title: Optimum synthetic-aperture imaging of extended astronomical objects.
abstract: In optical aperture-synthesis imaging of stellar objects, different beam combination strategies are used and proposed. Coaxial Michelson interferometers are very common and a homothetic multiaxial interferometer is recently realized in the Large Binocular Telescope. Laboratory experiments have demonstrated the working principles of two new approaches: densified pupil imaging and wide field-of-view (FOV) coaxial imaging using a staircase-shaped mirror. We develop a common mathematical formulation for direct comparison of the resolution and noise sensitivity of these four telescope configurations for combining beams from multiple apertures for interferometric synthetic aperture, wide-FOV imaging. Singular value decomposition techniques are used to compare the techniques and observe their distinct signal-to-noise ratio behaviors. We conclude that for a certain chosen stellar object, clear differences in performance of the imagers are identifiable.
authors.affiliation: Optics Research Group, Delft University of Technology, Lorentzweg 1, NL-2628 CJ, Delft, The Netherlands. cas.van.der.avoort@nxp.com
authors.forename: Casper
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: van der Avoort
authors.forename: Silvania F
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Pereira
authors.forename: Joseph J M
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Braat
authors.forename: Jan-Willem
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: den Herder
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D001256:Astronomy / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D017076:Computer-Aided Design; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D007368:Interferometry / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity