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| Paper: |
The effect of spatial coherence of sources on synthetic aperture mapping |
| Volume: |
19, Radio Interferometry: Theory, Techniques, and Applications, IAU Colloquium 131 |
| Page: |
10 |
| Authors: |
James, Daniel F. V. |
| Abstract: |
The interferometric mapping of astronomical objects relies on the van Cittert-Zernike theorem, which states that the degree of spatial coherence of the field from a distant spatially incoherent source is proportional to the Fourier transform of the intensity distribution across the source. A summary is presented here of the results of an investigation into what happens when the distant source is not spatially coherent. A heuristic model of a spherically symmetric partially coherent source is used to obtain an analytic expression for the error in the measurement of the effective radius, expressed as a function of coherence area. The results indicate that spatial coherence effects can affect the interferometric measurement of the radius of an object. |
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