First light for the GRAVITY+ Adaptive Optics: Extreme adaptive optics for the Very Large Telescope Interferometer
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: GRAVITY+ improves by orders of magnitude the sensitivity, sky-coverage, and contrast of the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI). A central part of this project is the development of Gravity Plus Adaptive Optics (GPAO), a dedicated high-order and laser-guide star adaptive optics (AO) system for VLTI. GPAO consists of four state-of-the-art AO systems that equip all 8 m class Unit Telescopes (UTs) for the wavefront correction of the VLTI instruments. It offers both visible and infrared natural guide star (NGS) and laser guide star (LGS) operations. The paper presents the design, operations, and performances of GPAO. We illustrate the improvement brought by GPAO with interferometric observations obtained during the commissioning of the NGS mode at the end of 2024. These science results include the first optical interferometry observations of a redshift z ~ 4 quasar, the spectroscopy of a cool brown-dwarf with magnitude K ~ 21.0, the first observations of a Class I young star with GRAVITY, and the first sub-micro arcsecond differential astrometry in the optical. Together with the entire GRAVITY+ project, the implementation of GPAO is a true paradigm shift for observing the optical Universe at very high angular resolution.
Source: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Authors: R. Abuter, F. Allouche, C. Bailet, M. Benisty, A. Berdeu, J.-P. Berger, P. Berio, A. Bigioli, C. Blanchard, O. Boebion, H. Bonnet, G. Bourdarot, P. Bourget, W. Brandner, J. Brulé, P. Burgos, M. Carbillet, C. Correia, B. Courtney-Barrer, S. Curaba, R. Davies, D. Defrère, A. Delboulbé, F. Delplancke, R. Dembet, A. Drescher, N. Dubost, A. Eckart, C. Édouard, F. Eisenhauer, L. Esteras Otal, M. Fabricius, H. Feuchtgruber, P. Fédou, G. Finger, N. M. Förster Schreiber, R. Frahm, E. Garcia, P. Garcia, R. Garcia Lopez, R. Genzel, J. P. Gil, S. Gillessen, T. Gomes, F. Gonté, V. Gopinath, C. Gouvret, J. Graf, P. Guajardo, S. Guieu, W. Hackenberg, M. Hartl, X. Haubois, F. Haußmann, T. Henning, P. Hibon, S. Hönig, M. Horrobin, M. Houllé, N. Hubin, I. Ibn Taieb, L. Jochum, L. Jocou, A. Jost, J. Kammerer, L. Karl, A. Kaufer, P. Kern, P. Kervella, J. Kolb, H. Korhonen, L. Kreidberg, P. Krempl, S. Lacour, S. Lagarde, O. Lai, V. Lapeyrère, R. Laugier, V. Leal, J.-B. Le Bouquin, J. Leftley, P. Léna, B. Lopez, D. Lutz, Y. Magnard, F. Mang, A. Marcotto, D. Maurel, A. Mérand, F. Millour, M. Montarges, N. More, N. Morujão, T. Moulin, H. Nowacki, M. Nowak, S. Oberti, T. Ott, L. Pallanca, F. Patru, T. Paumard, K. Perraut, G. Perrin, P. O. Petrucci, R. Petrov, O. Pfuhl, N. Pourré, S. Rabien, C. Rau, M. Riquelme, S. Robbe-Dubois, S. Rochat, M. Salman, J. Sánchez-Bermúdez, J. Schubert, J. Scigliuto, P. Shchekaturov, N. Schuhler, J. Shangguan, T. Shimizu, S. Scheithauer, C. Soenke, F. Soulez, E. Stadler, J. Stadler, C. Straubmeier, E. Sturm, M. Subroweit, C. Sykes, L. J. Tacconi, K. R. W. Tristram, S. Uysal, S. von Fellenberg, F. Widmann, E. Wieprecht, E. Wiezorrek, J. Woillez, S. Yazici, G. Zins
Institutions: European Southern Observatory, European Southern Observatory, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université Côte d'Azur, Lagrange Laboratory, Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur, Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Université Paris Cité, Université Paris Sciences et Lettres, Observatoire de Paris, Sorbonne Université, CY Cergy Paris Université, Institut de Planétologie et d'Astrophysique de Grenoble, Université Grenoble Alpes, KU Leuven, Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, University of Lisbon, Universidade do Porto, Instituto Superior Técnico, Centro de Astrofísica e Gravitação, Australian National University, University of Cologne, Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy, University College Dublin, Dublin Institute For Advanced Studies, University of California System, University of Southampton, University of Chile, Technical University of Munich, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Peking University, Lyon 1 Université, École Normale Supérieure de Lyon, Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics
Language: English
Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,865
Funders: Max-Planck-Förderstiftung, European Commission, Science Foundation Ireland, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Agence Nationale de la Recherche, Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung, Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Conseil National de la Recherche Scientifique, Vlaamse regering, Observatoire de Paris, Université de Recherche Paris Sciences et Lettres, H2020 European Research Council
Awards: G1479253920, The formation of young giant exoplanets unveiled by optical interferometry, Multi wavelength multi scale study of Active Galactig Nuclei, G3636477409, G434337789, Opticon RadioNet Pilot, Self-Calibrated Interferometry for Exoplanet Spectroscopy, Advanced Infrared Interferometry Techniques for Exoplanets Characterization (AIITEC), G612732458
OpenAlex ID: W4415885594