Implications of Turbulence Optical Parameters on HAR Techniques at Dome C

UMR 6525 H. Fizeau, Université de Nice Sophia-Antipolis, CNRS, Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, Parc Valrose 06108, Nice, France

Abstract

The HAR observing methods such as Adaptive Optics and Interferometery, require a better understanding of the behavior of the perturbed wavefronts, more exactly a better knowledge of the atmospheric turbulence model in addition to the associate parameters. This is very crucial for modeling the HAR techniques and particularly for the evaluation of their performance. Indeed, it is well-known that the performance of an AO system depends upon the seeing conditions, the outer scale, the isoplanatic angle and the coherence time. A review of the site-testing instruments deployed at Dome C will be given, their pertinence and their implications on HAR techniques will be discussed comparatively to the Paranal site.