Rodolfo Canestrari is involved since many years in several projects on Cherenkov Astronomy, from the early phases of the developments to the implementation phases. He actively took part in the working groups on Telescope and Mirrors of the CTA project giving a noticeable number of oral contributions mainly on technical developments. His present role, in the ASTRI flagship project, poses Canestrari as a major expert in the field of Dual-Mirror Cherenkov telescopes and mirrors. Playing mostly technical roles (i.e. system engineering and labs developments), he also has developed skills in the coordination of the working team.
Degree in Astronomy from the University of Bologna in 2006 with a thesis focused on the development of mirrors for focusing hard X-ray. PhD in Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Insubria in 2010 on the development of innovative technologies based on the use of thin glass. Researcher at the Observatory of Brera from 2010 carrying out activities in the Optical Technologies group founded by Oberto Citterio. He is the author of numerous publications and presentations at international conferences, particularly regarding manufacturing techniques of lightweight optical mirrors and design of Cherenkov telescopes. He has participated or participates in major international programs such as E-ELT, SYMBOL-X, IXO, MAGIC, CTA and ASTRI. Responsible for the work package "telescope and mirrors" for the ASTRI flagship project funded by MIUR. Member of several committees including the Italy-France bilateral committee for the evaluation of the projects ASTRI and SST-GATE. Years of experience in the characterization and development of high-precision optical components using the ion-beam figuring technique (projects JWST / NIRSPEC and LLT / SUBARU).
Degree in Astronomy from the University of Bologna in 2006 with a thesis focused on the development of mirrors for focusing hard X-ray. PhD in Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Insubria in 2010 on the development of innovative technologies based on the use of thin glass. Researcher at the Observatory of Brera from 2010 carrying out activities in the Optical Technologies group founded by Oberto Citterio. He is the author of numerous publications and presentations at international conferences, particularly regarding manufacturing techniques of lightweight optical mirrors and design of Cherenkov telescopes. He has participated or participates in major international programs such as E-ELT, SYMBOL-X, IXO, MAGIC, CTA and ASTRI. Responsible for the work package "telescope and mirrors" for the ASTRI flagship project funded by MIUR. Member of several committees including the Italy-France bilateral committee for the evaluation of the projects ASTRI and SST-GATE. Years of experience in the characterization and development of high-precision optical components using the ion-beam figuring technique (projects JWST / NIRSPEC and LLT / SUBARU).
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The Vera C. Rubin Observatory is poised to achieve its highly anticipated first light in early 2025, marking the start of an era of transformative observational capabilities. As the observatory nears its first light, the commissioning of the Active Optics System (AOS) becomes increasingly critical. Comprising an open-loop and a closed-loop component, the AOS delivers real-time corrections for the alignment and mirror surface perturbations, ensuring seeing-limited image quality across the 3.5-degree field of view.
In this paper, we present a thorough examination of recent advancements in the AOS at the Rubin Observatory. We begin by detailing the enhancements in the open-loop system, focusing on the improvement of Look-Up Tables (LUTs) for the mirror bending modes and the alignment of optical elements. Next, we discuss the closed-loop control improvements, particularly our novel approach using double Zernike polynomials. This method addresses camera rotation by defining the sensitivity matrix and the reference wavefront with a double Zernike expansion, thereby improving the system’s adaptability to varying observational conditions. Finally, we address improvements made to eliminate degeneracies within the system’s degrees of freedom, and discuss the upcoming verification phases during on-sky testing with the Commissioning Camera (ComCam).
Overall, these initial open-loop verifications and closed-loop algorithmic improvements not only mark significant progress towards full-system verification with LSST Camera, but also refine the capabilities of the AOS, which is key for maintaining long-term operational efficiency and achieving the required image quality.
The main scientific instrument of the ASTRI-Horn telescope is an innovative and compact Camera with Silicon- Photomultiplier based detectors and a specifically designed fast read-out electronics based on a custom peak-detector mode. The thermo-mechanical assembly is designed to host both the entire electronics chain, from the sensors to the raw data transmission system and the calibration system, and the complete thermoregulation system.
This contribution gives a high level description of the T/M and electrical design of the Cherenkov Camera, it describes the assembling procedure of its different subsystems and their integration into the complete camera system. A discussion about possible design improvements coming from the problems/difficulties encountered during assembly is also presented. Finally, results from engineering tests conducted in-field are also presented.
The ASTRI SST-2M telescope structure and mirrors have been installed at the INAF observing station at Serra La Nave, on Mt. Etna (Sicily, Italy) in September 2014. Its performance verification phase began in autumn 2015. Part of the scheduled activities foresees the study and characterization of the optical and opto-mechanical performance of the telescope prototype.
In this contribution we report the results achieved in terms of kinematic model analysis, mirrors reflectivity evolution, telescopes positioning, flexures and pointing model and the thermal behavior.
Deflectometry is an interesting technique because it allows the fast characterization of free-form optics. The capabilities of deflectometry in measuring medium-high frequencies are well known, but the low frequencies error characterization is more challenging. Our facility design foresees an innovative approach based on the acquisition of multiple direct images to enhance the performance on the challenging low frequencies range.
This contribution presents the error-budget analysis of the measuring method and a study of the configuration tolerances required to allow the use of deflectometry in the realization of optical components suitable for astronomical projects with a requirement of high accuracy for the optics. As test examples we took into account mirrors for the E-ELT telescope.
In this framework, the Italian ASTRI program, led by the Italian National Institute of Astrophysics (INAF), is currently developing a scientific and technological SST dual-mirror end-to-end prototype named ASTRI SST-2M. It is a 4-meter class telescope; it adopts an aplanatic, wide-field, double-reflection optical layout in a Schwarzschild-Couder configuration. The ASTRI SST-2M telescope structure and mirrors have been already installed at the INAF observing station at Serra La Nave, on Mt. Etna (Sicily, Italy).
In this contribution we report about the on-site deployment and the latest results on the opto-mechanical performance test conducted soon after the telescope installation
As an example, we describe the results obtained measuring the primary mirror segments of the Cherenkov prototypal telescope manufactured by the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics in the context of the ASTRI Project. This specific case is challenging because the segmentation of the polynomial primary mirror lead to individual mirrors with deviations from the spherical optical design up to a few millimeters.
The aim of this article is to report the progress of the two telescope projects prototyping telescope structures and cameras for the Small Size Telescopes for CTA. After a discussion of the CTA project and its scientific objectives, the performance of the SC design is described, with focus on the specific designs of SST-GATE and ASTRI telescopes. The design of both prototypes and their progress is reported in the current prototyping phase. The designs of Cherenkov cameras, CHEC and ASTRI, to be mounted on these telescopes are discussed and progresses are reported.
The next generation of Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescope will explore the uppermost end of the Very High Energy domain up to about few hundreds of TeV with unprecedented sensitivity, angular resolution and imaging quality.
To this end, the Italian National Institute of Astrophysics (INAF) is currently developing a scientific and technological telescope prototype for the implementation of the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) observatory. The Italian ASTRI program foresees the full design, development, installation and calibration of a Small Size 4-meter class Telescope, adopting an aplanatic, wide-field, double-reflection optical layout in a Schwarzschild-Couder configuration.
In this paper we discuss about the technological solutions adopted for the telescope and for the mirrors. In particular we focus on the structural and electro-mechanical design of the telescope, now under fabrication. The results on the optical performance derived from mirror prototypes are here described, too.
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