Related papers: Characterization of integrated optics components f…
The very recent years have seen a promising start in scientific publications making use of images produced by near-infrared long-baseline interferometry. The technique has reached, at last, a technical maturity level that opens new avenues…
It has been recently demonstrated that integrated optics could enhance accuracy, stability, and ease of use of stellar interferometry techniques. The subject of this thesis is the study of an optical component based on singlemode waveguides…
We present the optical and cryo-mechanical solutions for the Spectrograph of VSI (VLTI Spectro-Imager), the second generation near-infrared (J, H and K bands) interferometric instrument for the VLTI. The peculiarity of this spectrograph is…
In a few years, the second generation instruments of the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) will routinely provide observations with 4 to 6 telescopes simultaneously. To reach their ultimate performance, they will need a fringe…
We present the proposal for the infrared adaptive optics (AO) assisted, two-object, high-throughput, multiple-beam-combiner GRAVITY for the VLTI. This instrument will be optimized for phase-referenced interferometric imaging and…
VLTi Spectro-Imager (VSI) is a proposition for a second generation VLTI instrument which is aimed at providing the ESO community with the capability of performing image synthesis at milli-arcsecond angular resolution. VSI provides the VLTI…
The upgrade of the VLTI infrastructure for the 2nd generation instruments is now complete with the transformation of the laboratory, and installation of star separators on both the 1.8-m Auxiliary Telescopes (ATs) and the 8-m Unit…
We present in this paper the design and characterisation of a new sub-system of the VLTI 2nd generation instrument GRAVITY: the Calibration Unit. The Calibration Unit provides all functions to test and calibrate the beam combiner…
Our objective is to prove that integrated optics (IO) is not only a good concept for astronomical interferometry but also a working technique with high performance. We used the commissioning data obtained with the dedicated K-band…
This paper describes the design goals and engineering efforts that led to the realization of AMBER (Astronomical Multi BEam combineR) and to the achievement of its present performance. On the basis of the general instrumental concept, AMBER…
The VLTI Spectro Imager (VSI) was proposed as a second-generation instrument of the Very Large Telescope Interferometer providing the ESO community with spectrally-resolved, near-infrared images at angular resolutions down to 1.1…
In the last few years, integrated optics (IO) beam combiners have facilitated the emergence of 4-telescope interferometers such as PIONIER or GRAVITY, boosting the imaging capabilities of the VLTI. However, the spectral range beyond…
The implementation of the simultaneous combination of several telescopes (from four to eight) available at Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) will allow the new generation interferometric instrumentation to achieve interferometric…
GRAVITY is an adaptive optics assisted Beam Combiner for the second generation VLTI instrumentation. The instrument will provide high-precision narrow-angle astrometry and phase-referenced interferometric imaging in the astronomical K-band…
GRAVITY is the second generation Very Large Telescope Interferometer instrument for precision narrow-angle astrometry and interferometric imaging in the Near Infra-Red (NIR). It shall provide precision astrometry of order 10…
In this paper we present the most promising science cases for a new generation visible instrument on the VLTI and the conceptual idea for the instrumental configuration. We also present a statistical study of the potential targets that may…
We present the adaptive optics assisted, near-infrared VLTI instrument - GRAVITY - for precision narrow-angle astrometry and interferometric phase referenced imaging of faint objects. Precision astrometry and phase-referenced…
The SPIFFI integral field spectrometer is operated as a subunit of the AO instrument SINFONI on the VLT. It will be upgraded and reused as SPIFFIER in the new VLT instrument ERIS. In January 2016 an early upgrade of several optical…
We present design results of the 2nd generation VLTI instrument GRAVITY beam stabilization and light injection subsystems. Designed to deliver micro-arcsecond astrometry, GRAVITY requires an unprecedented stability of the VLTI optical…
GRAVITY is a second generation VLTI instrument, combining the light of four telescopes and two objects simultaneously. The main goal is to obtain astrometrically accurate information. Besides correctly measured stellar phases this requires…