Laser-only adaptive optics achieves significant image quality gains compared to seeing-limited observations over the entire sky

摘要: Adaptive optics laser guide star systems perform atmospheric correction of stellar wavefronts in two parts: tip-tilt and high-spatial-order laser-correction. The requirement a sufficiently bright the field-of-view to correct limits sky coverage. Here we show an improvement effective seeing without need for nearby stars, enabling full coverage by performing only laser-assisted wavefront correction. We used Robo-AO, first robotic AO system, comprehensively demonstrate this laser-only analyze observations from four years efficient operation covering 15,000 targets 42,000 observations, each realizing different conditions. Using autoguider (or post-processing software equivalent) improve independent brightness target, Robo-AO 39+/-19% FWHM, any also that 50% encircled-energy performance remains comparable diffraction-limited, standard performance. Faint-target science programs primarily limited (e.g. those employing integral field spectrographs placed behind system) may see significant benefits AO.