Interferometric Parallax: A Method for Measurement of Astronomical Distances

Abstract

We show that distances of objects at cosmological distances can be measured directly using interferometry. Our approach to interferometric parallax comes from analysis of 4-point amplitude and intensity correlations that can be generated from pairs of well-separated detectors. The baseline required to measure cosmological distances of Gigaparsec order are within the reach of the next generation of space-borne detectors. The semi-classical interpretation of intensity correlations uses a notion of a single photon taking two paths simultaneously. Semi-classically a single photon can simultaneously enter four detectors separated by an astronomical unit, developing correlations feasible to measure with current technology.

arXiv comment4 pages, 1 figure

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Cited by in corpus (6)

• Optical Intensity Interferometry with the Cherenkov Telescope Array
• On the intensity interferometry and the second-order correlation function $g^{(2)}$ in astrophysics
• Intensity interferometry with more than two detectors?
• Monte-Carlo simulation of stellar intensity interferometry
• Stellar Intensity Interferometry: Prospects for sub-milliarcsecond optical imaging
• Cosmological Parallax--Distance Formula