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arXiv · 1703.03919

AGILIS: Agile Guided Interferometer for Longbaseline Imaging Synthesis - Demonstration and concepts of reconfigurable optical imaging interferometers

Julien Woillez·Olivier Lai·Guy Perrin·François Reynaud·Marc Baril·Yue Doug·Pierre Fédou
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Abstract

In comparison to the radio and sub-millimetric domains, imaging with optical interferometry is still in its infancy. Due to the limited number of telescopes in existing arrays, image generation is a demanding process that relies on time-consuming reconfiguration of the interferometer array and super-synthesis. Using single mode optical fibres for the coherent transport of light from the collecting telescopes to the focal plane, a new generation of interferometers optimized for imaging can be designed. To support this claim, we report on the successful completion of the `OHANA Iki project: an end-to-end, on-sky demonstration of a two-telescope interferometer, built around near-infrared single mode fibres, carried out as part of the `OHANA project. Having demonstrated that coherent transport by single-mode fibres is feasible, we explore the concepts, performances, and limitations of a new imaging facility with single mode fibres at its heart: Agile Guided Interferometer for Longbaseline Imaging Synthesis (AGILIS). AGILIS has the potential of becoming a next generation facility or a precursor to a much larger project like the Planet Formation Imager (PFI).

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Julien Woillez, Olivier Lai, Guy Perrin, François Reynaud, Marc Baril, Yue Doug, Pierre Fédou. 2017-03-11. AGILIS: Agile Guided Interferometer for Longbaseline Imaging Synthesis - Demonstration and concepts of reconfigurable optical imaging interferometers. https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361%2F201730500

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