Toward a diffraction-limited square-kilometer optical telescope: Digital revival of intensity interferometry - art. no. 698609

Dainis Dravins, Stephan LeBohec

    Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingPaper in conference proceedingpeer-review

    Abstract

    Much of the progress in astronomy follows imaging with improved resolution. In observing stars, current capabilities are only marginal in beginning to image the disks of a few, although many stars will appear as surface objects for baselines of hundreds of meters. Since atmospheric turbulence makes ground-based phase interferometry challenging for such long baselines, kilometric space telescope clusters have been proposed for imaging stellar surface details. The realization of such projects remains uncertain, but comparable imaging could be realized by ground-based intensity interferometry. While insensitive to atmospheric turbulence and imperfections in telescope optics, the method requires large flux collectors, such as being set up as arrays of atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes for studying energetic gamma rays. High-speed detectors and digital signal handling enable very many baselines to be synthesized between pairs of telescopes, while stars may be tracked across the sky by electronic time delays. First observations with digitally combined optical instruments have now been made with pairs of 12-meter telescopes of the VERITAS array in Arizona. Observing at short wavelengths adds no problems, and similar techniques on an extremely large telescope could achieve diffraction-limited imaging down to the atmospheric cutoff, achieving a spatial resolution significantly superior by that feasible by adaptive optics operating in the red or near-infrared.
    Original languageEnglish
    Title of host publicationExtremely Large Telescopes: Which Wavelengths? Retirement Symposium for Arne Ardeberg
    PublisherSPIE
    Pages98609-98609
    Volume6986
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2008
    EventRetirement Symposium for Arne Ardeberg on Extremely Large Telescopes - Which Wavelengths - Lund, Sweden
    Duration: 2007 Nov 292007 Nov 30

    Publication series

    Name
    Volume6986
    ISSN (Print)1996-756X
    ISSN (Electronic)0277-786X

    Conference

    ConferenceRetirement Symposium for Arne Ardeberg on Extremely Large Telescopes - Which Wavelengths
    Country/TerritorySweden
    CityLund
    Period2007/11/292007/11/30

    Subject classification (UKÄ)

    • Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology

    Free keywords

    • stellar surface imaging
    • astronomical intensity interferometry
    • air Cherenkov telescopes
    • quantum optics

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