Course Notes from the 1999 Michelson Interferometry Summer School

Peter Lawson, Editor (Jet Propulsion Laboratory)

The 1999 Michelson Interferometry Summer School was held at the California Institute of Technology, in Pasadena, CA, from Monday August 9 through Friday August 13, 1999.

This was the first School within the Michelson Fellowship Program and followed on from the Optical/IR Interferometry Workshop held at Flagstaff, Arizona, in October 1998. The 1999 Summer School consisted of a series of tutorial lectures describing the theory and techniques of optical/infrared long baseline stellar interferometry, from its fundamental principles through to its astrophysical applications, methods of data analysis, and interpretation.

The Michelson Summer Schools are intended for graduate students and postdoctoral researchers.

Scientific Organizing Committee

Local Organizing Committee

Important Dates

July 16, 1999: Application deadline.

1999 Course Notes, Viewgraphs, and RealVideo of Lectures

The viewgraphs of all lectures were digitized and are available in PDF Format.

All talks on the Caltech campus were video recorded and are available RealVideo format. The video portion is brought to you in collaboration with NASA Quest's Learning Channel at Ames Research Center.

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION TO BASIC THEORY OF LONG-BASELINE STELLAR INTERFEROMETRY

• Why Build Stellar Interferometers?
  Hal McAlister (Georgia State Univ.)
• Basic Theory of Astronomical Interferometry
  A.F. Boden (JPL)

• Beam Combination and Fringe Measurement
  W.A. Traub (Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory)

• Thermal and Quantum Noise
  C.H. Townes (UC Berkeley)

• Observing Through the Turbulent Atmosphere
  A. Quirrenbach (UC San Diego)

• Overview of the Design of Stellar Interferometers
  T.A. ten Brummelaar (Georgia State Univ.)

MEASUREMENT AND CALIBRATION OF FRINGE PARAMETERS

• Visiblity Estimation and Calibration
  M.M. Colavita (JPL)

• Phase and Group Delay Estimation
  P.R. Lawson (JPL)

• Phase Referencing
  A. Quirrenbach (UC San Diego)

TOUR OF THE MOUNT WILSON OBSERVATORY

• History of Stellar Interferometry
  P.R. Lawson (JPL)

• IOTA
  W.A. Traub (Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory)

• ISI
  W.C. Danchi (UC Berkeley)

• CHARA
  H.A. McAlister (Georgia State Univ.)

ASTROMETRY

• Introduction to Astrometry
  M. Shao (JPL)

• Wide Angle Astrometry
  D.J. Hutter (USNO)

• Narrow Angle Astrometry
  M.M. Colavita (JPL)

• Nulling Interferometry and Planet Detection
  E. Serabyn (JPL)

OPTICAL SYNTHESIS IMAGING

• Interferometry with two telescopes
  H.M. Dyck (USNO)

• Introduction to Optical Synthesis Imaging
  J.D. Monnier (Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory)

• Interferometer Design for Closure Phase Measurement
  D. Mozurkewich (NRL)

• Data Reduction and Calibration for Synthesis Imaging
  J.T. Armstrong (USNO/NRL)

TOUR OF THE PALOMAR OBSERVATORY

• NPOI
  J.T. Armstrong (USNO/NRL)

• Palomar Testbed Interferometer
  J.K. Wallace and A.F. Boden (JPL)

• Keck Interferometer
  G.T. van Belle (JPL)

STELLAR ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS

• Stellar Angular Diameters
  G.T. van Belle (JPL)

• Binary Stars
  W.I. Hartkopf (Georgia State Univ.)

• Stellar Surface Structure
  A.R. Hajian (USNO)

• Circumstellar Environment
  W.C. Danchi (UC Berkeley)

FUTURE PROSPECTS

• Astrometry and Reference Frames
  K.J. Johnston (USNO)

• Ground vs Space Interferometry
  S.B. Shaklan (JPL)

• Future Ground-Based Interferometry
  S.T. Ridgway (NOAO/CHARA)

• Future Space Interferometry Missions: Astrometry & Imaging
  S. Unwin (JPL)

• Future Space Interferometry Missions: Direct Planet Detection
  C.A. Beichman (Caltech/JPL)

Links Relating to the 1999 Michelson Summer School:

• Photos by Gerard van Belle
• Photos (set 1) by Joey Seymore
• Photos (set 2) by Joey Seymore

Other links:

• Jet Propulsion Laboratory
• Palomar Testbed Interferometer
• Keck Interferometer
• Space Interferometry Mission
• Mount Wilson Observatory Virtual Tour
• CHARA Array
• Infrared Spatial Interferometer
• Mark III Interferometer