Related papers: First Light for the GRAVITY+ Adaptive Optics: Extr…

Quadruple gravitational lens systems offer the possibility of measuring time delays for image pairs, microlensing effects, and extinction in distant galaxies. Observations of these systems may be used to obtain estimates of H_o and to study…

Performances of an adaptive optics (AO) system are directly linked with the quality of its alignment. During the instrument calibration, having open loop fast tools with a large capture range are necessary to quickly assess the system…

Vectorial adaptive optics (V-AO) is a cutting-edge technique extending conventional AO into the vectorial domain encompassing both polarization and phase feedback correction for optical systems. However, previous V-AO approaches focus on…

We present the first use of the Gemini North laser guide star adaptive optics (LGS AO) system and an integral field unit (IFU) to measure the stellar velocity dispersion of the host of a luminous quasar. The quasar PG1426+015 (z=0.086) was…

We report the results of optical follow-up observations of 29 gravitational-wave triggers during the first half of the LIGO-Virgo Collaboration (LVC) O3 run with the Gravitational-wave Optical Transient Observer (GOTO) in its prototype…

The Laser Guide Star Facility for the VLT will be commissioned during 2003. This, of course, can only be the first step towards enhancing the scientific output of the VLT through adaptive optics. So in this contribution we propose the…

The upgrade of the VLTI infrastructure for the 2nd generation instruments is now complete with the transformation of the laboratory, and installation of star separators on both the 1.8-m Auxiliary Telescopes (ATs) and the 8-m Unit…

Observations with interferometric gravitational-wave detectors result in probability sky maps that are multimodal and spread over 10-100 deg^2. We present a scheme for maximizing the probability of imaging optical counterparts to…

Optics is limited in the 'ray-approximation'-inclusion of wave properties result in additional phenomena and applications; interferometers and diffraction gratings are two manifestations of such non-geometric, physical optics. Incidentally,…

We present the installed and fully operational beam stabilization and fiber injection subsystem feeding the 2nd generation VLTI instrument GRAVITY. The interferometer GRAVITY requires an unprecedented stability of the VLTI optical train to…

Because follow-up observations of quadruple gravitational lens systems are of extraordinary importance for astrophysics and cosmology, we present single-epoch optical spectra and $r$--band light curves of PS J0147+4630. This recently…

The high angular resolution and dynamic range achieved by the NACO adaptive optics system on the VLT is an excellent tool to study the morphology of Planetary Nebulae (PNe). We observed four stars in different evolutionary stages from the…

HARMONI is a visible and near-infrared integral field spectrograph equipped with two complementary adaptive optics systems, fully integrated within the instrument. A Single Conjugate AO (SCAO) system offers high performance for a limited…

Whether is ground-based or space-based, any optical instrument suffers from some amount of optical geometric distortion. Recently, the diffraction-limited image quality afforded by space-based telescopes and by Adaptive Optics (AO)…

We present an implementation of the Gehrels et al. (2016) galaxy-targeted strategy for gravitational-wave (GW) follow-up using the Las Cumbres Observatory global network of telescopes. We use the Galaxy List for the Advanced Detector Era…

We report on the deep optical follow-up surveys of the first two gravitational-wave events, GW150914 and GW151226, accomplished by the GRAvitational Wave Inaf TeAm Collaboration (GRAWITA) using the VLT Survey Telescope (VST). We responded…

Adaptive Optics (AO) is an innovative technique that substantially improves the optical performance of ground-based telescopes. The SOAR Adaptive Module (SAM) is a laser-assisted AO instrument, designed to compensate ground-layer…

Adaptive optics (AO) offers an opportunity to stabilize an image and maximize the spatial resolution achievable by ground based telescopes by removing the distortions due to the atmosphere. Typically, the deformable mirror in an AO system…

Optical Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) offers the potential for unprecedented angular resolution in both astronomical imaging and precision measurements. Classical approaches, however, face significant limitations due to photon…

With the LIGO announcement of the first direct detection of gravitational waves (GWs), the GW Astronomy was formally ushered into our age. After one-hundred years of theoretical investigation and fifty years of experimental endeavor, this…