Development of Stellar Intensity Interferometry techniques using twin 3 meter telescopes at \textit{StarBase}-Utah

ORAL

Abstract

The emergence of large air Cherenkov telescope arrays have opened up the potential for high-resolution imaging of stellar surfaces using Intensity Interferometry techniques. Stellar Intensity Interferometry (SII) allows coverage into the optical and ultraviolet frequency bands which are traditionally inaccessible to classical Michelson interferometry. The relative insensitivity to atmospheric turbulence allows for unprecedented angular resolution scales as the baselines between telescopes can be made very large (\textgreater 100m) without the need for precise spatial resolution as required by Michelson interferometry. In this talk I will illustrate the science capabilities of the SII technique and describe the progress achieved in developing a modern Stellar Intensity Interferometry system with a pair of 3 m diameter optical telescopes located at \textit{StarBase}-Utah. In particular, observations of the optical Crab pulsar are being performed as a proof-of-concept for intensity interferometry measurements.

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Authors

  • Nolan Matthews

    Univ of Utah

  • David Kieda

    Univ of Utah

  • John Colton

    Brigham Young University Dept. of Physics and Astronomy, Brigham Young University, None, The College of William and Mary/Jefferson Lab, Brigham Young University-Idaho, Blue Ridge Research and Consulting LLC, Air Force Research Laboratory - Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Brigham Young Univ - Provo, Blue Ridge Research and Consulting, University of Utah, SRI International, Utah State University, Utah Valley University, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Professor, Graduate, United States Air Force Academy, Arizona State Univ, SiO2 NanoTech, Entrepix Inc, AFRL, Advisor, Brigham Young University- Provo, University of New Mexico, Univ of Utah, University of Wisconsin -- Madison, New Mexico Tech Physics Dept., Retired, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Utah, Department of Physics \& Astronomy, University of Hawai'i, JILA and University of Colorado, Boulder, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Boulder, University of Colorado, Boulder, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Space Dynamics Lab, New Mexico Tech, BYU Professor, Brigham Young University -- Provo, Northern Arizona University, University of Colorado Boulder, Colorado State University, University of Utah, Department of Physics, New Mexico State University