Science with the VLT Interferometer : Proceedings of the ESO Workshop Held at Garching, Germany, 18–21 June 1996

The next major step for the highest possible angular resolution in astronomy will be taken with the construction of large interferometric arrays. ESO's VLT Interferometer will employ an array of four 8 m and three 1.8 m diameter telescopes coherently combined to reach an unprecedented resolution of a millisecond of arc in the visible/IR for objects as faint as 24th visual magnitude. Thus it will open up vast new frontiers in modern astronomy. This book is in preparation for the first observations expected at the beginning of the next century. All areas to be seriously mined with this new facility are presented in a clear and brief exposition with an emphasis on what the VLTI can actually accomplish. Since optical interferometry is still a rather unfamiliar technique for many astronomers, the book contains four short but thorough tutorials that can be used as basic references to the art of interferometry. It will, therefore, also be useful for graduate students. Front Matter....Pages I-XXII Front Matter....Pages 1-1 Introduction to Interferometry....Pages 3-12 An Introduction to Interferometry with the ESO Very Large Telescope....Pages 13-34 Interferometry in Practice....Pages 35-47 Astrometry with Optical/IR Interferometers....Pages 48-54 Front Matter....Pages 55-55 Solar-System Observations with the VLTI....Pages 57-63 Giant Planet Formation and the Masses of Extrasolar Planets....Pages 64-71 Theory of Very Low Mass Stars, Brown Dwarfs and Extra-solar Giant Planets....Pages 72-79 On the Detection of Exo-zodiacal Light by Nulling Interferometry with the Magellan Telescopes....Pages 80-85 Direct Observation of Extrasolar Planets with an Infrared Interferometer....Pages 86-87 Front Matter....Pages 89-89 VLTI Observations of Radio-Loud Active Galaxies....Pages 91-99 Observations of Extragalactic Sources Near Bright Stars....Pages 100-101 AGN Models and Fringe Visibilities....Pages 102-103 AGNs at VLTI Scales....Pages 104-111 The AGN Dance: Astrometric Variability as the Result of Supernova Explosions in Nuclear Starbursts....Pages 112-118 Adaptive Optics Observations of Starburst Galaxies....Pages 119-120 Cosmology with the Very Large Telescope Interferometer: Using a Space Based Astrometric Reference Frame....Pages 121-129 Front Matter....Pages 131-131 Tailoring an Interferometer to its Science and Vice Versa....Pages 133-142 Some Aspects of the VLTI’s Potential for Binary Star Research....Pages 143-152 Combining Mid-Infrared Lunar Occultations and VLTI Measurements....Pages 153-160 Front Matter....Pages 161-161 Interferometric Observations of Be Stars....Pages 163-170 Front Matter....Pages 161-161 Spectroscopic and Photometric Support for Interferometric Observations of Be Stars....Pages 171-178 Imaging of Wolf-Rayet Stars with the VLTI....Pages 179-180 Front Matter....Pages 181-181 AGB and POST-AGB STARS: an Overview....Pages 183-191 Winds of Red Giants and Supergiants: Basic Physical Processes, Structure and Appearance....Pages 192-199 Study of Late Type Stars with the Infrared Spatial Interferometer of the University of California at Berkeley....Pages 200-205 Interferometric Studies of Late Phases of Stellar Evolution....Pages 206-211 Interferometric Imaging of Late-Type Stars with the VLTI....Pages 212-219 Geometry of Post-AGB Shells....Pages 220-226 New Insights in Close Circumstellar Physics Using Interferometry....Pages 227-234 Front Matter....Pages 235-235 Circumstellar Disks in the Early Phases of Star Formation....Pages 237-239 Outflows from Young Stars....Pages 240-247 Disks Around Young Stars....Pages 248-255 Front Matter....Pages 257-257 Observing the Galactic Center with the VLTI....Pages 259-266 The VLTI and the Galactic Center He I Cluster....Pages 267-273 Globular Cluster Proper Motions....Pages 274-290 Front Matter....Pages 291-291 Indirect Imaging of Stellar Surface Structure....Pages 293-302 Stellar Surface Observations with the VLTI....Pages 303-315 On the Scale of Photospheric Convection....Pages 316-317 Observing Stellar Surfaces with a High Precision Infrared Interferometer....Pages 318-325 Studying the Cooolest Giant Stars at Milliarcsecond Resolution....Pages 326-331 Front Matter....Pages 291-291 The Temperature Scale of the M Dwarfs....Pages 332-333 Observations of Cepheids with the VLTI....Pages 334-335 Front Matter....Pages 337-337 The VLTI and the Universe: Conference Summary....Pages 339-345 Front Matter....Pages 347-347 Simulations of VLTI/VISA Imaging Observations of Young Stellar Objects at 2.2 μ m....Pages 349-350 Speckle Observations of Post-Hipparcos Late Type Double Stars....Pages 351-352 Wavefront Characterization for High Angular Resolution Techniques....Pages 353-354 Interfero Coronography at O.C.A.....Pages 355-356 Simulation of Speckle Images for a Field Wider than the Isoplanatism Angle....Pages 357-358 Visibility Losses Due to Atmospherical Spectral Decorrelation in Michelson Interferometry....Pages 359-360 High Resolution Measurements of Close Binary Stars and the Probability Imaging Technique....Pages 361-362 Late Type Stars at High Angular Resolution: Observations and Modelling....Pages 363-366 Interferometric Observations of Mira Stars....Pages 367-368 Results of Studies on the Environmental Factors Affecting the VLTI Performance....Pages 369-374 Internal Optical Path Calibration System for VLTI....Pages 375-378 Pupil Mask Interferometry of M8E-IR....Pages 379-380 Observations of the Close Binary System ß Lyrae with the GI2T Interferometer....Pages 381-382 Stellar Winds of T Tauri Stars....Pages 383-384 Operating the VLTI in the Thermal Infrared....Pages 385-386 Multi-Speckle Interferometric Imaging with the VLTI and the LBT at Optical Wavelengths....Pages 387-388 Infrared Interferometric Imaging with the VLTI in the Multi-Speckle Mode with a Combination of the 8 m UTs and the 2 m ATs....Pages 389-390 Front Matter....Pages 347-347 Thermal IR Imaging with MAX: Pushing the Limit of Single-Dish Ground Based Observations....Pages 391-392 Differential Interferometry and the Non-Axisymmetric Envelope of γ Cas....Pages 393-394 HST Imaging of GM Aurigae: A Circumstellar Disk Seen in Scattered Light....Pages 395-396 Software Concept for Four-Dimensional Bispectral Analysis of Stellar Interferograms....Pages 397-398 Real-Time Image Compression Method for Astronomical Interferograms....Pages 399-400 Synthetic Images from Dynamic Model Atmospheres of C-Rich Long-Period Variables....Pages 401-402 Brightness Profiles and Spatial Spectra of Dynamical Models for C-Rich Circumstellar Dust Shells Around Long-Period Variables....Pages 403-404 Back Matter....Pages 405-409 It has always been ESO's aim to operate the VLT in an interferometric mode (VLTI) which allows the coherent combination of stellar light beams col­ lected by the four 8-m telescopes and by several smaller auxiliary telescopes. In December 1993, in response to financial difficulties, the ESO Council de­ cided to postpone implement at ion of the VLTI, Coude trains and associated adaptive optics for all the UTs but included provisions for continuing tech­ nological and development programmes devoted to the aim of reintroducing these capabilities at the earliest possible date. The desirability of carrying out the full VLTI programme as originally envisaged at the earliest possible moment has not, however, diminished, es­ pecially in view of VLTI's exceptional capabilities and resulting potential for new and exciting discoveries. In recent years, interferometric projects have begun to playa central role in ground-based high-resolution astronomy, and numerous instruments have been completed or are in the process of construc­ tion. Several large-aperture interferometers will probably co me on-line near the turn of the century. The impending presence of these new instruments represents an important incentive both for clarifying the scientific cases for various VLTI implementation plans and for ensuring VLTI's competitiveness in the international context over the next 1O~20 years. A collection of papers on science with the VLT interferometer, presented at an ESO workshop. Topics covered include AGN and starburst galaxies, the potential of VLTI and the connection with related techniques, circumstellar environments and mass loss, and early stellar evolution.