Wireless Imaging Intensity Interferometer for Astronomy

两个或更多的望远镜作为一个人工作，原则上可以非常精确地测量距离和角度。该项目将扩展南康涅狄格州恒星干涉仪(Scsi)的能力，这是一种可以测量明亮恒星大小的双筒望远镜仪器。由于scsi是基于一种不同于目前使用的大多数多望远镜仪器的方法，该项目所实现的科学将不同于迄今为止在该领域所做的工作。例如，scsi可以很容易地在蓝光下观察，在这个波长范围内，由于空气中的湍流效应，其他现有仪器很难有效地进行观测。该项目还将为南康涅狄格州立大学的物理系学生和公众观测活动提供培训。通过精确地计算光子到达每个望远镜站的时间，并在到达后比较数据流，该技术被称为强度干涉测量，从而产生关于恒星的极高分辨率的信息。该项目将对scsi产生三个重大改进。首先，它将把使用的望远镜数量从两个增加到三个，这是必要的，以便超越恒星大小的测量并获得真正的成像能力。其次，将使用新的电子学来试图证明该仪器可以成功地在无线模式下使用。如果实现了这一点，那么三个望远镜站之间的距离将大大增加，从而能够获得更精细的图像细节。第三，通过使用更多的探测器和增加可以收集的光量，仪器的灵敏度将显著提高。因此，较暗的恒星将被成功观测到。该奖项带来的教育和公众宣传将有助于满足康涅狄格州和东北部对受过高等教育、有研究能力的科学和工程专业人员的需求，并激发K-12学生和纽黑文社区公众对科学的兴趣。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Two or more telescopes that work as one can in principle make extremely precise measurements of distances and angles. This project will extend the capabilities of the Southern Connecticut Stellar Interferometer (SCSI), a two-telescope instrument that can measure the sizes of bright stars. Because SCSI is based on a different method than most multi-telescope instruments in use today, the science that is enabled by the project will be different than what has been done in the field to date. For example, SCSI can easily observe in blue light, a wavelength range in which it is harder for other existing instruments to be efficient due to the effects of turbulence in the air. The project will also provide for the training of physics students and public observing events at Southern Connecticut State University.SCSI yields extremely high-resolution information about stars by precisely timing the arrival of photons at each telescope station and comparing the data streams after the fact, a technique known as intensity interferometry. The project will yield three significant improvements to SCSI. First, it will increase the number of telescopes used from two to three, something that is necessary in order to go beyond measurements of stellar size and obtain a true imaging capability. Second, new electronics will be used to attempt to demonstrate that the instrument can be successfully used in a wireless mode. If this is achieved, then the distance between the three telescope stations can be increased dramatically, leading to the capability for obtaining much finer image detail. Third, the sensitivity of the instrument will be significantly improved by using more detectors and increasing the amount of light that can be collected. Fainter stars will therefore be successfully observed. The education and public outreach enabled by the award will help serve the need for highly-educated, research-capable science and engineering professionals in Connecticut and the Northeast and stimulate interest in science both among K-12 students and the general public in the New Haven community.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.