Summary
Infrared Heterodyne spectroscopy is a very attractive method for combining high frequency with high spatial resolution. At frequency resolutions R > 105 the sensitivity of heterodyne observations becomes comparable or even superior to direct detection methods. This is particularly of interest for detailed investigations of the cold interstellar gas for example. Important species like CH4, C2H2, or H2 can be observed which are not detectable in the radio-wave regime. With tuneable Quantum Cascade lasers we have demonstrated that mid-IR heterodyne spectroscopy can be a very powerful method for astronomy. For antenna arrays heterodyne detection has particular advantages, since the losses for the distribution of the received signal into the many baselines in a multi-telescope arrangement are avoided. In addition, other losses like those in optical delay-lines do also not occur
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Schieder, R., Wirtz, D., Sonnabend, G., Eckart, A. (2007). The Potential of IR-Heterodyne Spectroscopy. In: Richichi, A., Delplancke, F., Paresce, F., Chelli, A. (eds) The Power of Optical/IR Interferometry: Recent Scientific Results and 2nd Generation Instrumentation. Eso Astrophysics Symposia. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-74256-2_53
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-74256-2_53
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