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| PRESIDENT - Gerard van Belle Lowell Observatory 1400 West Mars Hill Road Flagstaff, AZ USA Phone: +1 928 233 3207 Email: gerard@lowell.edu | VICE PRESIDENT - Denis Mourard Observatoire de la Cote d'Azur, FIZEAU Avenue Copernic F-06130 Grasse FRANCE Phone: +33 04 93.40.53.65 Email: denis.mourard(@)oca.eu |
| ORGANIZING COMMITTEE Armstrong, J. Thomas Ireland, Michael Lopez, Bruno Perraut, Karine ten Brummelaar, Theo Thiébaut, Éric Wittkowski, Markus Young, John | SECRETARY - Fabien Malbet Université Joseph Fourier / Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique IPAG - Institut de Planétologie et d'Astrophysique de Grenoble BP 53 38041 Grenoble cedex 9 FRANCE Phone: +33 476 63 58 33 Email: Fabien.Malbet(@)obs.ujf-grenoble.fr |
The triennial report of Commission 54 has been completed. A preprint is available below.
S. T. Ridgway, G. van Belle, D. Mourard, G. Perrin, G. Duvert, R. Genzel, C. Haniff, C. Hummel, P. Lawson, J. Monnier, P. Tuthill, F. Vakili
Transactions IAU XXVIIIA, Reports on Astronomy 2009-2012
Ian Corbett, ed. (2012)
The 2012 Interferometry Imaging Beauty Contest has been announced. It is being Chaired by Fabien Baron. Results from the contest will be reported on 5 July 2012 at the SPIE Conference on Optical and Infrared Interferometry III SPIE Conf. 8445, in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
The Commission on Optical/Infrared Interferometry serves to coordinate international collaborations on scientific and technical matters relating to long-baseline optical and infrared interferometry. As a commission within Division IX (Optical and Infrared Techniques) its focus is to establish scientific and technical standards that facilitate the future growth of the field.
The Commission promotes the science of interferometry through collaborations with individual science commissions within the IAU, most particularly with the Commissions on Astrometry (C8), Double and Multiple Stars (C26), Variable Stars (C27), and Theory of Stellar Astmospheres (C36).
The Commission continues the work begun through the Working Group on Optical/IR Interferometry, which established the Optical Interferometry Data Exchange format (published in 2005) and its supporting software, and continues the series of optical/IR interferometry imaging contests (held in June 2004 and May 2006). The website of the Commission is hosted at the Optical Long Baseline Interferometry News (OLBIN). This website and its associated Email Forum exist to further the interests of the optical interferometry community and goals of Commission 54.
The work of the Commission takes place primarily within the Commission's Working Groups. These working groups may include:
Working Group Website | Data Standard
The near-term goal of the working group is to develop enhancements to the OIFITS data exchange standard, in particular: 1) Standardise and incorporate existing practice into the standard; 2) Prioritise enhancements that would benefit a broad cross-section of the optical interferometry community; 3) Represent the interests of the major facility optical interferometers.
Resources The working group on calibrator stars belongs to the IAU Commission 54 on Optical/Infrared Interferometry, under the Division IX (Optical and Infrared Techniques) of the IAU. Among the tasks of the working group are the coordination of the work on interferometric calibrator data bases carried out within individual interferometer projects, and the overview of resources and tools for observers looking for suitable calibrators.
Working Group Website Intensity interferometry was successfully introduced by Robert Hanbury Brown and colleagues in the 60s-70s. It was used to measure the diameter of bright stars and the orbit of binaries and was the first to measure the limb-darkening of a star. The intensity correlation technique has some advantages with respect to its amplitude equivalent but has the drawback to require a large number of photons hence a stronger limitation in sensitivity. However, recent developments of detectors and electronics have increased the band pass of detectors and consequently the potential sensitivity of intensity interferometry. Also, various gamma ray detection observatories, based on collection of Cerenkov radiation produced in the atmosphere, are potentially making available large collecting area mirrors. We believe that it is therefore important to the interferometry community to understand the interest and potential of the technique in the light of these new developments. We propose to create a working group with this preliminary mandate. As a first goal, we would propose preparation of a white paper for the purpose of briefing our commission and community. Creation of the working group will be decided upon reception of expressions of interest.