Thesis Defense: Active Optics on the Vera C. Rubin Observatory

Speaker: Guillem Megias Homar (KIPAC) In Person and zoom

Ph.D. Candidate: Guillem Megias i Homar
Research Advisor: Steve Kahn

Zoom link: https://stanford.zoom.us/j/97156815395?pwd=RXVuXtP8aSaXhflRR5cjnaofmYpa…

This dissertation presents the development and first on-sky demonstration of the Active Optics System (AOS) for the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, which achieved first light in April 2025. The work enabled the system to reach seeing-limited image quality under optimal conditions early in commissioning, and has since driven continued improvements toward full operational readiness.

The thesis addresses key challenges in correcting optical aberrations, including resolving control-space degeneracies, refining open-loop corrections, and integrating alignment procedures, and presents the first optical performance assessment of the Simonyi Survey Telescope using both ComCam and LSSTCam. It also introduces a novel approach to detecting millisecond-scale Fast Optical Bursts (FOBs), advancing the potential for real-time optical transient discovery.