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LINC/NIRVANA ‐ The LBT Near‐Infrared Interferometric Camera
Author(s) -
Straubmeier C.,
Eckart A.,
Bertram T.,
Herbst T.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
astronomische nachrichten
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.394
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1521-3994
pISSN - 0004-6337
DOI - 10.1002/asna.200385092
Subject(s) - physics , large binocular telescope , angular resolution (graph drawing) , interferometry , optics , field of view , telescope , astronomy , detector , astrophysics , infrared , mathematics , combinatorics
The development of the interferometric near‐infrared camera LINC/NIRVANA for the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) is an international collaboration of the Max‐Planck‐Institute for Astronomy in Heidelberg (PI institute), the Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri and the I. Physikalische Institut of the University of Cologne. LINC/NIRVANA will allow for interferometric imaging in the near‐infrared JHK bands with high angular resolution (about 9, 12 & 17 mas at respective wavelengths) over a wide field of view (FOV ≈ 100 arcsec 2 ). This FOV is sufficiently large to observe the entire central stellar cluster of the Galactic Center with one single exposure [Rubilar 2001], a unique possibility that makes LINC/NIRVANA the detector system of choice for scientific investigations of respective stellar populations and dynamics. In this article we summarise the implications of the Fizeau‐type optical layout of the LBT for interferometric imaging and present the principle of operation and current design concept of the LINC/NIRVANA camera.