TIPTOP – HARMONI MCAO Simulation Interface
This web interface provides a user-friendly way to configure, generate, and run on-axis MCAO simulations using the TIPTOP framework for HARMONI. It streamlines simulation setup while providing immediate access to key performance metrics and outputs.
Overview
The workflow is organized into three main steps:
- Configuration of the simulation parameters
- Generation of the corresponding INI file
- Execution of the simulation and visualization of results
Users can either download the generated INI file or directly run the simulation and retrieve the outputs.
💡 You can directly interact with the interface below. Detailed explanations of each section and parameter are provided further down this page.
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Key Features
Preset-based configuration
The interface provides predefined configurations: Best, Median, and Worst.
Each preset defines:
- The atmospheric conditions
- The characteristics of the natural guide stars (NGS) asterism (coordinates and magnitudes). Each asterism consists of two NGSs.
The table below summarizes the configurations associated with each preset:
| Preset | Atmosphere conditions | NGS coordinates | NGS H magnitude | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Distance [arcsec] | Angle [deg] | |||
| Best | Q1 | 40, 40 | 60, −60 | 16, 20 |
| Median | Median | 60, 60 | 49, −49 | 17.5, 20 |
| Worst | Q4 | 70, 70 | 31, −31 | 17.5, 20 |
Blur Modeling
The interface provides flexible handling of image motion (blur), which is incorporated into the simulation through the telescope.jitter_FWHM parameter.
Predefined blur options
Several blur options are available (e.g. 900s post AO, 900s detector, Single OB, ...).
The sub-model (1, 2, or 3) is automatically selected based on the number of NGS in the asterism.
Options labeled #coarse correspond to blur models adapted to a 25 mas spaxel scale, while the other options correspond to models adapted to a 6 mas spaxel scale.
Custom blur
Users can input a custom blur value (in mas), which is added in quadrature to the telescope.jitter_FWHM parameter.
Simulation Outputs
- Strehl ratio
- FWHM
- Energy metric (EE)
- Residual wavefront errors (HO, LO, focus)
A 2D AO corrected PSF visualization is also provided.
Interactive feedback
When clicking on Generate INI or Run simulation, additional information panels are displayed below the interface.
- INI generation: displays the generated configuration details (input parameters, computed values, barycenter, and applied blur).
- Simulation run: displays performance metrics (Strehl, FWHM, EE, residuals) along with derived parameters and a PSF preview.
File Export
- INI file download: generated configuration file that can be used to run the simulation locally with TIPTOP. For more information, see this page.
- FITS output (optional): TIPTOP output file containing performance metrics, PSFs, and optionally PSDs.
Notes
- Simulations may take several minutes
- Please wait for completion before launching a new run
If you have any questions or need assistance, feel free to contact:lisa-marie.mazzolo@lam.fr.