X. Haubois, F. Eisenhauer, G. Perrin, S. Rabien, A. Eckart, P. Lena, R. Genzel, R. Abuter, T. Paumard, and W. Brandner
GRAVITY, PROBING SPACE-TIME AND FAINT OBJECTS IN THE INFRARED (Poster)

GRAVITY, PROBING SPACE-TIME AND FAINT OBJECTS IN THE INFRARED

X. Haubois(1), F. Eisenhauer(2), G. Perrin(1), S. Rabien(2), A. Eckart(3), P. Lena(1), R. Genzel(2,4), R. Abuter(2), T. Paumard(2), and W. Brandner(5)
(1) Observatoire de Paris site de Meudon, France
(2) Max-Planck-Institut fur extraterrestrische Physik (MPE), Garching, Germany
(3) Physikalisches Institut der Universitat Koln, Germany
(4) Department of Physics, University of California, Berkeley, USA
(5) Max-Planck-Institut fur Astronomie (MPIA), Heidelb erg, Germany

We introduce a new infrared adaptive optics assisted multiple-beam instrument for the VLTI infrastructure. GRAVITY (standing for General Relativity Analysis via VLT InterferometrY) will allow simultaneous observations of two objects by phase-referenced interferometric imaging and narrow angle astrometry with a high sensitivity.

For those reasons, GRAVITY is particularly suited for observing various types of faint targets of deep interest in the near-infrared such as AGNs, starclusters, intermediate black holes, substellar objects, planets...

Precisely, one of the main goal of GRAVITY is to probe space time around the intermediate mass black hole at the center of our galaxy. We will able to detect relativistic effects at a few Schwarzschild radii of the center of the black hole thanks to an astrometric accuracy of 10 micro arcseconds.

We will present the instrumental concept of GRAVITY and discuss some of the future scientific prospects that it will offer.