Juanola-Parramon, R;
(2014)
A Far-infrared Spectro-Spatial Space Interferometer. Instrument Simulator and Testbed Implementation.
Doctoral thesis , UCL (University College London).
Abstract
FIRI (Far Infrared Interferometer) is a concept for a spatial and spectral space interferometer with an operating wavelength range 25-300 μm and sub-arcsecond angular resolution, and is based on the combination of two well-known techniques, Stellar Interferometry and Fourier Transform Spectroscopy, to achieve high spectral and spatial resolution in the Far Infrared (Chapter 2). The resulting technique is called Double Fourier Spatio-Spectral Interferometry (Mariotti and Ridgway 1988). With increased spatial and spectral resolution a number of interesting science cases such as the formation and evolution of AGN and the characterization of gas, ice and dust in disks undergoing planetary formation, among others, can be investigated. In this thesis I present two approaches to study the feasibility of a FIRI system a) An experimental approach via the Cardiff University-UCL FIRI Testbed (Chapter 3), a laboratory prototype spectral-spatial interferometer to demonstrate the feasibility of the Double-Fourier technique at the Far-infrared regime, including the Wide-Filed Imaging Interferometry Testbed at the Optical and Near-infrared regime. b) The Far-Infrared Interferometer Instrument Simulator (FIInS) to assess the performance of a space-based system (Chapter 4). The main goal of this software is to simulate both the input and the output of such a system. With FIInS, once a set of modeled scientific data is available, one can compare an input sky map with the synthesized one after data reduction and processing algorithms have been applied. To validate FIInS data from the Cardiff University-UCL FIRI testbed has been used (Chapter 5). FIInS is intended to be a tool for the astronomical community to explore the limits of a space interferometer. For this reason it is also applied to simulated scientific data (Chapter 6), more specifically to simulated circumstellar disks to test the simulator in a more realistic scenario.
| Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Title: | A Far-infrared Spectro-Spatial Space Interferometer. Instrument Simulator and Testbed Implementation |
| Language: | English |
| UCL classification: | UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1427371 |
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