Imaging reconstruction for infrared interferometry: first images of YSOs environment

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates the first successful infrared interferometric imaging of young stellar objects, utilizing the MIRA algorithm to reconstruct images from actual data, advancing the direct observation of protoplanetary disks.

Contribution

It introduces the application of the MIRA image reconstruction algorithm to infrared interferometry data of YSOs, enabling model-independent imaging.

Findings

First images of YSO environments reconstructed from interferometric data.

Successful application of MIRA to actual astronomical data.

Discussion of challenges encountered during image reconstruction.

Abstract

The study of protoplanetary disks, where the planets are believed to form, will certainly allow the formation of our Solar System to be understood. To conduct observations of these objects at the milli-arcsecond scale, infrared interferometry provides the right performances for T Tauri, FU Ori or Herbig Ae/Be stars. However, the only information obtained so far are scarce visibility measurements which are directly tested with models. With the outcome of recent interferometers, one can foresee obtaining images reconstructed independently of the models. In fact, several interferometers including IOTA and AMBER on the VLTI already provide the possibility to recombine three telescopes at once and thus to obtain the data necessary to reconstruct images. In this paper, we describe the use of MIRA, an image reconstruction algorithm developed for optical inter- ferometry data (squared visibilities and closure phases) by E. Thiebaut. We foresee also to use the spectral information given by AMBER data to constrain even better the reconstructed images. We describe the use of MIRA to reconstruct images of young stellar objects out of actual data, in particular the multiple system GW Orionis (IOTA, 2004), and discuss the encountered difficulties.