Exchange visitors program

1. Contacts Prof. Andreas Quirrenbach Network coordinator ZAH Landessternwarte Koenigsthul D-69117 Heidelberg Germany Telephone: 49-6221-541792 E-mail: A.Quirrenbach @lsw.uni-heidelberg.de OPTICAL INTERFEROMETRY • The objectives of the European Interferometry Initiative are to bring optical interferometry to main stream astronomy and enable all the countries of Europe to participate fully in technical and scientific developments in optical interferometry through: • Facilitate communications and collaborations between European scientists and institutes working on optical long-baseline interferometry for astronomy; • Exploit synergy within Europe in order to produce world leading science in the field of optical long-baseline interferometry; • Work toward integration of educational activities on an European scale, both for professional astronomers through workshop and symposia, and at the graduate level; • Work toward developing a European vision on the long term future of optical long-baseline interferometry. European Interferometry Initiative (EII) Scientists active in the field of optical interferometry in Europe have created a vehicle called the European Interferometry Initiative (EII) to bring optical interferometry into mainstream astronomy. One of its activities is the Optical Interferometry forum as a network activity within the OPTICON project. Networking Interferometry – the combination of multiple telescopes in a single coherent array – is a powerful technique that allows astronomers to obtain unprecedented angular resolution and to measure motions of celestial bodies with extreme precision. The objectives of our networking activities are: (1) to exploit the scientific opportunities of the new facilities; (2) to integrate interferometry with more traditional astronomical techniques and make interferometry accessible to non-specialists; (3) to develop a long-term scientific perspective for optical / infrared interferometry well into the next decade. The network will ensure that Europe will play a leading role in the development of optical interferometry, both on the ground and in space, in the foreseeable future. The following activities will be undertaken: Exchange visitors program Funding will be made available for visits of researchers to other institutes within the European Community to perform collaborative work on one of the active topics of the European Interferometry Initiative. Working groups Working groups exist on: (1) Visibility modeling from radiative transfer codes; (2) Interferometric tests of stellar model atmospheres. The working groups will each meet at least five times during the project, and compile a final report. Next-generation interferometric facility A series of workshop are organized that deal with different aspects of a vision on the next generation interferometric facility (post VLTI/DARIN era). Ranging from science case to technology roadmap. Joint research activities OPTICON also supports an R & D programme for interferometry. Contact Dr. Alain Chelli Chelli@laog.obs.ufj-grenoble.fr OPTICON - The Optical Infrared Coordination Network for Astronomy Web: www.astro-opticon.org OPTICON is funded by the European Commission under Contract RII3-CT-2004-001566