Baseline design of the KunLun Turbulence Profiler instrument

Adaptive optics systems are the most powerful tools to counteract the image blurring caused by atmospheric turbulence, allowing ground-based telescopes to capture high-resolution images. A critical parameter influencing adaptive optics system performance is the atmospheric refractive index structure constant, C_n^2 , which characterizes the intensity of atmospheric optical turbulence as a function of altitude. Given its simplicity, the lunar scintillometer is the preferred method for detecting atmospheric turbulence in challenging environments like Dome A in Antarctica, where sites are still in the developmental stages and local environmental conditions are extremely harsh. However, optimizing the performance of such instruments requires carefully determining the baseline configuration of photon sensors according to each site's specific optical turbulence profile characteristics. This study uses a Monte Carlo method to identify the optimal configuration for the KunLun Turbulence Profiler (KLTP), an instrument comparable to the lunar scintillometer, developed for use at Dome A. Simulations conducted using the obtained optimal baseline configuration recovered three different model optical turbulence profiles, demonstrating the effectiveness of our method in obtaining an optimal baseline configuration. Our approach can be easily applied to baseline design for similar turbulence profilers at other sites.