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Topic · Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics

Adaptive optics and wavefront sensing

Adaptive optics and wavefront sensing is a research topic within Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics. Science Explorer counts 22k research works in it since 1950. 9.8% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.

This cluster of papers focuses on the development, principles, and applications of adaptive optics in astronomy and space telescopes. It covers topics such as wavefront sensing, high angular resolution imaging, laser guide star systems, atmospheric turbulence, deformable mirrors, and the performance of adaptive optics systems in various observatories.

  • Adaptive Optics
  • Wavefront Sensing
  • Space Telescopes
  • High Angular Resolution
  • Laser Guide Star
  • Atmospheric Turbulence
  • Shack-Hartmann Sensor
  • Deformable Mirror
  • Astronomical Imaging
  • Optical Turbulence
Research works
22k
fractional, since 1950
In the world top 10%
2.2k
per year above
Top-10% rate
9.8%
share of its works in the world top 10%
Growth, 2018-21 → 2022-25
+6%
the tick is no change
Largest producer
China
35% of the 10 largest, 2022-now
Adaptive optics and wavefront sensing

Which countries lead Adaptive optics and wavefront sensing research?

By volume, China and the United States publish the most (878 and 659 works in 2022-now).

By volume, 2022-now

  1. 1 China 878 works
  2. 2 United States 659 works
  3. 3 France 224 works
  4. 4 Germany 138 works
  5. 5 United Kingdom 113 works
  6. 6 Italy 111 works
  7. 7 Russia 99 works
  8. 8 India 95 works
  9. 9 Spain 88 works
  10. 10 Japan 85 works

How concentrated that is

The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.

China: 35.3%United States: 26.5%France: 9.0%Germany: 5.5%6 others listed: 23.8%35%largest
China878 · 35.3%United States659 · 26.5%France224 · 9.0%Germany138 · 5.5%6 others listed591 · 23.8%

Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.

Which institutions lead Adaptive optics and wavefront sensing research?

By volume in 2022-now, Chinese Academy of Sciences publishes the most Adaptive optics and wavefront sensing research, followed by Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique and University of Chinese Academy of Sciences.

By volume, 2022-now

  1. 1 Chinese Academy of SciencesChina 238 works
  2. 2 Centre National de la Recherche ScientifiqueFrance 88 works
  3. 3 University of Chinese Academy of SciencesChina 76 works
  4. 4 National Institute for AstrophysicsItaly 58 works
  5. 5 Russian Academy of SciencesRussia 56 works
  6. 6 University of ArizonaUnited States 47 works
  7. 7 California Institute of TechnologyUnited States 47 works
  8. 8 United States Department of DefenseUnited States 35 works
  9. 9 National Aeronautics and Space AdministrationUnited States 34 works
  10. 10 Beijing Institute of TechnologyChina 28 works

Who are the leading researchers in Adaptive optics and wavefront sensing?

The most-cited researchers publishing on Adaptive optics and wavefront sensing include Kai You Wang, Ian W Harry and Douglas Scott.

  1. 1 Kai You Wang China 224k citations
  2. 2 Ian W Harry Germany 189k citations
  3. 3 Douglas Scott Canada 172k citations
  4. 4 Konrad Pesudovs Australia 167k citations
  5. 5 Duncan A. Brown United States 163k citations
  6. 6 M.M. Morii France 161k citations

Ranked by citations received across their whole record, among researchers with at least three works on this topic.

What are the most cited papers in Adaptive optics and wavefront sensing?

The most cited paper in Adaptive optics and wavefront sensing is "MEASURING REDDENING WITH SLOAN DIGITAL SKY SURVEY STELLAR SPECTRA AND RECALIBRATING SFD" (Edward F. Schlafly, Douglas P. Finkbeiner, 2011), with 7,745 citations. Next come "DAOPHOT - A computer program for crowded-field stellar photometry" (4,775) and "UBVRI photometric standard stars in the magnitude range 11.5-16.0 around the celestial equator" (4,222).

Most cited papers
#PaperReleasedCitations
1 MEASURING REDDENING WITH SLOAN DIGITAL SKY SURVEY STELLAR SPECTRA AND RECALIBRATING SFD Edward F. Schlafly, Douglas P. Finkbeiner · The Astrophysical Journal Open access 8 Aug 2011 7,745
2 DAOPHOT - A computer program for crowded-field stellar photometry Peter B. Stetson · Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific Mar 1987 4,775
3 UBVRI photometric standard stars in the magnitude range 11.5-16.0 around the celestial equator A. U. Landolt · The Astronomical Journal Jul 1992 4,222
4 Zernike polynomials and atmospheric turbulence* Robert J. Noll · Journal of the Optical Society of America Mar 1976 2,779
5 The 2.5 m Telescope of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey James E. Gunn et al. · The Astronomical Journal Open access 28 Mar 2006 2,418
All 100 most cited papers, with filters and sorting

Where is Adaptive optics and wavefront sensing research done?

The largest centres of Adaptive optics and wavefront sensing research in 2022-now are Beijing (China), Paris (France), Xi'an (China) and Shanghai (China). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Pasadena.

Largest cities, 2022-now

  1. 1 BeijingChina 286 works
  2. 2 ParisFrance 75 works
  3. 3 Xi'anChina 63 works
  4. 4 ShanghaiChina 62 works
  5. 5 ChangchunChina 61 works
  6. 6 PasadenaUnited States 58 works
  7. 7 TucsonUnited States 55 works
  8. 8 ChengduChina 48 works
  9. 9 MoscowRussia 45 works
  10. 10 NanjingChina 43 works

Where it is the local speciality

  1. PasadenaUS · 58.3 works44×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Adaptive optics and wavefront sensing than the world average.

See Adaptive optics and wavefront sensing on the map

Where is the best place to study Adaptive optics and wavefront sensing?

Among universities, judged by research, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, California Institute of Technology and University of Oxford score highest, combining excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.

0%10%20%mean 10.25%fractional works in this field (log) →share of work in the world top 10% →Tsinghua UniversityUniversity of OxfordCalifornia Institute…University of Chines…
above the meannear itbelow it

One dot per university in the first ten of the table below, at the default weights. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.

Excellenceshare of its work in the world top 10%, 2022-now and all time averaged
40%
Specialisationhow much of its work is in this field, counted up to 10× the world share
10%
Sizeits output in this field, on a log scale
30%
Growthoutput growth, counted from -20% to +20%
10%
Internationalshare of its work with a co-author abroad
10%
Each slider sets a weight; the share it gets of the score is beside it.
#UniversityScoreTop 10%SpecialisationWorksGrowth
1University of Chinese Academy of SciencesChina 69.79.1%17.8×76 +49.1%
2California Institute of TechnologyUnited States 65.212.4%49.6×47 -17.0%
3University of OxfordUnited Kingdom 64.715.1%2.9×11 +15.4%
4Tsinghua UniversityChina 63.319.9%2.5×15 +20.1%
5Australian National UniversityAustralia 60.56.0%14.1×19 +15.7%
6University of ArizonaUnited States 60.18.3%27.7×47 -4.9%
7University of California, Santa CruzUnited States 56.87.7%31.2×15 +33.1%
8Sun Yat-sen UniversityChina 56.113.6%2.3×12 +310.6%
9Universidad de La LagunaSpain 54.83.3%51.0×28 +52.9%
10Université Paris-SaclayFrance 54.67.1%9.4×16 +115.8%

Universities only. The score blends excellence (40%), size (30%), specialisation (10%), growth (10%), international reach (10%), 2022-now; growth compares 2018-21 with 2022-25 and counts up to +20%, since a jump from a small base is mostly noise.

Every institution in Adaptive optics and wavefront sensing, country by country

Is Adaptive optics and wavefront sensing research growing?

Output in 2022-2025 was 6% higher than in 2018-2021, peaking in 2016. The fastest-growing topics are Adaptive optics and wavefront sensing.

still counting19801990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon: one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Its share of all research

Growing output can still be a shrinking share: all of science grows. This is Adaptive optics and wavefront sensing as a percentage of every work published that year, 0.013% in 2024.

still counting0.020%0.040%0.060%Adaptive optics and wavefront sensing0.0100% in 202519801990200020102020

Fractional works of Adaptive optics and wavefront sensing over all fractional works that year. How the balance of science has shifted.

How much of it reaches the world top 10%

Year by year.

still counting5%10%15%Adaptive optics and wavefront sensing9.8% in 2025200020102020

Of each year's works in it, the share that reached the world's 10% most cited for their field and year. A field is the world for its own topics, so there is no other line to hold it against.

Which topics inside it are moving

Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.

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