Towards Spectral Intensity Interferometry in Space

TYPEAstrophysics Seminar
Speaker:Georgiy Shoulga
Affiliation:Technion
Date:20.04.2016
Time:14:30 - 15:30
Location:Lidow 620
Abstract:In 1950's Robert Hanbury Brown and Richard Q. Twiss built a first intensity interferometer and successfully measured diameters of a few stars. Compared to the classical amplitude (Michelson) stellar interferometers, the intensity interferometer has an advantage of being almost insensitive to the atmosphere turbulence. However, its disadvantage, which is its much lower sensitivity, led to the situation where amplitude interferometers become much more common and intensity interferometry become less used in astronomy, and more in quantum optics field. With technological progress, we are now able to process the acquired data much faster and many researchers around the world try to "revive" the intensity interferometry. In this talk I propose a design of the first intensity interferometer which can be located in space, providing the ability for an easy change in baseline distance between the interferometer telescopes. In addition, I propose a spectral addition to the design, which will provide not only the overall diameter of the star, but it's internal shell structure as well.