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Published July 24, 1998 | Published
Book Section - Chapter Open

Palomar Testbed Interferometer

Abstract

The Palomar Testbed Interferometer (PTI) is an infrared, phase-tracking interferometer in operation at Palomar Mountain since July 1995. It was funded by NASA for the purpose of developing techniques and methodologies for doing narrowangle astrometry for the purpose of detecting extrasolar planets. The instrument employs active fringe trackingin the infrared (2.0-2.4 μm) to monitor fringe phase. It is a dual-star interferometer; it is able to measure fringes on two separate stars simultaneously. An end-to-end heterodyne laser metrology system is used to monitor the optical path length of the starlight. Recently completed engineering upgrades have improved the initial instrument performance. These upgrades are:extended wavelength coverage, a single mode fiber for spatial filtering, vacuum pipes to relay the beams, accelerometers on the siderostat mirrors and a new baseline. Results of recent astrometry data indicate the instrument is approaching the astrometric limit as set by the atmosphere.

Additional Information

© 1998 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Funding for the development of PTI was provided by NASA under its TOPS (Towards Other Planetary Systems) and ASEPS (Astronomical Studies of Extrasolar Planetary Systems) programs, and from the JPL Director's Discretionary Fund. Ongoing funding has been provided by NASA through its Origins Program and from the JPL Directors Research and Development Fund. Thanks to Kadri Vural and Rockwell International for the NICMOS-3 detectors. The work reported here was performed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

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