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Register a new userIntensity interferometry of P Cygni in the H$alpha$ emission line: towards distance calibration of LBV supergiant stars
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We present intensity interferometry of the luminous blue variable P Cyg in the light of its H$alpha$ emission performed with 1,m-class telescopes. We compare the measured visibility points to synthesized interferometric data based on the CMFGEN physical modeling of a high-resolution spectrum of P Cyg recorded almost simultaneously with our interferometry data. Tuning the stellar parameters of P Cyg and its H$alpha$ linear diameter we estimate the distance of P Cyg as $1.56pm0.25$~kpc, which is compatible within $1sigma$ with $1.36pm0.24$~kpc reported by the Gaia DR2 catalogue of parallaxes recently published. Both values are significantly smaller than the canonic value of $1.80pm0.10$~kpc usually adopted in literature. Our method used to calibrate the distance of P Cyg can apply to very massive and luminous stars both in our galaxy and neighbour galaxies and can improve the so-called Wind-Momentum Luminosity relation that potentially applies to calibrate cosmological candles in the local Universe.
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The paper presents new results of the ongoing study of the unusual Lynx-Cancer void galaxy DDO 68 with record-low-metallicity regions (12+log(O/H) ~7.14) of the current star formation (SF). They include: a) a new spectrum and photometry with the 6-m SAO RAS telescope (BTA) for the Luminous Blue Variable (LBV = DDO68-V1). Photometric data sets are complemented with those based on the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) archive images; b) the analysis of the DDO~68 supergiant shell (SGS) and the prominent smaller H-alpha arcs/shells visible at the HST image coupled with kinematics maps in H-alpha obtained with the Fabry-Perot interferometer (FPI) at the BTA; c) the list of identified at the HST images of about 50 most luminous stars (-9.1 < M_V < -6.0 mag) related to star-forming regions with the known extremely low O/H. This is intended to pave the path for the actual science with the next generation of giant telescopes. We confirm the earlier hints on significant variations of the LBV optical light deriving its amplitude of dV > 3.7~mag for the first time. New data suggest that in 2008--2010 the LBV reached M_V = --10.5 and probably underwent a giant eruption. We argue that the structure of star-forming complexes along the SGS (`Northern Ring) perimeter provides evidence for the sequential induced SF episodes caused by the shell gas instabilities and gravitational collapse. The variability of some DDO~68 luminous extremely metal-poor stars can be monitored with medium-size telescopes at sites with superb seeing.
Stellar Intensity Interferometry is a technique based on the measurement of the second order spatial correlation of the light emitted from a star. The physical information provided by these measurements is the angular size and structure of the emitting source. A worldwide effort is presently under way to implement stellar intensity interferometry on telescopes separated by long baselines and on future arrays of Cherenkov telescopes. We describe an experiment of this type, realized at the Asiago Observatory (Italy), in which we performed for the first time measurements of the correlation counting photon coincidences in post-processing by means of a single photon software correlator and exploiting entirely the quantum properties of the light emitted from a star. We successfully detected the temporal correlation of Vega at zero baseline and performed a measurement of the correlation on a projected baseline of $sim$2 km. The average discrete degree of coherence at zero baseline for Vega is $< g^{(2)} > , = 1.0034 pm 0.0008$, providing a detection with a signal-to-noise ratio $S/N gtrsim 4$. No correlation is detected over the km baseline. The measurements are consistent with the expected degree of spatial coherence for a source with the 3.3 mas angular diameter of Vega. The experience gained with the Asiago experiment will serve for future implementations of stellar intensity interferometry on long-baseline arrays of Cherenkov telescopes.
The VERITAS Imaging Air Cherenkov Telescope array (IACT) was augmented in 2019 with high-speed focal plane electronics to allow the use of VERITAS for Stellar Intensity Interferometry (SII) observations. Since that time, several improvements have been implemented to increase the sensitivity of the VERITAS Stellar Intensity Interferometer (VSII) and increase the speed of nightly data processing. This poster will describe the use of IACT arrays for performing ultra-high resolution (sub-milliarcsecond) astronomical observations at short visible wavelengths. The poster presentation will include a description of the VERITAS-SII focal plane, data acquisition, and data analysis systems. The poster concludes with a description of plans for future upgrades of the VSII instrument.
High angular resolution observations at optical wavelengths provide valuable insights in stellar astrophysics, directly measuring fundamental stellar parameters, and probing stellar atmospheres, circumstellar disks, elongation of rapidly rotating stars, and pulsations of Cepheid variable stars. The angular size of most stars are of order one milli-arcsecond or less, and to spatially resolve stellar disks and features at this scale requires an optical interferometer using an array of telescopes with baselines on the order of hundreds of meters. We report on the successful implementation of a stellar intensity interferometry system developed for the four VERITAS imaging atmospheric-Cherenkov telescopes. The system was used to measure the angular diameter of the two sub-mas stars $beta$ Canis Majoris and $epsilon$ Orionis with a precision better than 5%. The system utilizes an off-line approach where starlight intensity fluctuations recorded at each telescope are correlated post-observation. The technique can be readily scaled onto tens to hundreds of telescopes, providing a capability that has proven technically challenging to current generation optical amplitude interferometry observatories. This work demonstrates the feasibility of performing astrophysical measurements with imaging atmospheric-Cherenkov telescope arrays as intensity interferometers and the promise for integrating an intensity interferometry system within future observatories such as the Cherenkov Telescope Array.
Mass and radius measurements of stars are important inputs for models of stellar structure. Binary stars are of particular interest in this regard, because astrometry and spectroscopy of a binary together provide the masses of both stars as well as the distance to the system, while interferometry can both improve the astrometry and measure the radii of the stars. In this work we simulate parameter recovery from intensity interferometry, especially the challenge of disentangling the radii of two stars from their combined interferometric signal. Two approaches are considered: separation of the visibility contributions of each star with the help of differing brightness ratios at different wavelengths, and direct fitting of the intensity correlation to a multi-parameter model. Full image reconstructions is not attempted. Measurement of angular radii, angular separation and first-order limb-darkening appears readily achievable for bright binary stars with current instrumentation.
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