Freiburg 2024 – scientific programme
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Q: Fachverband Quantenoptik und Photonik
Q 39: Poster V
Q 39.4: Poster
Wednesday, March 13, 2024, 17:00–19:00, Aula Foyer
Towards spatial correlations of A-type stars in the blue — •Verena Leopold1,2, Sebastian Karl1, Jean-Pierre Rivet3, Stefan Richter1,2, and Joachim von Zanthier1 — 1Quantum Optics and Quantum Information, FAU Erlangen, Germany — 2Photonscore GmbH, Magdeburg, Germany — 3Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur, Nice, France
Intensity interferometry is a reemerging astronomical imaging technique, benefiting immensely from the recent improvements in (single) photon detection instrumentation. Our goal is to perform spatial correlations of A-type stars in the blue using ultra high-rate single photon detectors. We present a setup for the C2PU telescope at the Calern observatory, Nice, France, featuring hybrid single photon counting detectors (HPDs) with which we measured successfully temporal correlations of three different stars - Vega, Altair and Deneb. In all cases the observed coherence time fits well to both the pre-calculated expectations as well as the value measured in preceding laboratory tests. The best signal to noise ratio (SNR) with a value of 10.72 is obtained for Vega for an observation time of 12.1 h. The setup showed remarkable stability and very efficient coupling of the starlight to the photo detectors, owed mainly to the large active area of the HPDs. Utilizing a new class of large area single photon detectors based on multichannel plate amplification, we estimate that high resolution spatial intensity interferometry experiments are within reach at 1 m diameter class telescopes within one night of observation time for bright stars.
Keywords: Intensity Interferometry; Single Photon Detection; Astronomy; Photon Bunching; Temporal Correlations