Augmentation of VERITAS Telescopes for Stellar Intensity Interferometry

ORAL

Abstract

The VERITAS gamma-ray Observatory, consisting of four 12-m diameter Imaging Air Cherenkov Telescopes, is being augmented with high-speed (250 MS/s) streaming and continuous photon counting capabilities to create a modern implementation of a Hanbury-Brown and Twiss optical interferometer. The VERITAS-Stellar Intensity Interferometer (SII) samples the Fourier image plane at 420 nm with greater than 100 m baselines, potentially enabling sub-milliarcsecond resolution imaging of nearby stars at visible wavelengths. This talk describes the instrumentation of VERITAS-SII, its potential imaging capabilities, and its commissioning and observation plan for 2018-2019.

*This research is supported by grants from the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science, the U.S. National Science Foundation and the Smithsonian Institution, and by NSERC in Canada.

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Presenters

  • David B Kieda

    • University of Utah

Authors

  • David B Kieda

    • University of Utah

  • Nolan K Matthews

    • University of Utah

  • Andrew E Flinders

    • Snow College - Richfield

  • Rylee A Cardon

    • University of Utah