Joint Research Activity

1
Joint Research Activity 4Integrating
Interferometry into Mainstream AstronomyStatus
ReportCorfu, September 11, 2007
2
Objectives

• Contribute to integrate interferometry into main
  stream astronomy
• Preparing the next generation of VLTI
  interferometric focal plane instruments
• Providing the end-user of interferometric
  facilities such as ESOs VLTI with a software to
  help visualize and interpret reduced calibrated
  interferometric observables

3
Participants

• Participants 14 country (gt 20 laboratories)
• Universität Wien (Austria)
• Université de Liège (Belgium)
• Academy of Sciences (Czech Republic)
• Jean-Marie Mariotti Center for Interferometry,
  JMMC (France)
• Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie (Germany)
• Konkoly Observatory (Hungary)
• Technion (Israel)
• Torino University (Italy)
• Nederlandse Onderzoekschool Voor Astronomie, NOVA
  (The Netherlands)
• Torun University (Poland)
• Porto University (Portugal)
• Universidad Autonoma Madrid (Spain)
• Observatoire de Genève (Switzerland)
• University of Cambridge (United Kingdom)
• European Space Agency
• European Southern Observatory

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500K
500K
5
WP1.1 Concept to feasibility studies WPLs U.
Graser (Heidelberg) D. Mourard (OCA)

• Objective prepare the next generation of VLTI
  interferometric focal plane instruments
• Two phases
• Concept studies 01-2004/04-2005
• ESO phase A studies 10-2006/06-2007
• project selection probably in 2008

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WP1.1 Instruments proposals developed within
JRA4 (1/2)

• Four Infrared multi-beams combiners
• Vitruv (Malbet et al.) 6 to 8 beam combiners
  with integrated optics (Near IR)
• Bobcat (Buscher et al.) 3 to 6 beams combiner
  (Near IR)
• Vida (Lardiere et al.) 4 to 8 beams combiners
  with densified pupil (Near IR)
• Apres-Midi (Lopez et al.) Extension of Midi to 4
  beams

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WP1.1 Instruments proposals developed within
JRA4 (2/2)

• Two visible instruments
• UVES-I (Quirrenbach et al.) fiber link from VLTI
  to UVES spectrograph. Combination of high spatial
  and high spectral resolution
• VEGA (Mourard et al.) 4 beams combiner based on
  the visible spectrograph of GI2T interferometer

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ESO/EII common workshop

• Instrument concepts presented at the ESO/EII
  common workshop (6-8 April 2005)
• Recommendation from the EII-SC to support 3
  concepts for phase A studies
• Apres-Midi (JRA4)
• Vitruv (JRA4)
• Gravity (External)

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Selection of project by ESO

• The 3 projects supported by the EII-SC have been
  selected by ESO for phase A (10-2006)
• JRA4 responsible recommended to the participants
  of WP1.1 to focus their efforts towards the
  selected projects, merging concepts whenever
  possible
• MATISSE (Formerly Apres-Midi, Lopez et al.)
  dedicated 10µm 4 beams combiner
• VSI (Formely Vitruv, Malbet et al.) 6 to 8 beams
  near IR combiner based on VitruvBobcat
• Gravity (Eisenhauer et al.)

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Kick-off meetings (phase A)

• Matisse kick-off meeting for phase A held in
  Nice on November 16 2006 (30 participants)
• See http//www.obs-nice.fr/matisse
• VSI kick-off meeting for phase A held in
  Grenoble on September 2006 (30 participants)
• See http//www-laog.obs.ujf-grenoble.fr/heberges/v
  si/dms
• Phases A ended last summer (07/2007). Final
  selection of 2nd generation of VLTI instruments
  by ESO probably in 2008

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WP1.1 Milestones Deliverables
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WP1.2 Cophasing Fringe tracking (WPL M. Gai,
OATo/Torino)

• Objectives Study problems related to
  Cophasing Fringe tracking, and favour
  collaborations between groups
• WP1.2 is supported by a working group and is
  taking advantage of the Fizeau exchange visitor
  program (N5)
• 1st meeting of the CFT working group held in
  Cambridge, September 29-30, 2005

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WP1.2 activities (1/2)

• The activities within WP1.2 are focused on the
  following topics
• Multiple beams combination schemes (Col.
  OATo/Technion) experiments for testing various
  recombination schemes based on bulk optics
• Fringe tracking for second generation VLTI
  instruments Col. OATo/UCAM CAV on fringe
  tracking for the VLTI spectro imager VSI (2
  concepts proposed). Contacts are kept with
  MATISSE consortium

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WP1.2 activities (2/2)

• Current fringe tracking facilities at the VLTI
  ESO task force was able to close the loop with
  Finito on both ATs and UTs (2006). The two
  PRIMA FSU units (A and B) have been installed at
  ESO (Garching, 2006). System integration and test
  for Preliminary Acceptance in Europe are in
  progress (PRIMA consortium)
• Evaluation of the effect of residual atmospheric
  turbulence on fringe tracking Under progress
  (Obs. Bordeaux)

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WP1.2 Milestones Deliverables
New deliverables added in 2006
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WP2 SoftwareMaking the VLTI an end-to-end
service instrument

• Objective
• Provide the end-user of interferometric
  facilities such as ESOs VLTI with a software to
  help visualize and interpret reduced calibrated
  interferometric observables
• Present status
• Due to phasing problems and because some groups
  had yet their own technical solutions, none of
  the groups have used the technical solutions
  proposed by the WPLs
• Also, the bar has been put very high in terms of
  management and quality. Intermediate software
  releases have been canceled but the final
  software will be unchanged

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Software requirements for Interferometry

• Software needed
• Preparation of observation (feasibility study)
  software provided by ESO and JMMC
• Calibrator selection software provided by ESO
  and JMMC
• Signal processing software provided by consortia
• Modeling calibrated data developed within JRA4
• Image reconstruction developed within JRA4

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WP2.1 Management User support (Duvert Zins
JMMC/LAOG)

• Web site http//eii-jra4.ujf-grenoble.fr
• Communication between groups
• Documentation (templates)
• Reporting
• Software repositories configuration
• Management plan written
• Status this activity consists now in maintaining
  the web services including documentation
  reporting

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WP2.2 Common software(Duvert Zins JMMC/LAOG)

• Management plan written
• User requirement document written
• Programming rules written
• Common libraries most have been written
• Code documented in situ through web interface
• Status
• This activity has slowed down in 2006 due to the
  growing discrepancy between the state of this WP
  and the state of the client WPs 2.3, 2.4, 2.5.
• Only one software release on 12-2007

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WP2.3 Model Fitting(Tallon-Bosc CRAL ? Gilles
Duvert LAOG))

• Objectives fit inteferometric observables with
  geometrical models
• Management plan written
• User requirement document written
• I. Tallon-Bosc replaced by G. Duvert as
  coordinator in 2006
• Status A prototype version of this software
  based on a Yorick code has been presented at the
  school of Gouttelas in 2006. The release of the
  software package and user manual is scheduled for
  mid 2008

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WP2.4 Astrometry (PRIMA)(Queloz/Geneva,
Quirrenbach/Leiden)

• Objectives Calculation of stellar relative
  parallactic motion orbital parameters of binary
  systems (Geneva) development of the Interactive
  Data Analysis Facility (Leiden) for PRIMA data
• Status work started in 2005
• Management plan written
• Geneva group
• User requirement document released on 3/2007
• Activity stopped (no more funds) within JRA4

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WP2.4 Status

• Leiden group
• Responsible people moved to Heidelberg in 2006.
  Heidelberg University is not a contractor of this
  project ? WP2 coordinator stops coordinating this
  sub-project
• We suggest to remove the final deliverable D4
  (Software package user manual) from this task.
  Note that this software will continue to be
  developed within the PRIMA consortium.

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WP2.5 Image reconstructionCRAL/ONERA/MPIfR/MPIA/
UCAM-CAV

• Objective provide algorithms for image
  reconstruction from VLTI LBT data
• UCAM/CAV MEM regularization (VLTI data)
• JMMC/CRAL/ONERA MEM quadratic reg. (VLTI data)
• MPIFR/MPIA Lucy-Richardson Algorithm (LBT data)
• Management plan written
• User Requirement Document written

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WP2.5 Status (1/2)

• JMMC/CRAL/ONERA Group
• E. Thiebaut is replaced by G. Duvert as
  responsible for this task
• The two prototypes Wisard Mira have
  participated to the 2005 2006 beauty contest
• Both prototypes are being tested with real data
• ONERA is currently documenting the Wisard code
  for public release by the end of 2007
• Cambridge group
• The prototype BSMEM won the 2005 2006 image
  beauty contest
• Robustness of the code has been tested (report in
  preparation)
• Software public release scheduled by the end of
  2007

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WP2.5 Status (2/2)

• MPIfR/MPIA Group
• MPIfR carried out computer and laboratory
  simulations of image reconstruction from LBT
  data, with a special care to the problem of space
  varying point spread function and also computer
  simulations in the context of science case
  studies
• The date of software release is not yet fixed

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WP2 Milestones Deliverables (Statement of work)
In red intermediate releases cancelled
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WP2 Milestones Deliverables (2/2)
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WP2 Conclusions

• Since the beginning of the WP2, definite progress
  has been made in half a dozen of research groups
  throughout EU. The WP2 will reach the goal of
  providing the VLTI user community with the
  necessary tools for interferometric data
  interpretation.
• Over the 5 software developed within JRA4
• The three most urgent ones (model fitting 2
  image reconstruction for VLTI) will be released
  on time
• The last two (PRIMA LBT) will continue to be
  developed within the respective consortia

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• Budget by the end of the project the balance of
  JRA4 finances will be positive with an excess of
  about 2K
• Manpower the manpower dedicated to JRA4 for the
  first 3 years is about 600 man.month (2/3 from
  own laboratory resources and 1/3 from Europe)

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Major Meetings

• 5 major meetings (3 JRA4 2 NA5)
• JRA4 Kick-off (Nice 01/2004, 40 participants)
• Joint EII/ESO workshop (Garching, 04/2005, 150
  part.)
• Joint ARENA/JRA4 workshop (Nice, 05/2006, 30
  part.)
• Science cases (JENAM 08/2004, N5, 25
  participants )
• Technology roadmap (JENAM, 08/2005, N5, 25
  part.)
• Marie-Curie program 2006-2008
• 4 interferometry schools ( 55 participants)
• EII Scientific Council
• 13 meetings since its creation in 2002 ( 20
  participants)

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Major Achievements

• VLTI efforts in close coordination with ESO
• Jump-started VLTI 2nd generation instruments
• Contribution to the optimization of VLTI
  performances
• Fringe tracking Cophasing
• Model fitting software (Goutelas summer school,
  2006)
• Image reconstruction software (Beauty contest)
• Emergence of a long term prospective
• Initiated science case and technology roadmap for
  next-generation facility (N5)
• Birth of an interferometric European community
• Contribution to the Integration and Expansion of
  European interferometric community including
  Central Europe
• Creation of the Euro-Interferometry Initiative
  (EII)

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Euro-Interferometry Initiative (EII)
34
FP7 proposal (1/3)

• Topics
• Reaching the full VLTI potential
• Preparation of next generation facilities (km
  baselines)
• Means
• 1 JRA (Proposed PI D. Mourard)
• 1 Network (Proposed PI P. Garcia)
• Budget 1600 K

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FP7 proposal (2/3)

• Coordination, Communication, Outreach
• Astrophysical working groups
• long term vision of interferometry
• Support to the VLTI scientific exploitation
• European mobility
• Fizeau exchange program
• Reaching the full VLTI potential (in coordination
  with ESO)
• High level software reduction pipelines, image
  reconstruction
• Cophasing ? long exposure modes ? higher
  sensitivity

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FP7 proposal (3/3)

• Prospective work Preparation of Next generation
  interferometers (km baselines)
• Science cases
• Comparison of arrays number of apertures size
• Beam combiners cophasing large number of
  apertures
• Relative merits of sites
• Identification of critical technological issues
• Technology program
• Short term beam transport, combination,
  cophasing
• Mid-term follow-up of the prospective work, new
  actions