The Berkeley Infrared Spatial Interferometer: A Heterodyne Stellar Interferometer for the Mid‐Infrared

Abstract

A detailed description is given of the Infrared Spatial Interferometer (ISI), developed at the Space Sciences Laboratory of the University of California at Berkeley, which is a high spatial resolution interferometer for mid-infrared wavelengths. The instrumentation, its capabilities and performance, data analysis, science program, and future plans are all discussed. The system's use of heterodyne detection, analogous to that of a modern radio interferometer, is also compared with the homodyne or direct methods more commonly encountered in the visible and infrared. The ISI has been operating productively on Mount Wilson for the past 10 years measuring materials immediately surrounding stars and their changes as well as some stellar diameters. The new spectral capabilities described here, a recent increase in baseline length, and the upcoming expansion to a closure-phase imaging array provide important additional types of measurements.