Introduction to Interferometry

Abstract

This tutorial gives a general introduction to optical and infrared interferometry, specifically addressing two questions: `Can I use VLTI to observe my favourite object?' and `What will it tell me?' The observables measured by an interferometer are fringe visibility and closure phase, which can then be fitted by a model or used to reconstruct an image. In order to measure fringes, the path lengths from the source to the detector via the different individual apertures must be equalized. This requires some form of fringe tracking, which constrains the type of observations that are feasible and has important implications for the complexity and size of the resulting image.