An interferometer observing a star at nm records the fringe visibility falling to…
PHYSICS · Multi-part · Fermi University Physics · Optics & Photonics · Coherence and statistical optics · Coherence and statistical optics
What an Instrument Can See, Ch Spatial coherence and the van Cittert-Zernike theorem
Problem
An interferometer observing a star at λ=500 nm records the fringe visibility falling to zero at a baseline B0=2.0 m, and no shorter baseline shows a null.
((a)) State the model of the star's brightness distribution implicit in using the first-null formula, and write the formula.
((b)) Find the star's angular diameter θs in radians and in milliarcseconds.