Stray light analysis for the AIMS Telescope postprint

Abstract: Stray  light  has  a  significant  effect  on  the  overall  performance  of  telescopes,  particularly  for  infrared  solar telescopes,  in  which  internal  thermal  radiation  causes  additional  stray  light  sources.  We  establish  a 3-dimensional model  using  stray  light  theory  and  the  real  opto-mechanical  structure  of  the  Accurate  Infrared  Magnetic  field measurements  of  the  Sun  (AIMS)  telescope.  We  use  the  stray  light  ratio  (i.e.,  the ratio  of  stray  light  energy  reaching the  detector  to  the  light  energy  used  for  observations)  to  evaluate  the  imaging  performance  of  the  telescope.  We analyze  both  thermal  and  non-thermal  sources  of  stray light  to  comprehensively  study  the  visible,  8–10  μm,  and Fourier  transform  infrared  systems  of  the  telescope,  finding  stray  light  ratios  of 9.31×10^-6 in  the  visible  system, 2.83×10^-4 in  the  8–10  μm  system,  and 1.54×10^-4 in  the  Fourier  transform  infrared  system.  This  verifies  that  the opto-mechanical  system  design  of  the  telescope  can  effectively  suppress  stray  light,  benefiting  both  imaging  and magnetic field observations.