title: Experimental validation of a technique to measure tilt from a laser guide star.
abstract: We have experimentally demonstrated for what is believed to be the first time a method for sensing wave-front tilt with a laser guide star (LGS). The tilt components of wave fronts were measured synchronously from the LGS by use of a telescope with a 0.75-m effective aperture and from the star Polaris by use of a 1.5-m telescope. The Rayleigh guide star was formed at an altitude of 6 km and at a corresponding range of 10.5 km by projection of a focused beam at Polaris from the full aperture at the 1.5-m telescope. Both telescope mounts were unpowered and bolted in place, allowing us to reduce substantially the telescope vibration. The maximum value of the measured cross-correlation coefficient between the tilt for Polaris and the LGS is 0.71. The variations of the measured cross-correlation coefficient in the range from 0.22 to 0.71 are caused by turbulence at altitudes above 6 km, which was not sampled by the laser beacon but affected tilt for Polaris, the cone effect for turbulence below 6 km, residual mount jitter of the telescopes, and variations of the signal/noise ratio. The results support our concept of sensing atmospheric tilt by observing a LGS with an auxiliary telescope and indicate that this method is a possible solution for the tip-tilt problem.
authors: Georgia Tech Research Institute, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332-0834, USA.
authors: M S
authors: MS
authors: Belen'kii
authors: S J
authors: SJ
authors: Karis
authors: J M
authors: JM
authors: Brown
authors: R Q
authors: RQ
authors: Fugate