(Very) Fast astronomical photometry for meter-class telescopes

TL;DR

This paper discusses the development and deployment of ultra-fast photon-counting instruments for meter-class telescopes, enabling high time resolution astrophysics and pioneering optical intensity interferometry over kilometer baselines.

Contribution

It introduces two high time resolution photon-counting instruments, Aqueye+ and Iqueye, and demonstrates their application in advanced astrophysical observations and interferometry.

Findings

Successful deployment of Aqueye+ and Iqueye instruments.

First optical intensity interferometry experiments over kilometer baselines.

Enhanced capabilities for high time resolution astrophysics.

Abstract

Our team at the INAF-Astronomical Observatory of Padova and the University of Padova is engaged in the design, construction and operations of instruments with very high time accuracy in the optical band for applications to High Time Resolution Astrophysics and Quantum Astronomy. Two instruments were built to perform photon counting with sub-nanosecond temporal accuracy, Aqueye+ and Iqueye. Aqueye+ is regularly mounted at the 1.8m Copernicus telescope in Asiago, while Iqueye was mounted at several 4m class telescopes around the world and is now attached through the Iqueye Fiber Interface at the 1.2m Galileo telescope in Asiago. They are used to perform coordinated high time resolution optical observations and, for the first time ever, experiments of optical intensity interferometry on a baseline of a few kilometers. I will report on recent technological developments and scientific results obtained within the framework of this project.