The AOC (Adaptive Optics at Calern) project is an adaptive optics bench being installed on one of the two 1-m telescopes of C2PU (Centre Pédagogique Planète Univers), situated in the Calern observatory, Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur, near Nice (France). AOC is installed at the Coudé focus of the telescope, and aims at working in the visible and near-infrared wavebands. The system is designed to work both in a standard stellar mode and in a more innovative planetary mode. Various visible and near-infrared outputs are provided, so that AOC can be used upstream of a number of scientific instruments. Early scientific applications are, on the one hand, development of post-AO short-exposure processing techniques (when used in the framework of the HiPIC project up to ∼1600 nm), and, on the other hand, Jupiter oscillations (when used upstream of the JIVE/JOVIAL instrument at 519.6 nm). In addition to testing other concepts for imaging and interferometry, the facility will also be used for academic purposes, for instance in the framework of the Master program MAUCA. In this article we present the current status of the instrument, and in particular regarding the numerical modelling studies of its planetary wavefront sensing mode, with application to Mars and Jupiter.
We present the current status of the I2C stellar intensity interferometer used towards high angular resolution observations of stars in visible wavelengths. In these proceedings, we present recent technical improvements to the instrument, and share results from ongoing campaigns using arrays of small diameter optical telescopes. A tip-tilt adaptive optics unit was integrated into the optical system to stabilize light injection into an optical fiber. The setup was successfully tested with several facilities on the Calern Plateau site of the Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur. These include one of the 1m diameter telescopes of the C2PU observatory, a portable 1m diameter telescope, and also the 1.5m MéO telescope. To better constrain on-sky measurements, the spectral transmission of instrument was characterized in the laboratory using a high resolution spectrograph. The system was also tested with two of the auxiliary telescopes of the VLTI resulting in successful temporal and spatial correlation measurements of three stars.
We recently proposed a new lucky imaging technique, the Power Spectrum Extended (PSE), adapted for image reconstruction of short-exposure astronomical images in case of weak turbulence or partial adaptive optics correction. In this communication we show applications of this technique to observations of about 30 binary stars in H band with the 1m telescope of the Calern C2PU observatory. We show some images reconstructed at the diffraction limit of the telescope and provide measurements of relative astrometry and photometry of observed couples.
Recent advances in photonics have revived the interest in intensity interferometry for astronomical applications. The success of amplitude interferometry in the early 1970s, which is now mature and producing spectacular astrophysical results (e.g. GRAVITY, MATISSE, CHARA, etc.), coupled with the limited sensitivity of intensity interferometry stalled any progress on this technique for the past 50 years. However, the precise control of the optical path difference in amplitude interferometry is constraining for very long baselines and at shorter wavelengths. Polarization measurements are also challenging in amplitude interferometry due to instrumental effects. The fortuitous presence of strong groups in astronomical interferometry and quantum optics at Université Côte d’Azur led to the development of a prototype experiment at Calern Observatory, allowing the measure of the temporal correlation g(2)(τ, r=0) in 2016 and of the spatial correlation g(2)(r) in 2017 with a gain in sensitivity (normalized in observing time and collecting area) of a factor ~100 compared to Hanbury Brown and Twiss’s original Narrabri Interferometer. We present possible ways to further develop this technique and point to. possible implementations on existing facilities, such as CTA, the VLTI ATs or the summit of Maunakea, which offer a unique scientific niche.
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