APPLICATION OF GEOMETRIC PHASE TECHNIQUES TO STELLAR INTERFEROMETRY

In stellar interferometry the fringe visibility can be measured by mod ulating the optical path difference between the two arms of an interfe rometer. This approach yields accurate estimates of the fringe visibil ity only if the bandwidth is small, and this limits the sensitivity of the technique. We propose using a geometric phase modulator that is a chromatic and does not suffer from bandwidth restrictions. Fringe dete ctors using geometric phase modulation have the potential of greatly i ncreasing the sensitivity of optical stellar interferometers. (C) 1996 Optical Society of America