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

Dravins, Dainis LU orcid and LeBohec, Stephan (2008) Retirement Symposium for Arne Ardeberg on Extremely Large Telescopes - Which Wavelengths 6986. p.98609-98609
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... (More)
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. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
publication status
published
subject
keywords
stellar surface imaging, astronomical intensity interferometry, air Cherenkov telescopes, quantum optics
host publication
Extremely Large Telescopes: Which Wavelengths? Retirement Symposium for Arne Ardeberg
volume
6986
pages
98609 - 98609
publisher
SPIE
conference name
Retirement Symposium for Arne Ardeberg on Extremely Large Telescopes - Which Wavelengths
conference location
Lund, Sweden
conference dates
2007-11-29 - 2007-11-30
external identifiers
  • wos:000258065600008
  • scopus:43549123039
ISSN
0277-786X
1996-756X
DOI
10.1117/12.801260
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
4b960e44-5be2-478a-9096-eeb5d0c4abb2 (old id 1406119)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 12:25:14
date last changed
2024-12-04 14:58:35
@inproceedings{4b960e44-5be2-478a-9096-eeb5d0c4abb2,
  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.}},
  author       = {{Dravins, Dainis and LeBohec, Stephan}},
  booktitle    = {{Extremely Large Telescopes: Which Wavelengths? Retirement Symposium for Arne Ardeberg}},
  issn         = {{0277-786X}},
  keywords     = {{stellar surface imaging; astronomical intensity interferometry; air Cherenkov telescopes; quantum optics}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{98609--98609}},
  publisher    = {{SPIE}},
  title        = {{Toward a diffraction-limited square-kilometer optical telescope: Digital revival of intensity interferometry - art. no. 698609}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1117/12.801260}},
  doi          = {{10.1117/12.801260}},
  volume       = {{6986}},
  year         = {{2008}},
}