Interferometry Basics in Practice: Exercises

TL;DR

This paper provides practical exercises to understand optical interferometry, focusing on visibility curves and UV coverage, using software tools to enhance learning of observational constraints and data interpretation.

Contribution

It introduces a structured set of exercises for hands-on learning of interferometry concepts, emphasizing practical skills with software tools like ASPRO and viscalc.

Findings

Enhanced understanding of visibility and its properties.

Insights into UV coverage and observational constraints.

Practical skills in using interferometry software.

Abstract

The following exercises aim to learn the link between the object intensity distribution and the corresponding visibility curves of a long-baseline ptical interferometer. They are also intended to show the additional constraints on observability that an interferometer has. This practical session is meant to be carried out with the ASPRO software, from the Jean-Marie Mariotti Center, but can also be done using other observation preparation software, such as viscalc from ESO. There are two main parts with series of exercises and the exercises corrections. The first one aims at understanding the visibility and its properties by practicing with simple examples, and the second one is about UV coverage.