2000/03/10 by P. G. Tuthill, P. G. Tuthill, J. D. Monnier +7 · 153 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Adaptive optics #Adaptive optics and wavefront sensing #Aperture (computer memory) #Aperture synthesis #Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies #Interferometry #Michelson interferometer #Speckle imaging #Speckle pattern #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #Telescope #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1086/316550
published in Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific 112(770), 555-565 (Institute of Physics) · Accepted into Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. To appear in vol. 112. Paper contains 10 pages, 8 figures
arxiv created 2000/03/10 · openalex publication_date 2000/04/01 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
We report the first use of Michelson interferometry on the Keck I telescope for diffraction-limited imaging in the near infrared JHK and L bands. By using an aperture mask located close to the f/25 secondary, the 10 m Keck primary mirror was transformed into a separate-element, multiple aperture interferometer. This has allowed diffraction-limited imaging of a large number of bright astrophysical targets, including the geometrically complex dust envelopes around a number of evolved stars. The successful restoration of these images, with dynamic ranges in excess of 200:1, highlights the significant capabilities of sparse aperture imaging as compared with more conventional filled-pupil speckle imaging for the class of bright targets considered here. In particular the enhancement of the signal-to-noise ratio of the Fourier data, precipitated by the reduction in atmospheric noise, allows high fidelity imaging of complex sources with small numbers of short-exposure images relative to speckle. Multi-epoch measurements confirm the reliability of this imaging technique and our whole dataset provides a powerful demonstration of the capabilities of aperture masking methods when utilized with the current generation of large-aperture telescopes. The relationship between these new results and recent advances in interferometry and adaptive optics is briefly discussed.