Plateau de Bure Interferometer

Plateau de Bure Interferometer
Name	Plateau de Bure Interferometer
Location	Hautes-Alpes, France
Altitude	2550 m
Established	1988
Closed	2014 (upgraded to NOEMA)
Operator	Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique
Wavelength	Millimeter (1.3 mm, 2.6 mm, 3 mm)
Type	Radio interferometer

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Plateau de Bure Interferometer

The Plateau de Bure Interferometer was a millimeter-wave radio interferometer located on the Plateau de Bure in the Hautes-Alpes department of France, operated by the Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM). It served as a premier facility for high-resolution observations of molecular gas and continuum emission, contributing to studies in astrophysics involving objects such as Orion Nebula, Cassiopeia A, NGC 253, M51, and Milky Way. The array's legacy influenced the development of successors and collaborations including NOEMA, Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, European Southern Observatory, and international programs with institutions like Max Planck Society and National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Overview

Construction and commissioning involved collaborations among IRAM, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, and international partners including German Aerospace Center, Italian Space Agency, and Swiss National Science Foundation. Key milestones paralleled developments at IRAM 30m Telescope, Plateau de Bure Observatory, and contemporaneous facilities such as NRAO projects and the Green Bank Telescope. The array evolved through upgrades influenced by technological advances from groups at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, University of Manchester, Leiden Observatory, University of Bonn, and Max Planck Institute for Astronomy. Major scientific programs echoed themes from missions like Rosetta (spacecraft), Planck (spacecraft), Keck Observatory, and collaborations with teams at Imperial College London.

The interferometer used cryogenically cooled receivers, local oscillators, and correlators developed with expertise from Centre National d'Études Spatiales, CERN, Thales Group, Siemens, and academic groups at École Normale Supérieure. Antenna design and surface accuracy efforts involved engineers from Alcatel-Lucent, Airbus Defence and Space, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, and DRAO. The correlator architecture leveraged algorithms and hardware concepts linked to developments at MIT, Stanford University, Cornell University, Princeton University, and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Calibration practices referenced standards used by National Institute of Standards and Technology, European Southern Observatory, Joint Institute for VLBI ERIC, and observatories such as Subaru Telescope and Keck Observatory.

Science programs at Plateau de Bure targeted star formation in regions like Perseus (constellation), Ophiuchus cloud complex, and Cepheus A, protoplanetary disks around stars such as HL Tauri, chemical studies of comets including Comet Hale–Bopp, and extragalactic surveys of Seyfert galaxies, ULIRGs, and quasars like 3C 273. Observing campaigns often coordinated with Hubble Space Telescope, Chandra X-ray Observatory, XMM-Newton, GALEX, and ground arrays such as VLA and eMERLIN. Programs were led by researchers affiliated with institutions such as University of Arizona, Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, Observatoire de Paris, University of Leiden, and ETH Zurich.

Data reduction for the Plateau de Bure Interferometer employed software ecosystems influenced by tools like GILDAS, AIPS, CASA, MIRIAD, and analysis packages developed at CSIRO, Leiden University, University of Cambridge Institute of Astronomy, and Arizona Radio Observatory. Pipelines incorporated calibration techniques from NRAO, imaging algorithms paralleling work at Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, and analysis methods used by teams at Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy and Institute for Radio Astronomy in the Millimeter Range. Archival data policies aligned with practices at European Southern Observatory, NASA/IPAC, Canadian Astronomy Data Centre, and VizieR-hosted catalog efforts.

The high-altitude site near Saint-Véran provided dry conditions comparable to sites at Atacama Desert, Mauna Kea, and Pico Veleta, facilitating millimeter transparency for observations of molecular transitions. Logistics and support involved regional authorities in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, agencies like Météo-France, and partnerships with infrastructure providers including SNCF, Air France, and local universities such as Université Grenoble Alpes. Operations incorporated safety and environmental considerations consistent with standards from International Civil Aviation Organization, European Environment Agency, and research station practices at Concordia Station and Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station.

The transition from Plateau de Bure to the NOrthern Extended Millimeter Array (NOEMA) expanded baseline lengths, antenna numbers, and correlator capacity, reflecting international cooperation with partners including IRAM, CNRS, INSU, National Centre for Scientific Research, Italian National Institute for Astrophysics, and institutions such as Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, University of Roma, Universidad de Chile, Max Planck Society, and University of Cambridge. NOEMA's enhanced capabilities complement arrays including ALMA, SMA, VLA, eMERLIN, and foster science with missions like JWST, Euclid, and PLATO (spacecraft), carrying forward the scientific heritage of Plateau de Bure.

Category:Radio telescopes Category:Observatories in France Category:Institut de Radioastronomie Millimetrique