Future Astrophysical Targets for Intensity Interferometry

Abstract

Interferometry is the use of wave interference to measure the properties of a source observed by two or more detectors. For example, the Event Horizon Telescope measures the phase and amplitude of 1.3 mm wavelength radiation at telescopes up to ten thousand kilometers apart to reveal event horizon scale images of supermassive black holes. Measuring wave phases in the optical has been demonstrated for baselines no longer than hundreds of meters. Intensity interferometry dispenses with the need to measure phases, allowing much larger baselines, and hence much higher spatial resolution. The technique has been in use for seven decades, but recent advances in detector technology have reinvigorated interest in the method. I will discuss the basics of intensity interferometry, the characteristics of the new detectors, and possible applications of broad astrophysical and cosmological interest. The latter include estimates of the Hubble constant from observations of the disks of active galactic nuclei (AGN), with possible impact on the Hubble tension. The same observations will provide detailed information on the AGN disk and line emission regions; the latter may be crucial for estimating the mass loss rates in AGN winds, which are believed to impact their host galaxies. Other possible applications include spatially resolved measurements of stellar oscillations, which, by analogy with helioseismology, would provide constraints on the run of temperature in stellar interiors, as well as the interior differential rotation.