A NOVEL TECHNIQUE TO OBSERVE RAPIDLY PULSATING OBJECTS USING SPECTRAL WAVE-INTERACTION EFFECTS

Abstract

Conventional techniques that measure rapid time variations are inefficient or inadequate to discover and observe rapidly pulsating astronomical sources. It is therefore conceivable that there exist some classes of objects pulsating with extremely short periods that have not yet been discovered. This article starts from the fact that rapid flux variations generate a spectral modulation that can be detected in the beat spectrum of the output current fluctuations of a quadratic detector. The telescope could observe at any frequency, although shorter frequencies would have the advantage of lower photon noise. The techniques would allow us to find and observe extremely fast time variations, opening up a new time window in Astronomy. The current fluctuation technique, like intensity interferometers, uses second-order correlation effects and fits into the current renewal of interest in intensity interferometry. An interesting aspect it shares with intensity interferometry is that it can use inexpensive large telescope that have low-quality mirrors, like Cherenkov telescopes. It has other advantages over conventional techniques that measure time variations, foremost of which is its simplicity. Consequently, it could be used for extended monitoring of astronomical sources, something that is difficult to do with conventional telescopes. Arguably, the most interesting scientific justification for the technique comes from Serendipity