Optical intensity interferometry through atmospheric turbulence

Conventional ground-based astronomical observations suffer from image distortion due to atmospheric turbulence. This can be minimized by choosing suitable geographic locations or adaptive optical techniques, and avoided altogether by using orbital platforms outside the atmosphere. One of the promise...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 2016-04, Vol.457 (4), p.4291-4295
Main Authors: Tan, P. K., Chan, A. H., Kurtsiefer, C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Astrophysics
Atmospheric turbulence
Filtering
Fluctuation
Interferometry
Orbitals
Signatures
Star & galaxy formation
Sunlight
Symbols
Turbulence
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Summary:Conventional ground-based astronomical observations suffer from image distortion due to atmospheric turbulence. This can be minimized by choosing suitable geographic locations or adaptive optical techniques, and avoided altogether by using orbital platforms outside the atmosphere. One of the promises of optical intensity interferometry is its independence from atmospherically induced phase fluctuations. By performing narrow-band spectral filtering on sunlight and conducting temporal intensity interferometry using actively quenched avalanche photodiodes, the Solar g (2)(τ) signature was directly measured. We observe an averaged photon bunching signal of g (2)(τ) = 1.693 ± 0.003 from the Sun, consistently throughout the day despite fluctuating weather conditions, cloud cover and elevation angle. This demonstrates the robustness of the intensity interferometry technique against atmospheric turbulence and opto-mechanical instabilities, and the feasibility to implement measurement schemes with both large baselines and long integration times.
ISSN:0035-8711
1365-2966
DOI:10.1093/mnras/stw288