3,798 research outputs found
Modern optical astronomy: technology and impact of interferometry
The present `state of the art' and the path to future progress in high
spatial resolution imaging interferometry is reviewed. The review begins with a
treatment of the fundamentals of stellar optical interferometry, the origin,
properties, optical effects of turbulence in the Earth's atmosphere, the
passive methods that are applied on a single telescope to overcome atmospheric
image degradation such as speckle interferometry, and various other techniques.
These topics include differential speckle interferometry, speckle spectroscopy
and polarimetry, phase diversity, wavefront shearing interferometry,
phase-closure methods, dark speckle imaging, as well as the limitations imposed
by the detectors on the performance of speckle imaging. A brief account is
given of the technological innovation of adaptive-optics (AO) to compensate
such atmospheric effects on the image in real time. A major advancement
involves the transition from single-aperture to the dilute-aperture
interferometry using multiple telescopes. Therefore, the review deals with
recent developments involving ground-based, and space-based optical arrays.
Emphasis is placed on the problems specific to delay-lines, beam recombination,
polarization, dispersion, fringe-tracking, bootstrapping, coherencing and
cophasing, and recovery of the visibility functions. The role of AO in
enhancing visibilities is also discussed. The applications of interferometry,
such as imaging, astrometry, and nulling are described. The mathematical
intricacies of the various `post-detection' image-processing techniques are
examined critically. The review concludes with a discussion of the
astrophysical importance and the perspectives of interferometry.Comment: 65 pages LaTeX file including 23 figures. Reviews of Modern Physics,
2002, to appear in April issu
New Measurements of the Radio Photosphere of Mira based on Data from the JVLA and ALMA
We present new measurements of the millimeter wavelength continuum emission
from the long period variable Mira ( Ceti) at frequencies of 46 GHz, 96 GHz,
and 229 GHz (~7 mm, 3 mm, and 1 mm) based on observations obtained
with the Jansky Very Large Array (JVLA) and the Atacama Large
Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). The measured millimeter flux densities
are consistent with a radio photosphere model derived from previous
observations, where flux density, . The stellar disk
is resolved, and the measurements indicate a decrease in the size of the radio
photosphere at higher frequencies, as expected if the opacity decreases at
shorter wavelengths. The shape of the radio photosphere is found to be slightly
elongated, with a flattening of ~10-20%. The data also reveal evidence for
brightness non-uniformities on the surface of Mira at radio wavelengths. Mira's
hot companion, Mira B was detected at all three observed wavelengths, and we
measure a radius for its radio-emitting surface of
cm. The data presented here highlight the power of the JVLA and ALMA for the
study of the atmospheres of evolved stars.Comment: Accepted to ApJ; 27 pages, 7 figure
Human Contrast Threshold and Astronomical Visibility
The standard visibility model in light pollution studies is the formula of
Hecht (1947), as used e.g. by Schaefer (1990). However it is applicable only to
point sources and is shown to be of limited accuracy. A new visibility model is
presented for uniform achromatic targets of any size against background
luminances ranging from zero to full daylight, produced by a systematic
procedure applicable to any appropriate data set (e.g Blackwell (1946)), and
based on a simple but previously unrecognized empirical relation between
contrast threshold and adaptation luminance. The scotopic luminance correction
for variable spectral radiance (colour index) is calculated. For point sources
the model is more accurate than Hecht's formula and is verified using
telescopic data collected at Mount Wilson by Bowen (1947), enabling the sky
brightness at that time to be determined. The result is darker than the
calculation by Garstang (2004), implying that light pollution grew more rapidly
in subsequent decades than has been supposed. The model is applied to the
nebular observations of William Herschel, enabling his visual performance to be
quantified. Proposals are made regarding sky quality indicators for public use.Comment: 21 pages, 18 figures, 1 table. Accepted in MNRA
Michelson Interferometry with the Keck I Telescope
We report the first use of Michelson interferometry on the Keck I telescope
for diffraction-limited imaging in the near infrared JHK and L bands. By using
an aperture mask located close to the f/25 secondary, the 10 m Keck primary
mirror was transformed into a separate-element, multiple aperture
interferometer. This has allowed diffraction-limited imaging of a large number
of bright astrophysical targets, including the geometrically complex dust
envelopes around a number of evolved stars. The successful restoration of these
images, with dynamic ranges in excess of 200:1, highlights the significant
capabilities of sparse aperture imaging as compared with more conventional
filled-pupil speckle imaging for the class of bright targets considered here.
In particular the enhancement of the signal-to-noise ratio of the Fourier data,
precipitated by the reduction in atmospheric noise, allows high fidelity
imaging of complex sources with small numbers of short-exposure images relative
to speckle. Multi-epoch measurements confirm the reliability of this imaging
technique and our whole dataset provides a powerful demonstration of the
capabilities of aperture masking methods when utilized with the current
generation of large-aperture telescopes. The relationship between these new
results and recent advances in interferometry and adaptive optics is briefly
discussed.Comment: Accepted into Publications of the Astronomical Society of the
Pacific. To appear in vol. 112. Paper contains 10 pages, 8 figure
Speckle observations of binary stars with a 0.5 m telescope
We present 36 observations of 17 visual binaries of moderate separation
(range from 0.15'' to 0.79'') made with the 50 cm Cassegrain telescope of the
Jagiellonian University in Cracow. The speckle interferometry technique was
combined with modest optical hardware and a standard photometric CCD camera. We
used broad-band V,R,I filters without a Risley prism to reduce differential
colour refraction, so we performed model analysis to investigate the influence
of this effect on the results of measurements. For binary components of
spectral type O-F, the difference of three spectral classes between them should
bias their relative positions by no more than a couple of tens of
milliarcseconds (mas) for moderate zenith distances. The statistical analysis
of our results confirmed this conclusion. A cross-spectrum approach was applied
to resolve the quadrant ambiguity. Our separations have RMS deviations of
0.012'' and our position angles have RMS deviations of 1.8 deg. Relative
photometry in V, R and I filters appeared to be the less accurately determined
parameter. We discuss our errors in detail and compare them to other speckle
data. This comparison clearly shows the high value of our measurements. We also
present an example of the enhancement of image resolution for an extended
object of angular size greater than the atmospheric coherence patch using
speckle interferometry techniques.Comment: Submitted to Astronomy & Astrophysic
A low optical depth region in the inner disk of the HerbigAe star HR5999
Circumstellar disks surrounding young stars are known to be the birthplaces
of planets, and the innermost astronomical unit is of particular interest. We
present new long-baseline spectro-interferometric observations of the HerbigAe
star, HR5999, obtained in the H and K bands with the AMBER instrument at the
VLTI, and aim to produce near-infrared images at the sub-AU spatial scale. We
spatially resolve the circumstellar material and reconstruct images using the
MiRA algorithm. In addition, we interpret the interferometric observations
using models that assume that the near-infrared excess is dominated by the
emission of a circumstellar disk. We compare the images reconstructed from the
VLTI measurements to images obtained using simulated model data. The K-band
image reveals three main elements: a ring-like feature located at ~0.65 AU, a
low surface brightness region inside, and a central spot. At the maximum
angular resolution of our observations (1.3 mas), the ring is resolved while
the central spot is only marginally resolved, preventing us from revealing the
exact morphology of the circumstellar environment. We suggest that the ring
traces silicate condensation, i.e., an opacity change, in a circumstellar disk
around HR 5999. We build a model that includes a ring at the silicate
sublimation radius and an inner disk of low surface brightness responsible for
a large amount of the near-infrared continuum emission. The model successfully
fits the SED, visibilities, and closure phases, and provides evidence of a low
surface brightness region inside the silicate sublimation radius. This study
provides additional evidence that in HerbigAe stars, there is material in a low
surface brightness region, probably a low optical depth region, located inside
the silicate sublimation radius and of unknown nature.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figure
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