Adaptive optics (AO) and ground-layer AO for Dome C: numerical simulation results

We present the latest results of our on-going closed-loop “end-to-end” numerical adaptive optics (AO) simulations concerning both a standard-AO and a three-star ground-layer AO system for a near-infrared 2-m class telescope at Dome C, Antarctica. We demonstrate that Dome C is an ideal site for wide-field AO-aided astronomy, define in details the AO system(s) optimized for the median turbulence profile considered, and finally show that a ~0.3 Strehl ratio and 200-mas-wide stable point-spread function is reached in band J on at least a 15'-diameter field.