IRMA as a Potential Phase Correction Instrument: Results from the SMA Test Campaign

Abstract

The Infrared Radiometer for Millimetre Astronomy (IRMA) is a real-time water vapour monitor, whose sensitivity and temporal response make it a candidate instrument for the correction of phase distortion caused by atmospheric water vapour in millimetre wavelength interferometers. We present results from a test campaign in which two IRMA devices were mounted on two antennae of the Smithsonian Submillimeter Array (SMA) located atop Mauna Kea, Hawaii. The IRMA measurements are compared to each other, and to phase information derived from astronomical interferometric data to assess their utility as a potential tool in phase correction.