English

Wavefront super-resolution for Adaptive Optics systems on ground-based telescopes

Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics 2026-05-07 v2 Optimization and Control

Abstract

In ground-based astronomy, Adaptive Optics (AO) is a pivotal technique, engineered to correct wavefront phase distortions and thereby enhance the quality of the observed images. Integral to an AO system is the wavefront sensor (WFS), which is crucial for detecting wavefront aberrations from guide stars, essential for phase calculations. Many models based on a single-WFS model have been proposed to obtain the high-resolution phase of the incoming wavefront. In this paper, we delve into the realm of multiple WFSs within the framework of state-of-the-art telescope setups for high-resolution phase reconstruction. We propose a model for reconstructing a high-resolution wavefront from a sequence of wavefront gradient data from multiple WFSs in a multi-frame post-processing setting. Our model is based on the turbulence statistics and the Taylor frozen flow hypothesis, incorporating knowledge of the wind velocities in atmospheric turbulence layers. We also introduce an H2H_2 regularization term, especially for atmospheric characteristics under von Karman statistics, and provide a theoretical analysis for H2H^2 space within H11/6H^{11/6}. Numerical simulations are conducted to demonstrate the robustness and effectiveness of our regularization term and multi-WFS reconstruction strategy under identical experimental conditions.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2507.19150,
  title  = {Wavefront super-resolution for Adaptive Optics systems on ground-based telescopes},
  author = {Yutong Wu and Roland Wagner and Ronny Ramlau and Raymond H. Chan},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2507.19150},
  year   = {2026}
}
R2 v1 2026-07-01T04:18:38.639Z