The Sydney University Stellar Interferometer: A Major Upgrade to Spectral Coverage and Performance

A new beam-combination and detection system has been installed in the Sydney University Stellar Interferometer working at the red end of the visual spectrum (wavelength range 500-950 nm) to complement the existing blue-sensitive system (wavelength range 430-520 nm) and to provide an increase in sensitivity. Dichroic beam-splitters have been introduced to allow simultaneous observations with both spectral system, albeit with some restriction on the spectral range of the longer wavelength system (wavelength range 550-760 nm). The blue system has been upgraded to allow remote selection of wavelength and spectral bandpass, and to enable simultaneous operation with the red system with the latter providing fringe-envelope tracking. The new system and upgrades are described and examples of commissioning tests presented. As an illustration of the improvement in performance the measurement of the angular diameter of the southern F supergiant delta CMa is described and compared with previous determinations.
Comment: 13 pages, 14 figures