A super-high angular resolution principle for coded-mask X-ray imaging beyond the diffraction limit of a single pinhole

High angular resolution X-ray imaging is always useful in astrophysics and solar physics. In principle, it can be performed by using coded-mask imaging with a very long mask-detector distance. Previously, the diffraction-interference effect was thought to degrade coded-mask imaging performance dramatically at the low energy end with its very long mask-detector distance. The diffraction-interference effect is described with numerical calculations, and the diffraction-interference cross correlation reconstruction method （DICC） is developed in order to overcome the imaging performance degradation. Based on the DICC, a super-high angular resolution principle （SHARP） for coded-mask X-ray imaging is proposed. The feasibility of coded mask imaging beyond the diffraction limit of a single pinhole is demonstrated with simulations. With the specification that the mask element size is 50 × 50 μm^2 and the mask-detector distance is 50 m, the achieved angular resolution is 0.32arcsec above about 10keV and 0.36arcsec at 1.24keV （λ = 1 nm）, where diffraction cannot be neglected. The on-axis source location accuracy is better than 0.02 arcsec. Potential applications for solar observations and wide-field X-ray monitors are also briefly discussed.

Noise reduction methods in the analysis of near infrared lunar occultation light curves for high angular resolution measurements

A lunar occultation （LO） technique in the near-infrared （NIR） provides angular resolution down to milliarcseconds for an occulted source, even with ground- based 1 m class telescopes. LO observations are limited to brighter objects because they require a high signal-to-noise ratio （S/N ~40） for proper extraction of angular diameter values. Hence, methods to improve the S/N ratio by reducing noise using Fourier and wavelet transforms have been explored in this study. A sample of 54 NIR LO light curves observed with the IR camera at Mt Abu Observatory has been used. It is seen that both Fourier and wavelet methods have shown an improvement in S/N compared to the original data. However, the application of wavelet transforms causes a slight smoothing of the fringes and results in a higher value for angular diameter. Fourier transforms which reduce discrete noise frequencies do not distort the fringe. The Fourier transform method seems to be effective in improving the S/N, as well as improving the model fit, particularly in the fainter regime of our sample. These methods also provide a better model fit for brighter sources in some cases, though there may not be a significant imorovement in S/N.

New vacuum solar telescope and observations with high resolution

The New Vacuum Solar Telescope （NVST） is a one meter vacuum solar telescope that aims to observe fine structures on the Sun. The main goals of NVST are high resolution imaging and spectral observations, including measurements of the solar magnetic field. NVST is the primary ground-based facility used by the Chinese solar research community in this solar cycle. It is located by Fuxian Lake in southwest China, where the seeing is good enough to perform high resolution observations. We first introduce the general conditions at the Fuxian Solar Observatory and the primary science cases of NVST. Then, the basic structures of this telescope and instruments are described in detail. Finally, some typical high resolution data of the solar photosphere and chromosphere are also shown.

High-resolution Solar Image Reconstruction Based on Non-rigid Alignment

Suppressing the interference of atmospheric turbulence and obtaining observation data with a high spatial resolution are an issue to be solved urgently for ground observations. One way to solve this problem is to perform a statistical reconstruction of short-exposure speckle images. Combining the rapidity of Shift-Add and the accuracy of speckle masking, this paper proposes a novel reconstruction algorithm-NASIR(Non-rigid Alignment based Solar Image Reconstruction). NASIR reconstructs the phase of the object image at each frequency by building a computational model between geometric distortion and intensity distribution and reconstructs the modulus of the object image on the aligned speckle images by speckle interferometry. We analyzed the performance of NASIR by using the correlation coefficient, power spectrum, and coefficient of variation of intensity profile in processing data obtained by the NVST(1 m New Vacuum Solar Telescope). The reconstruction experiments and analysis results show that the quality of images reconstructed by NASIR is close to speckle masking when the seeing is good, while NASIR has excellent robustness when the seeing condition becomes worse. Furthermore, NASIR reconstructs the entire field of view in parallel in one go, without phase recursion and block-by-block reconstruction, so its computation time is less than half that of speckle masking. Therefore, we consider NASIR is a robust and highquality fast reconstruction method that can serve as an effective tool for data filtering and quick look.

Long-term Speckle Interferometric Monitoring of Binary Systems:2007–2023Positional Measurements and Orbits of Seven Objects

The results of seventeen years of speckle interferometric monitoring of seven objects(Chara 122Aa,GJ 3010,HIP1987,GJ 3076,HIP 11253,HIP 11352,and HIP 14929)are presented.Observational data were obtained at the 6 m Big Telescope Alt-azimuthal Special Astrophysical Observatory of the Russian Academy of Science(BTA SAO RAS)from 2007 to the present.Analysis of previously published and new measurements made it possible to construct completely new orbits for Chara 122Aa,HIP 11253,and HIP 14929.The orbit of GJ 3076 cannot be constructed accurately due to the large influence of the weights assigned to the measurements.The resulting orbital solutions are classified based on a grading scheme suggested by W.I.Hartkopf,B.D.Mason and C.E.Worley;most orbits are“definitive”(Grade 1).The mass sums and masses of components calculated by two independent methods using Hipparcos and Gaia DR2 and DR3 parallaxes were compared for the objects under study.

A low-cost and high-performance technique for adaptive optics static wavefront correction

Non-Common Path Error(NCPE) is one of the factors that limit an Adaptive Optics(AO)system from delivering ultra-high performance. To correct the NCPE associated static aberration, we propose a simple but robust and high-performance pupil-plane based wavefront measurement and correction technique, which can copy a single-mode fiber generated perfect wavefront to the AO system via an iteration optimization process, and the NCPE can be effectively corrected by directly commanding the Deformable Mirror(DM) of the AO system. Compared with the previous focal-plane based approach that uses focal plane based Point Spread Function(PSF) for correction evaluation, the pupil-plane based approach can be reliably and rapidly converged to a global optimization result and provides better performance, in particular for an AO system with a large initial static wavefront error. This technique we proposed can be implemented in astronomical AO systems where extremely high performance is required.

Distributed Control Software for the Active Surface System of Tian-ma Radio Telescope

The Tian-ma Radio Telescope(TMRT) applies an Active Surface System(ASFS), which corrects for large-scale deformations due to gravity and thermal on the primary reflector. The centralized and automated management of the ASFS using software has become a challenge, for which we have developed the TMRT Active Surface System Control Software(TASCS). This paper describes the design and implementation of TASCS for device control,status monitoring, human-computer interaction, and data management functionalities. TASCS adopts the opensource Tango Controls framework and distributes middleware technology to realize real-time automated adjustment of the primary reflector through remote centralized control of a large number of actuators. At present, it has been successfully deployed on the TMRT and has played an important role in Event Horizon Telescope observations.

Narrowband EUV Sc/Si Multilayer for the Solar Upper Transition Region Imager at 46.5 nm

The transition region is the key region between the lower solar atmosphere and the corona, which has been limitedly understood by human beings. Therefore, the Solar Upper Transition Region Imager(SUTRI) was proposed by Chinese scientists and launched in 2022 July. Right now, the first imaging observation of the upper transition region around 46.5 nm has been carried out by SUTRI. To ensure the spectral and temporal resolution of the SUTRI telescope, we have developed a narrowband Sc/Si multilayer. Based on the extreme ultraviolet(EUV)reflectivity measurements, the multilayer structure has been modified for ensuring the peak position of reflectivity was at 46.5 nm. Finally, the narrowband Sc/Si multilayer was successfully deposited on the hyperboloid primary mirror and secondary mirrors. The deviation of multilayer thickness uniformity was below than 1%, and the average EUV reflectivity at 46.1 nm was 27.8% with a near-normal incident angle of 5°. The calculated bandwidth of the reflectivity curve after primary and secondary mirrors was 2.82 nm, which could ensure the requirements of spectral resolution and reflectivity of SUTRI telescope to achieve its scientific goals.

Direct Ion Beam Figuring Process and Rotational Measurement Method for Ultra-smooth Aspherical Surfaces of a 46.5 nm Telescope

This paper describes a fabrication process for the hyperboloidal concave mirror of a 46.5 nm telescope. The180 mm aperture hyperboloidal concave mirror and 70 mm aperture compensator are machined directly from chemical mechanical polishing of a spherical surface to a high-accuracy aspherical surface by ion beam figuring.The aspherical measurement method is the Dall null test. To minimize system errors in the measurement process,the rotational measurement method with six rotations is used in the null test. The results of the analysis for the ME(first solve the machined surface profile, then solve the system errors) and EM(first solve the system errors, then solve the machined surface profile) methods of calculation in the measurement are given. The ME method is a more accurate rotational test method, and the six rotations are appropriate for rotational measurements. After the figuring process, the hyperboloidal concave mirror surface profile reached 8.27 nm rms and the compensator surface profile is approximately 4 nm rms. The roughness of the hyperboloidal concave mirror is smooth to0.160 nm rms.

Design,Fabrication and Assembly of the Solar Upper Transition Region Imager(SUTRI)

The Solar Upper Transition Region Imager(SUTRI)focuses on the solar transition region to achieve dynamic imaging observation of the upper transition region.In this paper,we report the optical system design,mechanical design,ultrasmooth mirror manufacture and measurement,EUV multilayer film coating,prelaunch installation and calibration for the SUTRI payload at IPOE,Tongji University.Finally,the SUTRI carried by the SATech-01 satellite was successfully set to launch.All functions of this telescope were normal,and the observation results obtained in orbit were consistent with the design.

Portable adaptive optics for exoplanet imaging

The portable adaptive optics(PAO)device is a low-cost and compact system,designed for 4-meter class telescopes that have no adaptive optics(AO)system,because of the physical space limitation at the Nasmyth or Cassegrain focus and the historically high cost of conventional AO.The initial scientific observations of the PAO are focused on the direct imaging of exoplanets and sub-stellar companions.This paper discusses the concept of PAO and the associated high-contrast imaging performance in our recent observational runs.PAO deliver a Strehl ratio better than 60%in H band under median seeing conditions of 1".Combined with our dedicated image rotation and subtraction(IRS)technique and the optimized IRS(O-IRS)algorithm,the averaged contrast ratio for a 5≤V_(mag)≤9 primary star is 1.3×10^(-5)and3.3×10^(-6)at angular distance of 0.36"with exposure time of 7 minutes and 2 hours,respectively.PAO has successfully revealed the known exoplanet ofκAnd b in our recent observation with the 3.5-meter ARC telescope at Apache Point Observatory.We have performed the associated astrometry and photometry analysis of the recoveredκAnd b planet,which gives a projected separation of 0.98"±0.05",a position angle of 51.1°±0.5°and a mass of 10.15_(-1.255)^(+2.19) MJup.These results demonstrate that PAO can be used for direct imaging of exoplanets with medium-sized telescopes.

The spiral structure of the Milky Way

The morphology and kinematics of the spiral structure of the Milky Way are long-standing problems in astrophysics.In this review we firstly summarize various methods with different tracers used to solve this puzzle.The astrometry of Galactic sources is gradually alleviating this difficult situation caused mainly by large distance uncertainties, as we can currently obtain accurate parallaxes(a few μas) and proper motions(≈1 km s-1) by using Very Long Baseline Interferometry(VLBI).On the other hand, the Gaia mission is providing the largest, uniform sample of parallaxes for O-type stars in the entire Milky Way.Based upon the VLBI maser and Gaia O-star parallax measurements, nearby spiral structures of the Perseus, Local, Sagittarius and Scutum Arms are determined in unprecedented detail.Meanwhile, we estimate fundamental Galactic parameters of the distance to the Galactic center,R0, to be 8.35 ± 0.18 kpc, and circular rotation speed at the Sun, Θ0, to be 240±10 km s-1.We found kinematic differences between O stars and interstellar masers: the O stars, on average, rotate faster,>8 km s-1than maser-traced high-mass star forming regions.

Evaluating the Impact of Optical Axis Stability on Exoplanet Detection

For detecting exoplanets with high precision,using the angular distance between the two stars to detect the periodic motion of the star will be a better choice.This approach can avoid importing the position error of the reference catalog in the process that uses a traditional photographic plate to derive the star position suffers.At the precision level of microarcseconds,the error caused by optical axis deviation is not negligible.In this paper,we evaluate the impact of the stability of the optical axis on the relative angular distance measurement from the aspects of theoretical analysis and numerical simulation.When the angular distance error limit of 1 microarcsecond is given,the upper limit of optical axis deviation is estimated to be 68 milliarcsecond.In addition,when limiting the deviation of the optical axis,we give the corresponding error allowance of angular distance measurement.Moreover,we also discuss the way to resolve the problem of CCD distortion and focal length change on the measurement of angular distance.The work in this paper is of guiding significance to the design of a telescope.

A novel hybrid algorithm for lucky imaging

Lucky imaging is a high-resolution astronomical image recovery technique with two classic implementation algorithms,i.e.image selecting,shifting and adding in image space,and data selecting and image synthesizing in Fourier space.This paper proposes a novel lucky imaging algorithm where with space-domain and frequency-domain selection rates as a link,the two classic algorithms are combined successfully,making each algorithm a proper subset of the novel hybrid algorithm.Experimental results show that with the same experiment dataset and platform,the high-resolution image obtained by the proposed algorithm is superior to that obtained by the two classic algorithms.This paper also proposes a new lucky image selection and storage scheme,which can greatly save computer memory and enable lucky imaging algorithm to be implemented in a common desktop or laptop with small memory and to process astronomical images with more frames and larger size.In addition,through simulation analysis,this paper discusses the binary star detection limits of the novel lucky imaging algorithm and traditional ones under different atmospheric conditions.

First generation solar adaptive optics system for 1-m New Vacuum Solar Telescope at Fuxian Solar Observatory

The first generation solar adaptive optics （AO） system, which consists of a fine tracking loop with a tip-tilt mirror （TTM） and a correlation tracker, and a high-order correction loop with a 37-element deformable mirror （DM）, a correlating Shack-Hartmann （SH） wavefront sensor （WFS） based on the ab- solute difference algorithm and a real time controller （RTC）, has been developed and installed at the 1-m New Vacuum Solar Telescope （NVST） that is part of Fuxian Solar Observatory （FSO）. Compared with the 37-element solar AO system developed for the 26-cm Solar Fine Structure Telescope, administered by Yunnan Astronomical Observatories, this AO system has two updates： one is the subaperture arrangement of the WFS changed from square to hexagon; the other is the high speed camera of the WFS and the corre- sponding real time controller. The WFS can be operated at a frame rate of 2100 Hz and the error correction bandwidth can exceed 100 Hz. After AO correction, the averaged residual image motion and the averaged RMS wavefront error are reduced to 0.06＂ and 45 nm, respectively. The results of on-sky testing obser- vations demonstrate better contrast and finer structures of the images taken with AO than those without AO.

An accelerated direct demodulation method for image reconstruction using spherical data from the hard X-ray modulation telescope

The hard X-ray modulation telescope （HXMT） mission is mainly devoted to performing an all-sky survey at 1- 250 keV with both high sensitivity and high spatial resolution. The observed data reduction as well as the image reconstruction for HXMT can be achieved by using the direct demodulation method （DDM）. However the original DDM is too computationally expensive for multi-dimensional data with high resolution to be employed for HXMT data. We propose an accelerated direct demodulation method especially adapted for data from HXMT. Simulations are also presented to demonstrate this method.

On the correctness of orbital solutions obtained from a small set of points.Orbit of HIP 53731

HIP 53731 is a binary consisting of stars of the spectral types K0 and K9.The orbit of this object was constructed previously by Cvetkovic et al.and improved by Tokovinin.It should be noted that there is a 180°ambiguity in the position angles of some published measurements.Speckle interferometric observations were obtained in 2007–2020(21 measurements)at the 6-m telescope of the SAO RAS(BTA)by the authors of this article.The analysis of new data together with previously published ones made it possible to construct an accurate orbit of HIP 53731 and to halve the already known values of the orbital period of the system.As a result of the study,the mass sum,the masses of each component and their spectral types were determined by two independent methods.According to the qualitative classification of orbits,the orbital solution has grade 2–"good"(observations cover more than half of the orbital period and correspond to different phases).

The first results of observations of lunar occultations in different spectral ranges at the 6-m telescope of the SAO RAS

Observations by the method of lunar occultations at the 6-m telescope of the SAO RAS reach a resolution limit better than 1mas.We have devised a new method of observation,which allows obtaining the curves of lunar occultations simultaneously in different ranges of the visible part of the spectrum,and conducted the first observations using amodified optical system.In January 2019,applying the newmethod,the magnitude differences of the components of the binary star HD 36524 in the R and I bands were measured,which were 1.5 and 1.3mag,respectively,in good agreement with values calculated from the Gaia mission.According to the obtained data,it was determined that with this method it is possible to reach a signal-to-noise ratio of about 5–10 for stars of 10th magnitude.We discuss the applicability of the proposed optical scheme for the study of binary stars.

Focal surface attitude detection for LAMOST

With telescope apertures becoming larger and larger,the deployment of large-field telescopes is becoming increasingly popular.However,optical path calibration is necessary to ensure the image quality of large-field and large-diameter telescopes.In particular,focal plane attitude calibration is an essential optical path calibration technique that has a direct impact on image quality.In this paper,a focal plane attitude detection method using eight acquisition cameras is proposed based on the calibration requirements of the wide-field telescope,LAMOST(Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope).Comparison of simulation and experimental results shows that the detection accuracy of the proposed method can reach 30 arcsec.With additional testing and verification,this method could be used to facilitate regular focal plane attitude calibration for LAMOST as well as other large-field telescopes.

Near-infrared polarimetry of the GG Tauri A binary system

A high angular resolution near-infrared image that shows the intensity of polarization for the GG Tau A binary system was obtained with the Subaru Telescope. The image shows a circumbinary disk scattering the light from the central binary. The azimuthal profile of the intensity of polarization for the circumbinary disk is roughly reproduced by a simple disk model with the Henyey-Greenstein phase function and the Rayleigh function, indicating there are small dust grains at the surface of the disk. Combined with a previous observation of the circumbinary disk, our image indicates that the gap structure in the circumbinary disk orbits counterclockwise, but material in the disk orbits clockwise. We propose that there is a shadow caused by material located between the central binary and the circumbinary disk. The separations and position angles of the stellar components of the binary in the past 20 yr are consistent with the binary orbit with a = 33.4 AU and e = 0.34.