CHARA/Silmaril Instrument Software and Data Reduction Pipeline: Characterization of the Instrument in the Lab and On-Sky

TL;DR

This paper details the software and data reduction pipeline of the Silmaril beam combiner at CHARA, highlighting its capabilities for observing faint astronomical targets and converting raw data into usable formats.

Contribution

It introduces the comprehensive software system and data reduction pipeline for Silmaril, enabling efficient data acquisition, processing, and analysis for faint target observations.

Findings

Successful on-sky operation of Silmaril with optimized data collection.

Effective data reduction pipeline producing standard interferometry data formats.

Enhanced sensitivity enabling observations of faint objects like AGN and YSOs.

Abstract

The newly installed Silmaril beam combiner at the CHARA array is designed to observe previously inaccessible faint targets, including Active Galactic Nuclei and T-Tauri Young Stellar Objects. Silmaril leverages cutting-edge optical design, low readout noise, and a high-speed C-RED1 camera to realize its sensitivity objectives. In this presentation, we offer a comprehensive overview of the instrument's software, which manages critical functions, including camera data acquisition, fringe tracking, automatic instrument alignment, and observing interfaces, all aimed at optimizing on-sky data collection. Additionally, we offer an outline of the data reduction pipeline, responsible for converting raw instrument data products into the final OIFITS used by the standard interferometry modeling software. The purpose of this paper is to provide a solid reference for studies based on Silmaril data.