Related papers: Fresnel diffraction in an interferometer: applicat…
The Fresnel Interferometric Imager is a space-based astronomical telescope project yielding milli-arc second angular resolution and high contrast images with loose manufacturing constraints. This optical concept involves diffractive…
We present an overview of the scientific potential of MATISSE, the Multi Aperture mid-Infrared SpectroScopic Experiment for the Very Large Telescope Interferometer. For this purpose we outline selected case studies from various areas, such…
Interest in pupil-remapping interferometry, in which a single telescope pupil is fragmented and recombined using fiber optic technologies, has been growing among a number of groups. As a logical extrapolation from several highly successful…
Optical interferometers increasingly use single-mode fibers as spatial filters to convert varying wavefront distortion into intensity fluctuations which can be monitored for accurate calibration of fringe amplitudes. Here I propose using an…
This paper presents the results of a Fresnel Interferometric Array testbed. This new concept of imager involves diffraction focussing by a thin foil, in which many thousands of punched subapertures form a pattern related to a Fresnel zone…
Diffraction is a manifestation of light at edge due to its wavelike nature. The well-known diffraction phenomena are Fresnel and Fraunhofer, they find variety of applications individually. But the synergy of two phenomena is not studied and…
Interferometry provides one of the possible routes to ultra-high angular resolution for X-ray and gamma-ray astronomy. Sub-micro-arc-second angular resolution, necessary to achieve objectives such as imaging the regions around the event…
This paper presents the basic principle and theoretical relationships of an original method allowing to retrieve the Wavefront Errors (WFE) of a ground or space-borne telescope when combining its main pupil with a second, decentered…
Numerical simulation of Fresnel diffraction with fast Fourier transform (FFT) is widely used in optics, especially computer holography. Fresnel diffraction with FFT cannot set different sampling rates between source and destination planes,…
This tutorial gives a general introduction to optical and infrared interferometry, specifically addressing two questions: `Can I use VLTI to observe my favourite object?' and `What will it tell me?' The observables measured by an…
MATISSE (Multi AperTure mid-Infrared SpectroScopic Experiment) is the next generation spectro-interferometer at the European Southern Observatory VLTI operating in the spectral bands L, M and N, and combining four beams from the unit and…
In this article we formulate and solve the problem of molecular beam diffraction when each molecule consists of two interacting bodies. Then, using our results, we present the diffraction patterns for various molecular sizes employing the…
Pupil mapping is a promising and unconventional new method for high contrast imaging being considered for terrestrial exoplanet searches. It employs two (or more) specially designed aspheric mirrors to create a high-contrast amplitude…
The correction of the influence of phase corrugation in the pupil plane is a fundamental issue in achieving high dynamic range imaging. In this paper, we investigate an instrumental setup which consists in applying interferometric…
I derive in this paper theoretical expressions for biases on fringe contrast and fringe visibility phase for optical interferometers whose polarizing properties can be described by beam rotation, retardance, and diattenuation. The nature of…
In this work we present an observational technique and a detailed analysis of the stellar interferograms produced by three bright stars: Betelgeuse, Rigel and Sirius. It is shown that the atmospheric turbulence is responsible for the…
Pupil mapping is a promising and unconventional new method for high contrast imaging being considered for terrestrial exoplanet searches. It employs two (or more) specially designed aspheric mirrors to create a high-contrast amplitude…
Strong turbulence conditions create amplitude aberrations through the effects of near-field diffraction. When integrated over long optical path lengths, amplitude aberrations (seen as scintillation) can nullify local areas in the recorded…
The current status of the high spatial resolution imaging interferometry in optical astronomy is reviewed in the light of theoretical explanation, as well as of experimental constraints that exist in the present day technology. The basic…
We discuss a novel application of matter wave interferometry to characterize the scalar optical polarizability of molecules at 532 nm. The interferometer presented here consists of two material absorptive gratings and one central optical…