Using nodal aberration theory to understand the aberrations of multiple unobscured three mirror anastigmatic (TMA) telescopes

The alignment of three mirror anastigmatic (TMA) telescopes has been studied since their invention in the 60s. Recently, Thompson et al.1 reported that other than the conventional uniform coma over the field caused by misalignment, TMA telescopes display only one other misalignment induced aberration, field-asymmetric, field-linear astigmatism. Currently, an instrument with three TMAs is under development as the primary spectrometer on the James Webb Space Telescope. This paper will report on the application of Nodal Aberration Theory (NAT) to understanding the optical design of an optical system with multiple TMAs as a first step towards investigating and potentially independently analyzing the sensitivities to alignment of this key instrument.