Very long baseline interferometry and observations of gravitational lenses using intensity fluctuations: an analysis based on intensity autocorrelation

Abstract

A novel interferometric technique that uses the spectrum of the current fluctuations of a quadratic detector, a type of detector commonly used in Astronomy, has recently been introduced. It has major advantages with respect to classical interferometry. It can be used to observe gravitational lenses that cannot be detected with standard techniques. It can be used to carry out very long baseline interferometry. Although the original theoretical analysis, that uses wave interaction effects, is rigorous, it is not easy to understand. The present article therefore carries out a simpler analysis, using the autocorrelation of intensity fluctuations, which is easier to understand. It is based on published experiments that were carried out to validate the original theory. The autocorrelation analysis also validates simple numerical techniques, based on the autocorrelation, to model the angular intensity distribution of a source. The autocorrelation technique also allows a much simpler detection of the signal. In practice, the gravitational lens applications are the ones that can readily be done with presently available telescopes. We describe a practical example that shows that presently available VLBI radio-astronomical data can be used to observe microlensisng and millilensing in macrolensed Quasars. They may give information on the dark matter substructures in the lensing galaxies.