCT's pointing control since the existing control method cannot reject this disturbance very well. Therefore, it is very necessary to develop a new pointing control method with good capability of disturbance rejection. In this research, a disturbance observer—based composite position controller(DOB-CPC) is designed, in which an H∞feedback controller is employed to compress the disturbance, and a feedforward linear quadratic regulator is employed to compensate the disturbance precisely based on the estimated disturbance signal. Moreover, a controller switching policy is adopted, which applies the proportional controller to the transient process to achieve a quick response and applies the DOB-CPC to the steady state to achieve a small position error. Numerical experiments are conducted to verify the good performance of the proposed pointing controller(i.e., DOB-CPC) for rejecting the disturbance acting on LCT.

Analysis of optical axis deviation caused by structural stiffness in equatorial telescopes

The impact of structural stiffness on optical axis deviation poses a significant challenge in the design of equatorial telescope structures.A comprehensive analysis during the design process can reduce the reliance of a telescope on advanced control technologies,thereby improving its economic feasibility.Although full-system finite element analyses are reliable,they are encumbered by significant time requirements and limitations in covering all possible telescope orientations.Therefore,we propose an efficient and comprehensive analytical method to evaluate the optical axis deviation of equatorial telescopes across a full range of angles.To address the challenge of ensuring that the analysis covers all possible positions of an equatorial telescope,based on a model from SiTian project,we analyze the optical axis deviations caused by the fork arm at 25 different angles and then use fitting methods to obtain results for all angles.Based on the analysis results of the optical axis deviation caused by the stiffness of the optical tube in the horizontal position,we derive the results for the tube at any position using geometric relationships.Finally,we calculate the coupling factors and combine these impacts.Furthermore,we identify six discrete feature points to reflect possible telescope orientations and conduct comprehensive finite element analyses.The results are in alignment with those acquired through a comprehensive computational approach.

Prospects of the Multi-channel Photometric Survey Telescope in the Cosmological Application of Type Ia Supernovae

The Multi-channel Photometric Survey Telescope(Mephisto)is a real-time,three-color photometric system designed to capture the color evolution of stars and transients accurately.This telescope system can be crucial in cosmological distance measurements of low-redshift(low-z,z■0.1)Type Ia supernovae(SNe Ia).To optimize the capabilities of this instrument,we perform a comprehensive simulation study before its official operation is scheduled to start.By considering the impact of atmospheric extinction,weather conditions,and the lunar phase at the observing site involving the instrumental features,we simulate light curves of SNe Ia obtained by Mephisto.The best strategy in the case of SN Ia cosmology is to take the image at an exposure time of 130 s with a cadence of 3 days.In this condition,Mephisto can obtain hundreds of high-quality SNe Ia to achieve a distance measurement better than 4.5%.Given the on-time spectral classification and monitoring of the Lijiang 2.4 m Telescope at the same observatory,Mephisto,in the whole operation,can significantly enrich the well-calibrated sample of supernovae at low-z and improve the calibration accuracy of high-z SNe Ia.

A high-contrast imaging coronagraph for segmented-mirror large aperture telescopes using a spatial light modulator

The primary mirrors of current and future large telescopes always employ a segmented mirror configuration.The small but non-negligible gaps between neighboring segments cause additional diffraction,which restricts the performance of high-contrast coronagraph.To solve this problem,we propose a coronagraph system based on a single liquid crystal spatial light modulator(SLM).This spatial light modulator is used for amplitude apodization,and its feasibility and potential performance are demonstrated using a laboratory setup using the stochastic parallel gradient descent(SPGD)algorithm to control the spatial light modulator,which is based on point spread function(PSF)sensing and evaluation and optimized for maximum contrast in the discovery working area as a merit function.The system delivers a contrast in the order of 10−6,and shows excellent potential to be used in current and future large aperture telescopes,both on the ground and in space.

Are James Webb Space Telescope Observations Consistent with Warm Dark Matter?

We compare observed with predicted distributions of galaxy stellar masses M* and galaxy rest-frame ultra-violet luminosities per unit bandwidth LUV, in the redshift range z=2 to 13. The comparison is presented as a function of the comoving warm dark matter free-streaming cut-off wavenumber kfs. For this comparison the theory is a minimal extension of the Press-Schechter formalism with only two parameters: the star formation efficiency, and a proportionality factor between the star formation rate per galaxy and LUV. These two parameters are fixed to their values obtained prior to the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) data. The purpose of this comparison is to identify if, and where, detailed astrophysical evolution is needed to account for the new JWST observations.

Integrated Test System for Large-aperture Telescopes Based on Astrophotonics Interconnections

This study aims to improve the integrated testing of large-aperture telescopes to clarify the fundamental principles of an integrated testing system based on astrophotonics.Our demonstration and analyses focused on element-position sensing and modulation based on spatial near-geometric beams,high-throughput step-difference measurements based on channel spectroscopy,distributed broadband-transmittance testing,and standard spectral tests based on near-field energy regulation.Comprehensive analyses and experiments were conducted to confirm the feasibility of the proposed system in the integrated testing process of large-aperture telescopes.The results demonstrated that the angular resolution of the light rays exceeded 5arcsec,which satisfies the requirements for component-position detection in future large-aperture telescopes.The measurement resolution of the wavefront tilt was better than 0.45μrad.Based on the channel spectral method—which combined a high signal-to-noise ratio and high sensitivity,along with continuous-spectral digital segmentation and narrowband-spectral physical segmentation—a resolution of 0.050μm and a range of 50μm were obtained.After calibration,the measurement resolution of the pupil deviation improved to exceed 4%accuracy,and the transmission measurements achieved a consistency of over 2%accuracy.Regarding fringe-broadband interferometry measurements,the system maintained high stability,ensuring its operation within the coherence length,and robustly detected the energy without unwrapping the phase.The use of a projector for calibrating broadband-spectrum measurements led to a reduction in contrast from 0.8142 to 0.6038,which further validates the system's applicability in the integrated testing process of large-aperture telescopes.This study greatly enhanced the observational capabilities of large-aperture telescopes while reducing the integrated system's volume,weight,and power consumption.

Ground-Based Atmospheric CO_(2),CH_(4),and CO Column Measurements at Golmud in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and Comparisons with TROPOMI/S5P Satellite Observations

Measurements of carbon dioxide(CO_(2)),methane(CH_(4)),and carbon monoxide(CO)are of great importance in the Qinghai-Tibetan region,as it is the highest and largest plateau in the world affecting global weather and climate systems.In this study,for the first time,we present CO_(2),CH_(4),and CO column measurements carried out by a Bruker EM27/SUN Fourier-transform infrared spectrometer(FTIR)at Golmud(36.42°E,94.91°N,2808 m)in August 2021.The mean and standard deviation of the column-average dry-air mixing ratio of CO_(2),CH_(4),and CO(XCO_(2),XCH_(4),and XCO)are 409.3±0.4 ppm,1905.5±19.4 ppb,and 103.1±7.7 ppb,respectively.The differences between the FTIR co-located TROPOMI/S5P satellite measurements at Golmud are 0.68±0.64%(13.1±12.2 ppb)for XCH_(4) and 9.81±3.48%(–10.7±3.8 ppb)for XCO,which are within their retrieval uncertainties.High correlations for both XCH_(4) and XCO are observed between the FTIR and S5P satellite measurements.Using the FLEXPART model and satellite measurements,we find that enhanced CH_(4) and CO columns in Golmud are affected by anthropogenic emissions transported from North India.This study provides an insight into the variations of the CO_(2),CH_(4),and CO columns in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.

FAST:The Five-Hundred-Meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope

In the 90 years since its inception,radio astronomy has become the setting of almost all major astronomical discoveries and a hothouse for Nobel Prizes in Physics.As a result,countries all over the world have actively explored new engineering concepts to build large-aperture radio telescopes.Limited by their self-weight and wind load,100 m radio telescopes are regarded as the maximum limit of traditional radio telescopes.This perspective allowed the Arecibo 305 m telescope—built by Cornell University in the United States in 1963—to dominate the field for more than half a century.During this period,scholars have been exploring how to further expand their horizons in order to make a breakthrough in the problem of the universe.

Modeling and Analysis of the Impacts of Temporal-Spatial Variant Troposphere on Ground-Based SAR Imaging of Asteroids

The near-Earth asteroid collisions could cause catastrophic disasters to humanity and the Earth,so it is crucial to monitor asteroids.Ground-based synthetic aperture radar(SAR)is an observation technique for high resolution imaging of asteroids.The ground-based SAR requires a long integration time to achieve a large synthetic aperture,and the echo signal will be seriously affected by temporal-spatial variant troposphere.Traditional spatiotemporal freezing tropospheric models are ineffective.To cope with this,this paper models and analyses the impacts of temporal-spatial variant troposphere on ground-based SAR imaging of asteroids.For the background tropo-sphere,a temporal-spatial variant ray tracing method is proposed to trace the 4D(3D spatial+temporal)refractive index network provided by the numerical weather model,and calculate the error of the background troposphere.For the tropospheric turbulence,the Andrew power spectral model is used in conjunction with multiphase screen theory,and varying errors are obtained by tracking the changing position of the pierce point on the phase screen.Through simulation,the impact of temporal-spatial variant tropospheric errors on image quality is analyzed,and the simulation results show that the X-band echo signal is seriously affected by the troposphere and the echo signal must be compensated.

Terrain-influenced wind flow of the Qitai radio telescope site

The wind environment of a site is one of the important factors affecting the observation performance of large aperture and high-performance radio telescopes.Exploring the relationship between the effects of different terrains on wind flow is important to optimize the wind environment of the site.The terrain of the Qitai radio telescope(QTT)site located in east Tianshan Mountains at an elevation of about 1800 m was used to study the wind flow in the adjacent zone of antenna based on numerical simulation.The area from 600m south to 600m north of the antenna is defined as the antenna adjacent zone,and three groups of boundaries with different terrains are set up upstream and downstream,respectively.Since the zone where the antenna is located is a slope terrain,in order to verify the influence of terrain on the wind flow and to clarify the relationship between the influence of boundary terrain on the wind flow,a control group of horizontal terrain is constructed.The simulation results show that the wind flow is mainly influenced by the terrain.The highest elevation of the upstream and downstream boundary terrains affects the basic wind speed.The upstream boundary terrain has a greater impact on wind flow than the downstream boundary terrain.In addition,the wind speed profile index obtained by numerical simulation is smaller than the actual index for the wind from south.Therefore,the wind speed at the upper level(about 100 m)obtained by inversion based on the measured wind speed at the bottom(about 10 m)is also smaller than the actual wind speed.