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Quantum Telescopy Workshops

Banner for Future Prospects of Intensity Interferometry workshop (from the workshop website)

This was a three-day workshop hosted at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Waterloo, Canada. From the workshop website:

The workshop's focus spans three key objectives:

  • Develop and disseminate novel ideas concerning science cases unique to intensity interferometry.
  • Synthesize insights from observers and photodetector experts concerning the requisite technologies and experimental techniques which will allow for new science with intensity interferometry.
  • Initiate a concentrated effort to propel the development of large telescope arrays dedicated to intensity interferometry.

Video and slides from all of the talks are available on the Perimeter Institute Recorded Seminar Archive (short talks and panel discussions were not recorded).

Paul Stankus gave a talk on Two-Photon Methods for Astrometric Gravitational Wave Detection and Aaron Mueninghoff gave a short talk on Two-Photon Interferometry for Wide-Angle Precision Astrometry, an overview of the Quantum Astrometry project and its progress.

The workshop was successful in bringing together those actively working on intensity interferometry, those wondering if their telescopes could be used for interferometry, experts in single-photon detectors, and astrophysics theorists interested in the benefits of intensity interferometry. Discussions ranged from the benefits of SPAD detectors vs SNSPDs, to the potential of building 3m+ effective aperture telescope arrays, to the possibility of imaging binary supermassive black holes. A small set of slides summarizing the workshop is available here.

 

 

Banner for Charting Quantum Horizons workshop (from the workshop website)

This workshop preceded the three-day Annual CHARA Science Meeting in Tuscon, AZ. From the workshop website:

The goal of this one-day workshop is to establish astronomy–quantum collaborations and to explore the roadmaps towards a new era of high-resolution astronomy. We aim to achieve this by accomplishing the following in the workshop:

  • Review the current state of capabilities and techniques in optical/IR interferometry
    Highlight science cases enabled by microarcsecond resolution at optical/IR wavelengths (e.g. exoplanets, stellar physics, young stars/disks, AGN and SMBHs)
  • Discuss quantum-enhanced methods for pushing current limitations on spatial resolution
    Establish collaborations between the astronomy and quantum communities to address science requirements and technical challenges

The workshop schedule is available on the conference website and a meeting report is now published in Nature Astronomy.

At this workshop, Paul Stankus gave a talk on Gravitational Waves with Quantum-Assisted Astrometry.

 

Quantum-Enhanced Telescopy Workshop

June 18, 2023 - Denver, CO

This workshop was part of the Optica Quantum 2.0 Conference in Denver, CO, taking place the day before the official start of the conference. From the conference website:

The angular resolution of conventional very long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) in the optical (visible and near-infrared) spectrum is currently limited by the need to combine coherent optical fields collected by separated telescopes. This becomes impractical over more than a few hundred meters. Recent proposals that utilize quantum resources, such as quantum memories and entanglement, have shown promise to obviate the need to directly combine the signals from separated telescopes and thus enable significantly longer baselines, leading to greatly increased resolution.

     The workshop aims to bring together astronomers and quantum information scientists to discuss the emerging role of quantum technologies for improved astronomical observations. It will highlight current experimental and theoretical progress as well as future areas of research.

Schedule:
Image of the schedule of talks for the workshop.

In addition to Paul Stankus' presentation Toward Large Arrays, Exoplanets, and Gravitational Waves, Raphael Akel Abrahao and Aaron Mueninghoff each presented a poster.

Next Generation of Spectrometers for Quantum-assisted Astronomy

Towards Two-Photon Amplitude Interferometry and its Cosmological Applications

 

The workshop was a resounding success, generating new connections and discussions around this burgeoning field. A key takeaway was the need for increased involvement with the astronomy community, in order to understand how quantum-enhanced telescopes can best contribute to astrophysics research.
Picture of all workshop attendees
 

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