Magdalena Ridge Observatory Interferometer: advancing to first light and new science

Creech‐Eakman, M. J.; Romero, V.; Payne, Ifan; Haniff, Christopher A.; Buscher, David F.; Aitken, C.; Anderson, Craig; Bakker, Eric J.; Coleman, T. A.; Dahl, C.; Farris, Allen; Jiminez, S.; Jurgenson, C. A.; King, Ron; Klinglesmith, Dan; McCord, K.; McCracken, Tyler; Nyland, Kristina; Olivares, A.; Richmond, M.; Romero, Michael F.; Salcido, C.; Sandoval, Jennifer L.; Santoro, Fernando; Seamons, John; Selina, Robert; Shtromberg, A. V.; Steenson, J.; Torres, Nicolas; Westpfahl, David J.; Baron, Fabien; Fisher, Martin; Seneta, E.; Sun, Xiaowei; Wilson, Donald M.; Young, John S.

doi:10.1117/12.857359

Cited by 16 publications

(5 citation statements)

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“…The Magdalena Ridge Observatory Interferometer (MROI) [22], currently under construction in southern New Mexico, aims to use a dedicated fringe tracker with phase stepping provided by PZT stages. This fringe tracker, named the Infrared Coherencing Nearest Neighbor tracker or ICoNN [23], will operate in the astronomical H (1.49 to 1.78 μm) and K S (1.99 to 2.31 μm) bands and is required to allow the measurement of four phase-shifted interferograms, using π∕2 steps, within a total time of 5 ms. More specifically, one of its modes will employ step pyramid modulation of the optical path.…”

Section: Stellar Interferometers and Phase Shifting Interferometrymentioning

confidence: 99%

Open-loop phase shifting for fast acquisition of interferograms in low light levels

et al. 2013

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Phase shifting interferometry relies on sets of interferograms taken at multiple known phase offsets to deduce the instantaneous phase of a quasi-static fringe pattern. The traditional method for introducing these phase shifts has been either to step a mirror, and measure the fringe pattern at each step, or to scan a mirror, integrating the fringe pattern for discrete time intervals while the fringes "move" on the detector. A stepping mirror eliminates this fringe smear but has typically required a closed-loop controller to ensure that the optical path introduced is accurately known. Furthermore, implementing rapid stepping of a moderately sized optic can prove difficult if the fringe phase needs to be measured on a short time scale. We report results demonstrating very fast (>100 Hz) and precise phase shifting using a piezomodulated mirror operated in open-loop without any position feedback. Our method exploits the use of a synthetic driving waveform that is optimized to match the complex frequency response of the modulator and its supported optic. For phase measurements in the near-infrared at 2.15 μm, and with a time between steps as small as 0.2 ms, we report errors below λ/100 in the desired position of our optic, i.e., an effective optical path difference error of ~λ/55. For applications in near-infrared stellar interferometry, this implies an enhancement in the fringe-tracking sensitivity of roughly 20% (in the photon-limited regime) over that which is conventionally realized using a swept mirror.

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Section: Stellar Interferometers and Phase Shifting Interferometrymentioning

confidence: 99%

Open-loop phase shifting for fast acquisition of interferograms in low light levels

et al. 2013

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“…First fringes for the facility are scheduled for 2013, with more telescopes coming online shortly thereafter and production of rudimentary images beginning in 2015. When complete, the facility will consist of ten 1.4 m diameter relocatable telescopes laid out in an equilateral-Y configuration, with 28 separate telescope pads to accommodate array reconfiguration (Creech-Eakman et al, 2010b). Full descriptions of the MROI capabilities and progress have been presented recently by Santoro et al (2010), Jorgensen and Mozurkewich (2010), Farris et al (2010), andFisher et al (2010).…”

Section: Mroi/sircusmentioning

confidence: 99%

Circumstellar disks and planets. Science cases for next-generation optical/infrared long-baseline interferometers

Wolf,

Malbet,

Alexander

et al. 2012

Preprint

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We present a review of the interplay between the evolution of circumstellar disks and the formation of planets, both from the perspective of theoretical models and dedicated observations. Based on this, we identify and discuss fundamental questions concerning the formation and evolution of circumstellar disks and planets which can be addressed in the near future with optical and infrared long-baseline interferometers. Furthermore, the importance of complementary observations with long-baseline (sub)millimeter interferometers and high-sensitivity infrared observatories is outlined. Keywords Interferometric instruments• Protoplanetary disks • Planet formation • Debris disks • Extrasolar planets

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“…The Magdalena Ridge Observatory Interferometer [1] is a 10-element 1.4m interferometric imaging array working at optical and near-infrared wavelengths and scheduled for first fringes in 2012. The entire design of the interferometer is centered around one goal, to produce model-independent images of faint and complex astrophysical targets with submilliarcsecond spatial resolutions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Imaging simulations of selected science with the Magdalena Ridge Observatory Interferometer

et al. 2010

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We present simulated observations of surface features on Red Supergiant (RSG) stars and clumpy dust structures surrounding Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) with the Magdalena Ridge Observatory Interferometer (MROI). These represent two of the classes of astrophysical targets enumerated in the MROI Key Science Mission that are typical of the types of complex astrophysical phenomena that the MROI has been designed to image. The simulations are based on source structures derived from recent theoretical models and include both random and systematic noise on the measured Fourier data (visibility amplitudes and closure phases) consistent with our expectations for typical such targets observed with the MROI. Image reconstructions, obtained using the BSMEM imaging package, are presented for 4-, 6-and 8telescope implementations of the array. Although a rudimentary imaging capability is demonstrated with only 4 telescopes, the detailed features of targets are only reliably determined when at least 6 telescopes are present. By the tine 8 telescope are used, the reconstructed images are sufficiently faithful to allow the discrimination between competing models, confirming the design goal of the MROI, i.e. to offer model-independent near-infrared imaging on sub-milliarcsecond scales.

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Magdalena Ridge Observatory Interferometer: advancing to first light and new science

Cited by 16 publications

References 0 publications

Open-loop phase shifting for fast acquisition of interferograms in low light levels

Open-loop phase shifting for fast acquisition of interferograms in low light levels

Circumstellar disks and planets. Science cases for next-generation optical/infrared long-baseline interferometers

Imaging simulations of selected science with the Magdalena Ridge Observatory Interferometer

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