IMPROVED COMPENSATION OF ATMOSPHERIC-TURBULENCE EFFECTS BY MULTIPLE ADAPTIVE MIRROR SYSTEMS

Optical wave-front propagation in a layered model for the atmosphere i s analyzed by the use of diffraction theory, leading to a novel approa ch for utilizing artificial guide stars. Considering recent observatio ns of layering in the atmospheric turbulence, the results of this pape r indicate that, even for very large telescopes, a substantial enlarge ment of the compensated angular field of view is possible when two ada ptive mirrors and four or five artificial guide stars are employed. Th e required number of guide stars increases as the thickness of the tur bulent layers increases, converging to the conventional results at the limit of continuously turbulent atmosphere.