The Potential of Differential Astrometric Interferometry from the High Antarctic Plateau
The low infrared background and high atmospheric transparency are the principal advantages of Antarctic Plateau sites for astronomy. However, the poor seeing (between one and three arcseconds) negates much of the sensitivity improvements that the Antarctic atmosphere offers, compared to mid-latitude...
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ftcern:oai:cds.cern.ch:537511 2023-05-15T13:57:31+02:00 The Potential of Differential Astrometric Interferometry from the High Antarctic Plateau Lloyd, J P Oppenheimer, B R Graham, J R 2002-02-06 http://cds.cern.ch/record/537511 eng eng http://cds.cern.ch/record/537511 astro-ph/0202137 oai:cds.cern.ch:537511 Astrophysics and Astronomy 2002 ftcern 2018-07-28T05:20:26Z The low infrared background and high atmospheric transparency are the principal advantages of Antarctic Plateau sites for astronomy. However, the poor seeing (between one and three arcseconds) negates much of the sensitivity improvements that the Antarctic atmosphere offers, compared to mid-latitude sites such as Mauna Kea or Cerro Paranal. The seeing at mid-latitude sites, though smaller in amplitude, is dominated by turbulence at altitudes of 10 to 20 km. Over the Antarctic plateau, virtually no high altitude turbulence is present in the winter. The mean square error for an astrometric measurement with a dual-beam, differential astrometric interferometer in the very narrow angle regime is proportional to the integral of $h^2 C_N^2(h)$. Therefore, sites at which the turbulence occurs only at low altitudes offer large gains in astrometric precision. We show that a modest interferometer at the South Pole can achieve 10 $\mu$as differential astrometry 300 times faster than a comparable interferometer at a good mid-latitude site, in median conditions. Science programs that would benefit from such an instrument include planet detection and orbit determination and astrometric observation of stars microlensed by dark matter candidates. Other/Unknown Material Antarc* Antarctic South pole South pole CERN Document Server (CDS) Antarctic South Pole The Antarctic |
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Open Polar |
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CERN Document Server (CDS) |
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ftcern |
language |
English |
topic |
Astrophysics and Astronomy |
spellingShingle |
Astrophysics and Astronomy Lloyd, J P Oppenheimer, B R Graham, J R The Potential of Differential Astrometric Interferometry from the High Antarctic Plateau |
topic_facet |
Astrophysics and Astronomy |
description |
The low infrared background and high atmospheric transparency are the principal advantages of Antarctic Plateau sites for astronomy. However, the poor seeing (between one and three arcseconds) negates much of the sensitivity improvements that the Antarctic atmosphere offers, compared to mid-latitude sites such as Mauna Kea or Cerro Paranal. The seeing at mid-latitude sites, though smaller in amplitude, is dominated by turbulence at altitudes of 10 to 20 km. Over the Antarctic plateau, virtually no high altitude turbulence is present in the winter. The mean square error for an astrometric measurement with a dual-beam, differential astrometric interferometer in the very narrow angle regime is proportional to the integral of $h^2 C_N^2(h)$. Therefore, sites at which the turbulence occurs only at low altitudes offer large gains in astrometric precision. We show that a modest interferometer at the South Pole can achieve 10 $\mu$as differential astrometry 300 times faster than a comparable interferometer at a good mid-latitude site, in median conditions. Science programs that would benefit from such an instrument include planet detection and orbit determination and astrometric observation of stars microlensed by dark matter candidates. |
author |
Lloyd, J P Oppenheimer, B R Graham, J R |
author_facet |
Lloyd, J P Oppenheimer, B R Graham, J R |
author_sort |
Lloyd, J P |
title |
The Potential of Differential Astrometric Interferometry from the High Antarctic Plateau |
title_short |
The Potential of Differential Astrometric Interferometry from the High Antarctic Plateau |
title_full |
The Potential of Differential Astrometric Interferometry from the High Antarctic Plateau |
title_fullStr |
The Potential of Differential Astrometric Interferometry from the High Antarctic Plateau |
title_full_unstemmed |
The Potential of Differential Astrometric Interferometry from the High Antarctic Plateau |
title_sort |
potential of differential astrometric interferometry from the high antarctic plateau |
publishDate |
2002 |
url |
http://cds.cern.ch/record/537511 |
geographic |
Antarctic South Pole The Antarctic |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic South Pole The Antarctic |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic South pole South pole |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic South pole South pole |
op_relation |
http://cds.cern.ch/record/537511 astro-ph/0202137 oai:cds.cern.ch:537511 |
_version_ |
1766265195411275776 |