The interferometric mapping of astronomical objects relies on the van-Cittert Zernike theorem, one of the major results of the theory of partially coherent light [see, Bom and Wolf (1980), chapter 10]. This theorem states that the degree of spatial coherence of the field from a distant spatially incoherent source is proportional to the Fourier transform of the intensity distribution across the source. Measurement of the degree of spatial coherence, by, for example, measuring the visibility of interference fringes, allows the object to be mapped by making an inverse Fourier transform. (For a full description of this technique see Thompson, Moran and Swenson, 1986.)In this paper I present a summary of the results an investigation into what happens when the distant source is not spatially coherent (James, 1990). Using a heuristic model of a spherically symmetric partially coherent source, an analytic expression for the error in the measurement of the effective radius, expressed as a function of coherence area, can be obtained.
Spatial coherence measurement through Fourier transform of intensity of diffraction fringes of a 1D step in reflection