Alexey Pavlov - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Alexey Pavlov

We present the Data Reduction and Handling (DRH) software developed for the SPHERE instrument. SP... more We present the Data Reduction and Handling (DRH) software developed for the SPHERE instrument. SPHERE is a second-generation instrument, designed and optimized for the direct imaging of extrasolar planets. Technical tolerances are the tightest ever for an instrument installed at the VLT, and SPHERE demands a rather unique DRH software package to accompany the data from the observation preparation to the search for planetary signals. The reduction process at the conceptual level is described and the critical issues related to above characteristics are addressed. The DRH system will be fully integrated into the ESO VLT system and it will use ESO Common Pipeline Library.

Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering

The Spectro-Polarimetric High-contrast Exoplanet Research (SPHERE) instrument for the VLT is desi... more The Spectro-Polarimetric High-contrast Exoplanet Research (SPHERE) instrument for the VLT is designed for discovering and studying new extra-solar giant planets orbiting nearby stars by direct imaging. In this paper, we describe the philosophy behind the SPHERE baseline data processing sequences dealing with calibration observations, and how these can affect the reduction of subsequent calibrations and scientific data. Additionally, we present the result of our detector simulations and the first tests of data reduction recipe prototypes.

LINC-NIRVANA is a German-Italian Fizeau (imaging) interferometer for the Large Binocular Telescop... more LINC-NIRVANA is a German-Italian Fizeau (imaging) interferometer for the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) on Mt. Graham in Arizona, USA. For laboratory testing and integration, a large number of engineering applications are needed. The process of engineering, testing and integration has to go hand in hand with an agile software development for data display and configuration frontends. Therefore we implemented software packages, which enable a rapid design and prototyping of engineering applications within an SOA oriented environment. Due to the usage of only pre-compiled software and the easy to handle workflow neither compilation nor programming knowledge is require. We will present the current development status, usage and advantages of our software, which was realized at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Heidelberg, Germany.

Advanced Software and Control for Astronomy II, 2008

ABSTRACT For various astronomical instruments developed at the Max-Planck-Institute-Heidelberg th... more ABSTRACT For various astronomical instruments developed at the Max-Planck-Institute-Heidelberg there was a need for a highly flexible display and control tool. Many display tools (ximtool, DS9, skycat,...) are available for astronomy, but all this applications are monolitic and can't be easily enriched by plugins for interaction with the graphical display, and other functionalities for remote access and control of the instrument and data pipepline. It was developed on top of Trolltechs Cross-Platform Rich Client Development Framework Qt,1 the modern middleware Internet Communications Engine 2 from ZeroC and the template based SOA developer framework for astronomical instrumentation - NICE.3 The display tool is used on the Calar Alto Observatory (Spain) as a guider, for a wide field imager and guider at the Wise Observatory (Israel) and for the LBT interferometer Linc-Nirvana (USA).

Advanced Software and Control for Astronomy II, 2008

We present a new and flexible developer framework for high performance service oriented architect... more We present a new and flexible developer framework for high performance service oriented architecture (SOA) based systems, using the middleware called ICE by ZeroC Inc. for interprocess communication. The framework was developed at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy within the scope of the LBT interferometer LINC-NIRVANA control software, but may also be used, in respect of its flexibility, for

Optical and Infrared Interferometry, 2008

ABSTRACT LINC-NIRVANA (LN) is a near-infrared imaging interferometer for the Large Binocular Tele... more ABSTRACT LINC-NIRVANA (LN) is a near-infrared imaging interferometer for the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT). It is expected to have unprecedented imaging performance in the near-infrared both in terms of angular resolution and limiting magnitude, thanks to the large collecting area of the two LBT mirrors (8.4m) and by means of Multi-Conjugated Adaptive Optics (MCAO) and a Fringe and Flexure Tracker System (FFTS). For such a complex instrument the process of observations has to be carefully prepared, considering the constraints imposed by features of the instrument and scientific objectives. This paper addresses the design of the LN Observation Preparation Software (LOPS), the main goal of which is to provide the observer with a tool to create valid observation program for LINC-NIRVANA. The current status of LOPS with its key components is described and critical aspects are addressed.

Software and Cyberinfrastructure for Astronomy, 2010

The LINC-NIRVANA (LN) Observation Preparation Software (LOPS) supports an observer during the com... more The LINC-NIRVANA (LN) Observation Preparation Software (LOPS) supports an observer during the complex process of preparing the observations for LINC-NIRVANA (LN). LN is a German-Italian beam combiner for the Large Binocular Telescope. The instrument exploits its full capability by means of Multi-Conjugated Adaptive Optics and an IR Fringe and Flexure Tracker. These sub-systems of the LN instrument and the fixed geometry of the telescope put specific constraints on the observation and scheduling process. LOPS is committed to a generic approach which allows to easily include new features on the so called procedure-plug-in level (low level). Considering specific aspects of the LN instrument the implementation on the generic procedure level is not adequate enough, because an user/observer needs to deal with a lot of instrument-specific parameters when preparing an observation program (OP). For this reason, LOPS provides a high-level application plug-in system which allows to maintain the features of an OP also as separate application in order to benefit from the more advanced GUI. In this paper we present the Guide Star Buffer concept as an exemplary feature-specific application in the framework of LOPS. It is dedicated to search, select and organize guide stars in the corresponding groups needed for LN observations.

Advanced Software and Control for Astronomy II, 2008

The SPHERE project is a ESO second generation instrument which aims to detect giant extra-solar p... more The SPHERE project is a ESO second generation instrument which aims to detect giant extra-solar planets in the vicinity of bright stars and to characterise the objects found through spectroscopic and polarimetric observations.Technical tolerances are the tightest ever for an instrument installed at the VLT, and SPHERE demands a rather unique DRH software package to accompany the data from the observation preparation to the search for planetary signals. This paper addresses the current status of the data reduction and handling system (DRHS) for the SPHERE instruments. It includes descriptions of the calibration and science data, reduction steps and their data products. The development strategy for creating of a coherent software that allows to achieve high observation efficiency is briefly discussed.

Software and Cyberinfrastructure for Astronomy, 2010

ABSTRACT

LINC-NIRVANA is a Fizeau interferometer for the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT). The instrument c... more LINC-NIRVANA is a Fizeau interferometer for the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT). The instrument combines the two 8.4-m telescopes into one image plane. Due to the instrumental and operational complexity of LINC-NIRVANA, a software architecture is required that enables control, test and maintenance of individual instrument components. Therefore LINC-NIRVANA applied a composite application based on a service oriented architecture (SOA), which

LINC-NIRVANA is a near-infrared imaging interferometer for the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT). T... more LINC-NIRVANA is a near-infrared imaging interferometer for the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT). The fixed geometry of the telescope and the adaptive optics of the instrument put special constraints on the observation and scheduling process. The observation and support software, currently under development at MPIA, is a tool to support an observer in the complex process of preparing and scheduling the

Airborne Telescope Systems II, 2003

ABSTRACT VERA (VLBI Exploration of Radio Astrometry), being promoted by National Astronomical Obs... more ABSTRACT VERA (VLBI Exploration of Radio Astrometry), being promoted by National Astronomical Observatory of Japan in collaboration with several Japanese universities, is a new VLBI array for phase referencing astrometry approved to start its construction in 2000. VERA, the first VLBI array dedicated to phase referencing VLBI, has a dual beam antenna system which enables us to observe a Galactic maser source and a nearby reference source simultaneously to remove the atmospheric fluctuation, and will measure positions of Galactic maser sources relative to reference sources (QSOs and radio galaxies) with 10 microarcsec level accuracy. With that accuracy, VERA will be able to determine parallaxes and proper motions of maser sources in the whole Galaxy. The major science targets of VERA will include 3D structure of the Galaxy and the distribution of dark matter, physics of outflow in star forming regions and stellar envelopes, precise calibration of the period-luminosity relation of Mira-type stars, and structure an evolution of QSOs and radio galaxies.© (2000) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy II, 2008

Direct detection and spectral characterization of extra-solar planets is one of the most exciting... more Direct detection and spectral characterization of extra-solar planets is one of the most exciting but also one of the most challenging areas in modern astronomy. The challenge consists in the very large contrast between the host star and the planet, larger than 12.5 magnitudes at very small angular separations, typically inside the seeing halo. The whole design of a "Planet Finder" instrument is therefore optimized towards reaching the highest contrast in a limited field of view and at short distances from the central star. Both evolved and young planetary systems can be detected, respectively through their reflected light and through the intrinsic planet emission. We present the science objectives, conceptual design and expected performance of the SPHERE instrument.

Techniques and Instrumentation for Detection of Exoplanets V, 2011

SPHERE, the extra-solar planet imager for the Very Large Telescope is a program that has been run... more SPHERE, the extra-solar planet imager for the Very Large Telescope is a program that has been running since 2006. The instrument is now nearing completion and it is in the final integration stage. The 3 science instruments of SPHERE are now complete and have passed the internal acceptance review while the complex common path with the extreme Adaptive optics system,

Techniques and Instrumentation for Detection of Exoplanets IV, 2009

SPHERE, the ESO extra-solar planet imager for the VLT is aimed at the direct detection and spectr... more SPHERE, the ESO extra-solar planet imager for the VLT is aimed at the direct detection and spectral characterization of extra-solar planets. Its whole design is optimized towards reaching the highest contrast in a limited field of view and at short distances from the central star. SPHERE has passed its Final Design Review (FDR) in December 2008 and it is in

Techniques and Instrumentation for Detection of Exoplanets VI, 2013

ABSTRACT SPHERE (Spectro-Polarimetric High Contrast Exoplanet Research) is one of the first instr... more ABSTRACT SPHERE (Spectro-Polarimetric High Contrast Exoplanet Research) is one of the first instruments which aim for the direct detection from extra-solar planets. SPHERE commissioning is foreseen in 2013 on the VLT. ZIMPOL (Zurich Imaging Polarimeter) is the high contrast imaging polarimeter subsystem of the ESO SPHERE instrument. ZIMPOL is dedicated to detect the very faint reflected and hence polarized visible light (600-900 nm) from extrasolar planets. It is located behind an extreme AO system (SAXO) and a stellar coronagraph. We present the first high contrast polarimetric results obtained for the fully integrated SPHERE-ZIMPOL system. We have measured the polarimetric high contrast performance of several coronagraphs: a Classical Lyot on substrate, a suspended Classical Lyot and two 4 Quadrant Phase Mask coronagraphs. We describe the impact of crucial system parameters – Adaptive Optics, Coronagraphy and Polarimetry - on the contrast performance.

Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy V, 2014

ABSTRACT ZIMPOL is the high contrast imaging polarimeter subsystem of the ESO SPHERE instrument. ... more ABSTRACT ZIMPOL is the high contrast imaging polarimeter subsystem of the ESO SPHERE instrument. ZIMPOL is dedicated to detect the very faint reflected and hence polarized visible light from extrasolar planets. ZIMPOL is located behind an extreme AO system (SAXO) and a stellar coronagraph. SPHERE is foreseen to have first light at the VLT at the end of 2011. ZIMPOL is currently in the manufacturing, integration and testing phase. We describe the optical, polarimetric, mechanical, thermal and electronic design as well as the design trade offs. Specifically emphasized is the optical quality of the key performance component: the Ferro-electric Liquid Crystal polarization modulator (FLC). Furthermore, we describe the ZIMPOL test setup and the first test results on the achieved polarimetric sensitivity and accuracy. These results will give first indications for the expected overall high contrast system performance. SPHERE is an instrument designed and built by a consortium consisting of LAOG, MPIA, LAM, LESIA, Fizeau, INAF, Observatoire de GenÃÂ¨ve, ETH, NOVA, ONERA and ASTRON in collaboration with ESO.

Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy IV, 2012

ABSTRACT The imaging polarimeter ZIMPOL is one of three focal plane instruments of the SPHERE / V... more ABSTRACT The imaging polarimeter ZIMPOL is one of three focal plane instruments of the SPHERE / VLT planet finder. ZIMPOL measures the linear polarization based on a fast modulation - demodulation principle using a charge-shifting technique on a masked CCD for separating the photons with opposite polarization direction. This paper describes the on-chip demodulation and the different detector read-out modes which are implemented for the ZIMPOL polarimeter. Test results are presented which allow an evaluation of the performance of the ZIMPOL CCD detectors. The achievable polarization efficiency is close to expectation and the charge trap correction with the two-phase demodulation mode works well. Other detector effects like bias level variations and read-out patterns can be corrected in the data reduction process. The tests demonstrate that the demodulating CCDs fulfill the requirements for the SPHERE project.

Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering

Advanced Software and Control for Astronomy II, 2008

Optical and Infrared Interferometry, 2008

Software and Cyberinfrastructure for Astronomy, 2010

Advanced Software and Control for Astronomy II, 2008

Software and Cyberinfrastructure for Astronomy, 2010

ABSTRACT

Airborne Telescope Systems II, 2003

Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy II, 2008

Techniques and Instrumentation for Detection of Exoplanets V, 2011

Techniques and Instrumentation for Detection of Exoplanets IV, 2009

Techniques and Instrumentation for Detection of Exoplanets VI, 2013

Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy V, 2014

Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy IV, 2012