Single-aperture spectro-interferometry in the visible at the Subaru telescope with FIRST: First on-sky demonstration on Keho'oea ({\alpha} Lyrae) and Hokulei ({\alpha} Aurigae)

TL;DR

FIRST is a novel spectro-interferometer using pupil remapping with single-mode fibers, demonstrated on-sky at Subaru, achieving high-precision measurements of stellar targets and opening new possibilities for visible wavelength interferometry.

Contribution

This paper presents the first on-sky demonstration of FIRST, a pupil remapping spectro-interferometer at Subaru, combining aperture masking and spatial filtering for high-contrast, high-resolution observations.

Findings

Achieved 0.6 degree accuracy in closure phase measurements on Keho'oea.

Measured the relative positions of Hokulei Aa and Ab with about 1 mas accuracy.

Demonstrated sensitivity to structures down to a quarter of the telescope's spatial resolution.

Abstract

FIRST is a spectro-interferometer combining, in the visible, the techniques of aperture masking and spatial filtering thanks to single-mode fibers. This instrument aims to deliver high contrast capabilities at spatial resolutions that are inaccessible to classical coronagraphic instruments. The technique implemented is called pupil remapping: the telescope is divided into subpupils by a segmented deformable mirror conjugated to a micro-lens array injecting light into single-mode fibers. The fiber outputs are rearranged in a nonredundant configuration, allowing simultaneous measurement of all baseline fringe patterns. The fringes are also spectrally dispersed, increasing the coherence length and providing precious spectral information. The optical setup of the instrument has been adapted to fit onto the SCExAO platform at the Subaru Telescope. We present the first on-sky demonstration of the FIRST instrument at the Subaru telescope. We used eight subapertures, each with a diameter of about 1 m. Closure phase measurements were extracted from the interference pattern to provide spatial information on the target. We tested the instrument on two types of targets : a point source (Keho'oea) and a binary system (Hokulei). An average accuracy of 0.6 degree is achieved on the closure phase measurements of Keho'oea, with a statistical error of about 0.15 degree at best. We estimate that the instrument can be sensitive to structures down to a quarter of the telescope spatial resolution. We measured the relative positions of Hokulei Aa and Ab with an accuracy about 1 mas. FIRST opens new observing capabilities in the visible wavelength range at the Subaru Telescope. With SCExAO being a testing platform for high contrast imaging instrumentation for future 30-meter class telescopes, FIRST is an important stepping stone for future interferometric instrumentation on extremely large telescopes.