S05

Atelier ASHRA: Status & prospects in Optical Interferometry

Communauté

Contact : Elodie Choquet (elodie.choquet@lam.fr)

Context: Among the four research pillars of the AS HRA, optical interferometry is in a key phase of renewal, with a particularly open landscape. We are proposing a two-part workshop, enabling the community to (1) provide an illustrated overview of the capabilities offered by current interferometric instruments and reflect on the major astrophysical challenges they enable, and (2) present emerging instrumental and technological opportunities, in order to identify priorities and needs in terms of developments.

Objective 1: The GRAVITY and MATISSE instruments are major successes, and have opened up access to  optical interferometry to a much wider astrophysical community than ever before, from exoplanets to the extragalactic. VLTI upgrade projects, GRAVITY+, GRAV4MAT, MATISSE-WIDE, as well as the SPICA visible 6T combiner at CHARA, are now at an advanced stage of implementation and will offer significantly enhanced performance in two-three years’ time, opening the door to new astrophysical opportunities. The richness and importance of the results obtained or expected with these instruments encourage new astrophysical ambitions for the coming years. In the first part of this workshop, we invite the community to present some of their major astrophysical results. These key examples will enable us to reflect collectively on the major astrophysical questions in which optical interferometry will play an essential role.

Objective 2: These astrophysical ambitions require us to consider the development of the next generation of optical interferometric instruments. At VLTI, a number of new instruments have been proposed, aimed at operating the interferometer in new bands (J-band, BIFROST, GRAV4PIONIER), or with a nuller mode (NOTT). At the same time, numerous R&D activities are underway to develop future instruments. For example, new recombiners based on photonic components are opening up new perspectives in terms of sensitivity, fringe tracking, metrology and nulling. To maximize coupling in optical fibers and photonic components, advanced wavefront control methods are also being considered. Frequency conversion techniques, using heterodyne interferometry or non-linear optics, are being explored to extend the spectral range of interferometers to longer wavelengths. Finally, ESA’s renewed interest in space interferometry, as expressed in its scientific program Voyage2050, combined with the development of the LIFE concept, is encouraging new R&D activities in infrared nulling interferometry. This vast panorama of potential developments raises the question of our community’s priorities, with the aim of defining a development roadmap and coordinating R&D efforts. We thus invite the community to present these emerging instrumental and technological concepts, with the aim of initiating a discussion on the community’s interests and priorities, and on development needs.

SOC: Elodie Choquet, Frantz Martinache, Philippe Berio, Sylvestre Lacour, Jean-Baptiste Le Bouquin, Florentin Millour, Isabelle Tallon-Bosc, et le CS ASHRA.

Présentations

Authors Title Type File
Denis Mourard Les développements du réseau optique CHARA (Mt Wilson, Californie) invite CHARA_Mourard.pdf
Frank Eisenhauer From GRAVITY(+) towards a kilometers-baseline, large-telescope interferometer invite Frank Eisenhauer_MPE_SF2A_Marseille_Abstract.pdf