Terrestrial optical interferometers have produced the first resolved images of main-sequence stellar surfaces by using long co-phased baselines and correcting for atmospheric errors using fringe tracking and closure phases. These stellar surface images are helpful for understanding the formation, dynamical structure, and evolution of stars, and also for evaluating the potential habitability of exoplanetary systems. However, the astronomical targets suitable for ground based interferometric imaging remain limited due to restricted baseline diversity, atmospheric absorption in the ultraviolet and much of the infrared, and shot noise limits on the fringe tracker when observing faint objects through tropospheric turbulence. A spaceborne formation flying optical interferometer could potentially image dimmer targets with longer baselines, but must still contend with disturbances like propulsive stationkeeping and attitude control system noise. This work simulates on-orbit fringe tracking controller performance under representative disturbances for a small three-spacecraft Michelson interferometer, and evaluates the effects of imperfect fringe tracking on the measured visibilities. We investigate fringe tracker design options, including the choice of optical path delay estimator(s), number of spectral channels, and integration time. Assuming 10cm subapertures, we compute limiting target magnitudes and the maximum baseline beyond which noise dominates the interferometric visibility measurements. Based on this analysis, we identify design parameters for a cost effective demonstration mission that could complement ground-based stellar surface imaging capabilities.
The isopistonic angle is the angle over which the atmospheric piston can be considered constant. It is an important parameter for ground based optical interferometry, particularly in the context of phasing using guide stars. This angle is analogous to the isoplanatic angle, which is the angle over which an adaptive optics correction may be considered valid for a single aperture. While the isopistonic angle is well understood theoretically, there have been relatively few measurements of it as compared to the isoplanatic angle. We have used masked aperture interferometry on binary stars of various angular separations at the USNO Flagstaff astrometry telescope to measure the isopistonic angle. We report on our measurement methodology, data processing, and experimental results.
KEYWORDS: Signal to noise ratio, Point spread functions, Modulation transfer functions, Diffraction, Wavefronts, Interferometers, Optical engineering, Interferometry, Sensors, Image quality
Pupil densification is a technique to improve contrast in a direct imaging interferometer. By enlarging the size of each aperture in a sparse array, the fraction of energy contained in the central point spread function peak can be increased. However, the effective field of view is reduced as the contrast improves. Our work investigates the optimal strategy for pupil densification in the context of extended source imaging. Analytical expressions are derived to optimize the signal-to-noise ratio at the edge of the field of view for a variety of hypertelescope configurations. Free-space beam transport and fiber-optic beam transport are both considered. The relative advantages and disadvantages between the considered hypertelescope configurations are discussed.
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