Solar multiconjugate adaptive optics at the Dunn Solar Telescope

Solar observations are performed over an extended field of view and the isoplanatic patch over which conventional adaptive optics (AO) provides diffraction limited resolution is a severe limitation. The development of multi-conjugate adaptive optics (MCAO) for the next generation large aperture solar telescopes is thus a top priority. The Sun is an ideal object for the development of MCAO since solar structure provides multiple "guide stars" in any desired configuration. At the Dunn Solar Telescope (DST) we implemented a dedicated MCAO bench with the goal of developing well-characterized, operational MCAO. The MCAO system uses two deformable mirrors conjugated to the telescope entrance pupil and a layer in the upper atmosphere, respectively. The high altitude deformable mirror can be placed at conjugates ranging from 2km to 10km altitude. We have successfully and stably locked the MCAO system on solar granulation and demonstrated the MCAO system's ability to significantly extend the corrected field of view. We present results derived from analysis of imagery taken simultaneously with conventional AO and MCAO. We also present first results from solar Ground Layer AO (GLAO) experiments.