Authors
Lagarde, S.; Lopez, B.; Petrov, R. G.; Hofmann, K. H.; Kraus, S.; Jaffe, W.; Antonelli, P.; Bresson, Y.; Leinert, Ch.; Matter, A.
Abstract
MATISSE (Multi-AperTure mid-Infrared SpectroScopic Experiment) is a mid-infrared spectroscopic interferometer combining the beams of up to four UTs or ATs of the VLTI. MATISSE will be the successor to MIDI and will provide imaging capability in three spectral bands of the mid-infrared domain: L, M, and N. MATISSE will extend the astrophysical potential of the VLTI by overcoming the ambiguities that often exist in the interpretation of simple visibility measurements. The concept of MATISSE was driven by a signal-to-noise ratio analysis aiming at comparing two basic principles that we call the global combination and the pair-wise one. We detail this comparison and explain what has led to the selected MATISSE concept: a pair-wise 0-π multi-axial mode.