Intensity interferometry permits very long optical baselines and the observation of sub-milliarcsecond structures. Using planned kilometric arrays of air Cherenkov telescopes at short wavelengths, intensity interferometry may increase the spatial resolution achieved in optical astronomy by an order of magnitude, inviting detailed studies of the shapes of rapidly rotating hot stars with structures in their circumstellar disks and winds, or mapping out patterns of nonradial pulsations across stellar surfaces. Signal-to-noise in intensity interferometry favors high-temperature sources and emission-line structures, and is independent of the optical passband, be it a single spectral line or the broad spectral continuum. Prime candidate sources have been identified among classes of bright and hot stars. Observations are simulated for telescope configurations envisioned for large Cherenkov facilities, synthesizing numerous optical baselines in software, confirming that resolutions of tens of microarcseconds are feasible for numerous astrophysical targets.

Date Published: 21 July 2010
PDF: 12 pages
Proc. SPIE 7734, Optical and Infrared Interferometry II, 77340A (21 July 2010); doi: 10.1117/12.856394

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 7734:
Optical and Infrared Interferometry II
William C. Danchi; Françoise Delplancke; Jayadev K. Rajagopal, Editor(s)