Download or read book Science with the VLT Interferometer written by Francesco Paresce and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-06-29 with total page 414 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It has always been ESO's aim to operate the VLT in an interferometric mode (VLTI) which allows the coherent combination of stellar light beams col lected by the four 8-m telescopes and by several smaller auxiliary telescopes. In December 1993, in response to financial difficulties, the ESO Council de cided to postpone implement at ion of the VLTI, Coude trains and associated adaptive optics for all the UTs but included provisions for continuing tech nological and development programmes devoted to the aim of reintroducing these capabilities at the earliest possible date. The desirability of carrying out the full VLTI programme as originally envisaged at the earliest possible moment has not, however, diminished, es pecially in view of VLTI's exceptional capabilities and resulting potential for new and exciting discoveries. In recent years, interferometric projects have begun to playa central role in ground-based high-resolution astronomy, and numerous instruments have been completed or are in the process of construc tion. Several large-aperture interferometers will probably co me on-line near the turn of the century. The impending presence of these new instruments represents an important incentive both for clarifying the scientific cases for various VLTI implementation plans and for ensuring VLTI's competitiveness in the international context over the next 1O~20 years.
Download or read book The Very Large Telescope Interferometer Challenges for the Future written by Paulo J.V. Garcia and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2003-11-30 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The last quarter of the 20th century witnessed the rebirth and maturing of optical interferometry and associated technologies. Major successes spanning from direct detection of stellar pulsations to imaging in the optical were achieved with test-bed systems, some of which have now evolved to facilities open to the astronomical community. The intense activity and rapid growth of this field are a clear sign that interferometry will be a major observational tool in this century both from ground and space. The VLTI is the largest ground-based interferometric facility combining four 8.2-m telescopes with up to eight 1.8-m telescopes. This facility is the first opened on a shared risk basis in 2002, a milestone for the astronomical community. The combination of enhanced sensitivity and common user support bring into grasp a vastly unexplored astrophysical territory. This book presents state of the art optical interferometry in astrophysics. We emphasise new VLTI users by including tutorials in optical interferometry theory and practice, and related instrumentation, as well as reviews in stellar formation and evolution, and extragalactic science.
Download or read book Science with the VLT written by Jeremy Walsh and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-06-05 with total page 483 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: ESO's new and exciting telescope, the VLT in Chile, will certainly provide a host of new results in optical astronomy for the years to come. Here now is a survey of numerous possible observations together with the necessary instrumentation, thus affording an exciting overview of frontline research in astronomy rarely published before. The book runs the gamut of optical-IR astronomy from the solar system, the search for planets in nearby stars, the physics of galactic stars and clusters, AGN and quasars, right up to large structure and cosmology. Furthermore, it summarizes the two panel discussions held during the workshop.
Download or read book Interference written by David Nolte and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2023-07-27 with total page 449 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ever wonder why soap bubbles become invisible right before they pop? Or why lenses are so blue they look purple? How is it possible to image black holes at the heart of distant galaxies? The answer to all these questions is Interference. This book tells the story of the science of optical interferometry - mankind's most sensitive form of measurement - and of the scientists who tamed light to make outstanding discoveries, from lasers and holograms to astronomy and quantum physics. In the past several years, interferometry has been used to discover exoplanets orbiting distant stars, to take the first image of a black hole, to detect the first gravitational waves and to create the first programmable quantum computer. This list of achievements points to the fertile and active field of interferometry for which this book provides a convenient and up - to - date guide for a wide audience interested in the science of light.
Download or read book The Power of Optical IR Interferometry Recent Scientific Results and 2nd Generation Instrumentation written by Andrea Richichi and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2007-10-12 with total page 583 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Celebrating the completion of the first phase of VLTI development, the ESO workshop The Power of Optical/IR Interferometry, held in 2005, gathered researchers together to review and discuss not just interferometers, but also how science uses interferometers and their impact on astronomy as a whole. This volume contains the proceedings of this workshop, serving as a reference for astronomers working with optical and infrared interferometry.
Download or read book Science with the VLT in the ELT Era written by Alan F.M. Moorwood and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2008-11-21 with total page 474 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Workshop “Science with the VLT in the ELT Era” held in Garching from 8th to 12th October 2007 was organised by ESO, with support from its Scienti c and Technical Committee, to provide a forum for the astronomical community to debate the long term future of ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) and its interferometric mode (VLTI). In particular it was considered useful for future planning to evaluate how its science use may evolve over the next decade due to competition and/or synergy with new facilities such as ALMA, JWST and, hopefully, at least one next generation 30–40 m extremely large telescope whose acronym appears in the title to symbolise this wider context. These discussions were also held in the fresh light of the Science Vision recently developed within ASTRONET as the rst step towards a 20 year plan for implementing astronomical facilities—the rst such attempt within Europe. Speci c ideas and proposals for new, second generation VLT/I instruments were also solicited following a tradition set by several earlier Workshops held since the start of the VLT development. The programme consisted of invited talks and reviews and contributed talks and posters. Almost all those given are included here although, unfortunately not the several lively but constructive discussion sessions.
Download or read book High Resolution Differential Laser Interferometry for the VLTI Very Large Telescope Interferometer written by and published by . This book was released on with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One method for locating extrasolar planets is to observe the lateral movement of a star in the sky caused by a planet in orbit around it. In order to detect this displacement, the angular position of the star has to be measured with high accuracy. This technique is called astrometry. The Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) is operated by the European Southern Observatory and located at the Paranal Observatory in Chile. The purpose of the PRIMA instrument (Phase Referenced Imaging and Micro-arcsecond Astrometry) of the VLTI is to perform high-resolution astrometric measurements and high-resolution imaging of faint stars using white light interferometry, by combining the light collected by two telescopes. In order to allow the detection of extrasolar planets, the astrometric measurement has to be performed with micro-arcsecond accuracy. In astrometric mode the PRIMA instrument observes two targets at the same time: the object of scientific interest, and a bright reference star. The angular position of the science object relative to the reference star is obtained by monitoring the differential optical path travelled by the light of each object in two separate white-light interferometers. The aim of this work was to develop a high-resolution laser metrology based on superheterodyne interferometry, with an accuracy of 5 nm over a differential optical path of 100 mm. Moreover the laser source had to be stabilised on an absolute frequency reference, in order to ensure the long-term stability and calibration required to achieve the target performance. Superheterodyne interferometry allowed the direct measurement of the differential optical path using two heterodyne interferometers working with two different frequency shifts. The differential phase measurement between the two interferometers was obtained by electronic mixing of the two heterodyne signals, leading to the differential optical path needed for the astrometric measurement.
Download or read book Very Long Baseline Interferometry written by Marcello Felli and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 436 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The quest for high resolution has preoccupied radio astronomers ever since radio waves were first detected from space fifty years ago. This venture was par ticularly stimulated by the discovery of quasars, and led to the development of interferometer techniques using baselines of transglobal dimensions. These meth ods have become known as Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI). Arrays of radio telescopes situated all over the Earth (or even in space) are regularly used for researches in radio astronomy, reaching resolutions as small as a fraction of a milli arcsecond. The technique also allows the measurement of the positions of the radio telescopes to a few millimeters and so VLBI has become a major tool in geodesy and the study of the rotation of the Earth. VLBI has now passed the pioneer stage and is becoming a standard facility available to astronomers and geodesists, requiring the coordination of the operations of indpendently owned radio telescopes around the world. In Europe observatories from England, Federal Republic of Germany, France, Italy, Poland, Sweden and The Netherlands are coordinated in their VLBI activity by the European VLBI Network Consortium (EVN). The Programme Committee of the EVN allocates time to scientific projects on a routine basis three times a year. The Unites States has a similar arrangement of a network of independent radio observatories, and joint experiments using 'Global Network' are often made.
Download or read book Europe s Quest for the Universe written by Lodewijk Woltjer and published by . This book was released on 2006-01 with total page 323 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Some of the more striking results obtained or anticipated on the ground or in space at radio, infrared and visible wavelengths and in X-, gamma-ray and cosmic-rays are covered. The roles of the European Southern Observatory (ESO) and the European Space Agency (ESA) are stressed, but national initiatives are also touched upon. Input into the research system in the form of financing and personnel and output as publications are evaluated. The time frame covered extends from around 1980 till about 2020. While this book centers on European developments, comparisons with what others are doing are included. After the war Europe in science had fallen far behind the US. Thanks to European cooperation equality has again been reached. Through ESO's Very Large Telescope and ESA's missions, like the Infrared Space Observatory, X- and gamma- ray satellites, Mars Express and others, Europe is fully and independently present at the forefront. The need to integrate the scientists and engineers from the new EU countries into the overall organization of European science is noted, an integration which ultimately could extend even further eastward. This book addresses a wide audience: astronomers and space scientists, students, politicians involved in science funding, amateur astronomers and the educated public with an interest in the science and technology achievable by European cooperation.
Download or read book Astronomy s Quest for Sharp Images written by Pierre Léna and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2020-10-27 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since the 1960s, astrophysical discoveries have blossomed, due to the emergence of powerful and new observational tools. Among them, a fantastic improvement of the sharpness of astronomical images, obtained with ground based optical telescopes, has been the result of two revolutions: adaptive optics and optical interferometry. Written for a general audience, interwoven with fascinating details about the evolution of vision and optics, this book tells a personal story of these revolutions in observational astronomy, born two centuries ago and blossoming in the past fifty years. With the construction of the Very Large Telescope in Chile, Europe played a leading role where young scientists, joining creative astronomers and engineers, have developed a superb creativity. Today, incredibly sharp images of exoplanetary systems and black hole environments are obtained and reveal new questions about Earth-like objects or fundamental physics. The author has been one of the actors of this adventure. His first-hand testimony is opening the future to new horizons.
Download or read book Scientific Drivers for ESO Future VLT VLTI Instrumentation written by J. Bergeron and published by Springer. This book was released on 2013-12-21 with total page 367 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the start of a long process to ultimately operate new advanced capabilities at Paranal that can keep up with the evergrowing need for larger and more complex astrophysical data sets. A modern instrument represents a very significant investment in cash, human resources and time. Such a meeting gives us a precious yardstick to evaluate the competitiveness of 1st-generation instruments and associated current and forthcoming proposals for 1st-generation upgrades. This is also crucial to orient the large research and development effort that will provide the very foundation on which 2nd-generation VLT instrumentation can be built. Finally, it represents a significant step towards defining the hopes and goals for the future Extremely Large Telescope to come. The first outcome of this meeting, already in progress, is outlined in the epilogue.
Download or read book The Very Large Telescope Interferometer Challenges for the Future written by Paulo J.V. Garcia and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-11-11 with total page 313 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A JENAM 2002 Workshop, Porto, Portugal, 3-5 September 2002
Download or read book Astronomy Cosmology and Fundamental Physics written by Peter A. Shaver and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2003-07-11 with total page 536 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides an overview of many of the dramatic recent developments in the fields of astronomy, cosmology and fundamental physics. Topics include observations of the structure in the cosmic background radiation, evidence for an accelerating Universe, the extraordinary concordance in the fundamental parameters of the Universe coming from these and other diverse observations, the search for dark matter candidates, evidence for neutrino oscillations, space experiments on fundamental physics, and discoveries of extrasolar planets. This book will be useful for researchers and graduate students who wish to have a broad overview of the current developments in these fields.
Download or read book Jets from Young Stars II written by Francesca Bacciotti and published by Springer. This book was released on 2007-10-31 with total page 298 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume offers a background in modern high spatial resolution techniques, illustrating how such methods have impacted on our understanding of young stars. It provides hands-on insight into observing from space as well as the ground, the use of interferometers at millimeter and infrared wavelengths, image analysis and spectral diagnostic techniques, and High Angular Resolution studies of the inner regions of circumstellar disks that play a fundamental role in jet launching.
Download or read book From Twilight to Highlight The Physics of Supernovae written by W. Hillebrandt (Ed) and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2003-02-27 with total page 446 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Supernovae, their bearing on cosmology and their connection to gamma-ray bursts are now at the center of astrophysical research programs. This volume deals with astronomical observations of supernovae and their relation to nuclear and particle astrophysics. All known aspects of supernovae explosions are investigated in articles specifically written for researchers and advanced graduate students. It also includes recent numerical "experiments" related to the question of hydrodynamical instability in two and three dimensions and to problems concerning the complexity of radiation transport in the models. Other contributions discuss the possible energy sources needed to drive these powerful stellar explosions.
Download or read book Dark Matter in Astro and Particle Physics written by Hans-Volker Klapdor-Kleingrothaus and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 670 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Fourth HEIDELBERG International Conference on Dark Matter in Astro and Particle Physics, DARK2002, was held in Cape Town, South Africa, in the period 4-9 February 2002. This majestic natural area was the site of the first conference of this series (hosted since 1996 in Heidelberg) to be held outside of Germany. Dark Matter has become one of the most exciting and central fields of as trophysics, particle physics and cosmology. The conference covered, as usual for this series, a large range of topics, theoretical and experimental. Topics included Astronomical Evidence for Dark Matter, the Cosmic Microwave Background, Supersymmetry, Inflation and Dark Energy, Structure Formation, Hot and Cold Dark Matter, and Ultrahigh Energy Cosmic Rays all of which were represented by experts in the field. It was very nice to see again many of our 'old' friends in Dark Matter here in South Africa. The organizers were very glad to see, in addition to world experts, the new generation here. Many young participants gave very nice professional talks during the conference. We are grateful to John Ellis for doing an incredible job preparing his excellent summary talk during the sessions. Some special interest and intensive discussions were naturally raised by the first announcement of terrestrial evidence for hot dark matter, obtained from neutrino less double beta decay. This now adds to the evidence for cold dark matter which we have from DAM A for several years already, and which remained unchallenged up to now by other experiments.
Download or read book Astronomical Interferometry written by and published by . This book was released on 1998 with total page 556 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
