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Abstract:
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We introduce the method of long-baseline stellar interferometry starting with the
fundamental combination of electric fields. We describe beam combination techniques
and how they are realized at the observatories used in the conduct of this research. We
subsequently give a mathematical description of the Keck Interferometer Nuller and
describe our pathfinder effort to produce the first science with this instrument. We
present the results of a 2.5 year observing campaign using four different observatories;
the Spitzer Space Telescope, the Infrared and Optical Telescope Array on Mt. Hop-
kins, Arizona, the Palomar Testbed Interferometer on Mt. Palomar, California, and
the Keck Interferometer on Mauna Kea, Hawaii. We describe our observations of a
broad array of low-mass binary stars and the recurrent nova RS Ophiuchi in outburst
— a candidate Type Ia supernova progenitor. We present calculations that suggest a
new paradigm for dust creation in recurrent novae. We explore this paradigm through
analysis of line and continuum emission from near peak brightness to quiescence. We
report radial velocity and astrometric model fitting on the low-mass M-dwarf binary
Gliese 268. We derive masses of the constituent stars with 0.5% uncertainty. |
