140 research outputs found
Fringe tracking and spatial filtering: phase jumps and dropouts
Fringe tracking in interferometers is typically analyzed with the implicit
assumption that there is a single phase associated with each telescope in the
array. If the telescopes have apertures significantly larger than r0 and only
partial adaptive optics correction, then the phase measured by a fringe sensor
may differ significantly from the "piston" component of the aperture phase. In
some cases, speckle noise will cause "branch points" in the measured phase as a
function of time, causing large and sudden jumps in the phase. We present
simulations showing these effects in order to understand their implications for
the design of fringe tracking algorithms.Comment: 9 pages, to be published in Proc. SPIE conference 7013 "Optical and
Infrared Interferometry", Schoeller, Danchi, and Delplancke (eds.
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
Diffraction-limited imaging with partially redundant masks: I. Optical imaging of faint sources
In a recent paper [J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 9, 203 (1992)] the benefits of pupil apodization were examined for the near-infrared imaging of bright sources. In the current paper we extend these considerations to optical speckle imaging, in which photon noise rather than detector readout noise is important. We demonstrate that a one-dimensional pupil geometry (i.e., a thin slit) has several advantages over an unapodized aperture when faint sources are being observed through atmospheric turbulence. The use of a slit aperture does not decrease the signal-to-noise ratios of the power-spectrum and bispectrum measurements, and in many cases it increases them, despite the large reduction in signal level. The disadvantage of this apodization is a reduction in Fourier-plane coverage, which must be compensated for by observations with the slit aligned at several position angles. The performance of many of the current generation of photon-counting imaging detectors deteriorates at the high counting rates that can be experienced even when one is observing sources that are approaching the limiting magnitude of the speckle imaging technique. Under such conditions, we recommend the use of an apodized pupil, in contrast to the current preference for employing a neutral-density filter to reduce the detector count rate
Diffraction-limited imaging with partially redundant masks. I. Infrared imaging of bright objects
The utility of partially redundant pupil geometries has been studied in the context of near-infrared speckle imaging with ground-based telescopes. Using both numerical simulations and experimental data collected with a 4-m-class telescope, we find that the decrease in redundancy resulting from apodizing the telescope pupil results in an enhancement of the quality of reconstructed images at high light levels. This improvement in imaging fidelity is particularly valuable when short-term variations in the statistics of the atmosphere make the seeing calibration of speckle interferograms difficult. However, the use of an apodizing mask necessarily restricts the faintest source that can be imaged, leading to a loss in sensitivity of one to two magnitudes. For many of the brighter near-infrared astrophysical sources in the sky that have been the subject of previous speckle-imaging studies, the use of a partially redundant pupil is expected to enhance the fidelity of the imaging procedure considerably
The last gasps of VY CMa: Aperture synthesis and adaptive optics imagery
We present new observations of the red supergiant VY CMa at 1.25 micron, 1.65
micron, 2.26 micron, 3.08 micron and 4.8 micron. Two complementary
observational techniques were utilized: non-redundant aperture masking on the
10-m Keck-I telescope yielding images of the innermost regions at unprecedented
resolution, and adaptive optics imaging on the ESO 3.6-m telescope at La Silla
attaining extremely high (~10^5) peak-to-noise dynamic range over a wide field.
For the first time the inner dust shell has been resolved in the near-infrared
to reveal a one-sided extension of circumstellar emission within 0.1" (~15
R_star) of the star. The line-of-sight optical depths of the circumstellar dust
shell at 1.65 micron, 2.26 micron, and 3.08 micron have been estimated to be
1.86 +/- 0.42, 0.85 +/- 0.20, and 0.44 +/- 0.11. These new results allow the
bolometric luminosity of VY~CMa to be estimated independent of the dust shell
geometry, yielding L_star ~ 2x10^5 L_sun. A variety of dust condensations,
including a large scattering plume and a bow-shaped dust feature, were observed
in the faint, extended nebula up to 4" from the central source. While the
origin of the nebulous plume remains uncertain, a geometrical model is
developed assuming the plume is produced by radially-driven dust grains forming
at a rotating flow insertion point with a rotational period between 1200-4200
years, which is perhaps the stellar rotational period or the orbital period of
an unseen companion.Comment: 25 pages total with 1 table and 5 figures. Accepted by Astrophysical
Journal (to appear in February 1999
Modelling CO emission from Mira's wind
We have modelled the circumstellar envelope of {\it o} Ceti (Mira) using new
observational constraints. These are obtained from photospheric light scattered
in near-IR vibrational-rotational lines of circumstellar CO molecules at 4.6
micron: absolute fluxes, the radial dependence of the scattered intensity, and
two line ratios. Further observational constraints are provided by ISO
observations of far-IR emission lines from highly excited rotational states of
the ground vibrational state of CO, and radio observations of lines from
rotational levels of low excitation of CO. A code based on the Monte-Carlo
technique is used to model the circumstellar line emission.
We find that it is possible to model the radio and ISO fluxes, as well as the
highly asymmetric radio-line profiles, reasonably well with a spherically
symmetric and smooth stellar wind model. However, it is not possible to
reproduce the observed NIR line fluxes consistently with a `standard model' of
the stellar wind. This is probably due to incorrectly specified conditions of
the inner regions of the wind model, since the stellar flux needs to be larger
than what is obtained from the standard model at the point of scattering, i.e.,
the intermediate regions at approximately 100-400 stellar radii (2"-7") away
from the star. Thus, the optical depth in the vibrational-rotational lines from
the star to the point of scattering has to be decreased. This can be
accomplished in several ways. For instance, the gas close to the star (within
approximately 2") could be in such a form that light is able to pass through,
either due to the medium being clumpy or by the matter being in radial
structures (which, further out, developes into more smooth or shell-like
structures).Comment: 18 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
Near and mid-IR sub-arcsecond structure of the dusty symbiotic star R Aqr
The results of a high-resolution interferometric campaign targeting the
symbiotic long-period variable (LPV) R~Aqr are reported. With both
near-infrared measurements on baselines out to 10m and mid-infrared data
extending to 32m, we have been able to measure the characteristic sizes of
regions from the photosphere of the LPV and its extended molecular atmosphere,
out to the cooler circumstellar dust shell. The near-infrared data were taken
using aperture masking interferometry on the Keck-I telescope and show R~Aqr to
be partially resolved for wavelengths out to 2.2 microns but with a marked
enlargement, possibly due to molecular opacity, at 3.1 microns. Mid-infrared
interferometric measurements were obtained with the U.C. Berkeley Infrared
Spatial Interferometer (ISI) operating at 11.15 microns from 1992 to 1999.
Although this dataset is somewhat heterogeneous with incomplete coverage of the
Fourier plane and sampling of the pulsation cycle, clear changes in the
mid-infrared brightness distribution were observed, both as a function of
position angle on the sky and as a function of pulsation phase. Spherically
symmetric radiative transfer calculations of uniform-outflow dust shell models
produce brightness distributions and spectra which partially explain the data,
however limitations to this approximation are noted. Evidence for significant
deviation from circular symmetry was found in the mid-infrared and more
tentatively at 3.08 microns in the near-infrared, however no clear detection of
binarity or of non-LPV elements in the symbiotic system is reported.Comment: Accepted to Astrophysical Journal. To appear in volume 534. 14 pages;
3 postscript figure
Mira's wind explored in scattering infrared CO lines
We have observed the intermediate regions of the circumstellar envelope of
Mira (o Ceti) in photospheric light scattered by three vibration-rotation
transitions of the fundamental band of CO, from low-excited rotational levels
of the ground vibrational state, at an angular distance of beta = 2"-7" away
from the star. The data were obtained with the Phoenix spectrometer mounted on
the 4 m Mayall telescope at Kitt Peak. The spatial resolution is approximately
0.5" and seeing limited. Our observations provide absolute fluxes, leading to
an independent new estimate of the mass-loss rate of approximately 3e-7
Msun/yr, as derived from a simple analytic wind model. We find that the
scattered intensity from the wind of Mira for 2" < beta < 7" decreases as
beta^-3, which suggests a time constant mass-loss rate, when averaged over 100
years, over the past 1200 years.Comment: accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa
The geometry of the close environment of SV Psc as probed by VLTI/MIDI
Context. SV Psc is an asymptotic giant branch (AGB) star surrounded by an
oxygen-rich dust envelope. The mm-CO line profile of the object's outflow shows
a clear double-component structure. Because of the high angular resolution,
mid-IR interferometry may give strong constraints on the origin of this
composite profile.
Aims. The aim of this work is to investigate the morphology of the
environment around SV Psc using high-angular resolution interferometry
observations in the mid-IR with the Very Large Telescope MID-infrared
Interferometric instrument (VLTI/MIDI).
Methods. Interferometric data in the N-band taken at different baseline
lengths (ranging from 32-64 m) and position angles (73- 142{\deg}) allow a
study of the morphology of the circumstellar environment close to the star. The
data are interpreted on the basis of 2-dimensional, chromatic geometrical
models using the fitting software tool GEM-FIND developed for this purpose.
Results. The results favor two scenarios: (i) the presence of a highly
inclined, optically thin, dusty disk surrounding the central star; (ii) the
presence of an unresolved binary companion at a separation of 13.7 AU and a
position angle of 121.8{\deg} NE. The derived orbital period of the binary is
38.1 yr. This detection is in good agreement with hydrodynamic simulations
showing that a close companion could be responsible for the entrainment of the
gas and dust into a circumbinary structure.Comment: 10 pages, 12 figure
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